Robert B. Parker's Angel Eyes

 Shirley J.               Adult Fiction                           Spenser,   Private Eye series  Book 48

Robert B. Parker's Angel Eyes by Ace Atkin    305 pages

Gabby Leggett decides to leave her home in Boston to seek fame and fortune in L.A. as an actress,  however, as anyone who has been to L.A can tell you, many come seeking the dream but few actually achieve the dream.     Gabby being a young voluptuous girl makes a lot of "acquaintances" in L. A.  going on auditions she starts meeting industry people and starts getting noticed, not so much for her talent as for her potential easiness when it comes to the casting couch.   She takes up with a guy wh has a foot in the entertainment word door so she thinks a relationship with him would be beneficial to her career, and it turns out to get her introduced to a studio mogul who is all about pretty young ladies he can collect as his wife turns a blind eye on his shenanigans.  Shee son tosses her "boyfriend" to the curb, but, he doesn't want to stay there and becomes obsessive stalker though she makes no bones about working her way up the ladder.   He never gives up and when after 2 years in LA. she disappears, he is one of a small number of potential suspects to her demise.   When no one can reach her, her mothr hires Spenser to find her.  Turns out search and vacation go together as Spenser has lots of friends in L.A. including his former apprentice, Zebulon Sixkill (nice name for a stoic Cree Indian,  also another Native American buddy,  Bobby Horse who is always up for some action and a good strong fellow to have on yuor side, not to mention his South of the Border bud, Chollo who could shoot an eye out with precise precision from 500 yards away.   Good friends to have your back.   A good story with lots of references baby boomers will understand not so much millenials.  It becomes a question of is Gabby still alive or not?  And what is the connection with the Algerian mob and a wacko cult leader and his foloowers?   I recommend this book to Baby Boomer adults especially who will get the references but story-wise I think mature teenagers on up will enjoy it, though, I found out this is #48 in a series of 60 books!  It stood alone well enough though.       

29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life

 Shirley J.                  Adult Non-Fiction                    Multiple Sclerosis, Alternative Healing.  How Giving to Others Brings Gifts Back to You

29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life by Cami Walker   226 pages

Cami Walker was a high-power executive working in an ad agency when things began to go a little off-center for her.   The hours were long, the stress off the charts but she loved what she did so she continued her 80 hur + weeks until her nerves became like the strings of a violin being plucked only nt in a beautiful concerto kind of way.  She began to become dependent on alternative ways of staying awake and keeping pace until she couldn't anymore.   She started attending addiction meetings and met her now husband at one.   They have for the most part done well and have stayed sober but two months after their wedding, Cami was in such pain and torment that when she went to the doctor she was diagnosed with Multiple Schlerosis,  which may have been brought on by the constant stress of her job taking its toll on her body.   She learned several other family members are troubled by auto-immune diseases of one kind or another.so with the stress and the hereditary tendencies there are many possible causes for it to hit her.   While suffering with the disease, when modern western medicine wasn't curing it, she went looking for other possible help in alternative medicines and therapies and found more relief but where her most relief came from was not medicine at all but through a friend from  South Africa who practiced ancestral divination.  Through her she learned spiritual lessons that turned the small things in life into major lessons and she learned how to give out of love and not obligation.    Her website is: www.29Gifts.org where she shares what she has learned through gifting and her followers blog their experiences, too.   A good book to aid in looking for the purity in giving without expecting to receive then finding the bounty that comes your way for doing unselfish things for others.   I recommend this to middle schoolers on up.     

Top Secret Twenty-One

 Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich    341 pages

Shirley J.                         Adult Fiction                   Female Bounty Hunters,   Russian Terrorists

Someone is wreaking havoc on Ranger's business.   The FBI gets involved when Ranger's headquarters is blown up and a poisonous chemical released inside.   It is time for Stephanie to Bimbo up and accompany Ranger inside a Russian Vodka producers convention as well as to Atlantic City tracking a Russian terrorist.    A human heart shows up on Morelli's counter, a body with a lime overcoat shows up in a house Stephanie and Ranger investigate.   Randy Briggs is a target, his apartment getting blown to smithereens by a rocket launcher, guess he shouldn't have been cooking the books for Jimmy Poletti.   Then there is that pack of feral chichuahuas,   Never a dull moment in Stephanie's world, nor Lula's, who is dating a perp again and Grandma Mazur who has declared all out war on Grandma Bella.   You won't be disappointed with this one.   Grandma Mazur sure wasn't.   Mature teens on up will really enjoy this one.

Part of Your World

 Part of Your World by Liz Braswell   512 pages

Shirley J                      Young Adult Fiction                  Ariel, the Little Mermaid's continuing saga 5 years later.

I loved this book!  Omgosh, it is so well written and truly captures the entire spirit of the Disney version of the Little Mermaid Story complete with Ariel, Flounder, Sebastian, King Triton and the whole cast.   The story picks up 5 years later -Ariel is Queen of the Ocean because her father is presumed dead, the Prince is still under the sea witch's spell and he is married to the sea witch who is still in the guise of Vanessa, now Princess Vanessa still singing and speaking with Ariel's mellifluous voice.   Princess Vanessa has delegated Prince Eric to realm Bard as poet, maker of plays, and music while she runs the country into the ground bringing chaos and war to the land.  She gets such a kick out of mortals they are so easily lead and she leads them to mass destruction while she sits back and laughs.   This is a wonderful sequel to the story and catches us up on every character from the original.   This book is Book 5 in the A  Twisted Tale series.   I am hooked and will be checking out the rest of the books in the series (12 total counting this one).   I recommend this one to young and old and especially young at heart.   Loved it.

I Used To Be Famous

 

Shirley J.                 Juvenile Literature                  Giving your spot to the new baby

I Used To Be Famous by Becky Cattie and Tara Lebbue    32 pages

THis book is so cute and is all about the thing we all know about, when you have been the center of attention and the apple of everyone's eye until all of a sudden somebody younger and cuter and newer comes along bumps you off the throne and steals your place!   I'm talking younger family members!  It is a very relatable, adorable telling of how one has to deal with life's first lesson in You Are Not All That.   The little girl telling the story is a starlet in the making complete with family and friends paparazzi constantly taking photos of all the cute cool things she is doing until her fan base falls away and starts following the new kid in town, her baby sibling.    She finally realizes the baby really is sweet and loveable and she finally decides to show the new kids the ropes on how to become star material.   I loved this story.   I recommend it to all kids, parents and readers who love children's literature.   Great book.

Here Comes the Sun

 Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn 349 pages

Dennis-Benn tells a story from the points of view of three women from the same family.  Delores, Margot, and Thandi live in a shack in the poor part of town in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  Delores sells trinkets to cruise ship tourists in the market.  Margot works at a hotel and has a side hustle taking care of the men who are staying there.  Thandi goes to private school.  Both Margot and Delores and counting on Thandi to pass her exams so that she can go to college to become a doctor and take care of them.  Thandi has other ideas.  She wants to be an artist.

When Margot's boss starts building a new hotel, she has dreams of promotion and buying a house to live in instead of their lowly shack.  She acts in a ruthless manner losing almost everything she has ever wanted in her quest, including her childhood love.

Trigger warning: several women are raped in the story and some of the sex scenes are a bit racy.

This was a book I read for a neighborhood book discussion group.  We are reading books set in other countries since it is unlikely we will vacation out of the US anytime soon.  I was hoping for a little lighter read than this was since it was set in Jamaica.  It was valuable for me to check my privilege and learn about people who live in poverty in vacation spots that are "unseen".  Only 3 out of 5 for me.

The Photographer

The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter 304 pages

For fans of Tarryn Fisher’s ‘The Wrong Family.”

Delta Dawn is the children’s photographer to New York City’s elite. She specializes in children’s birthday parties. She is magic behind the camera, thanks in part to a boatload of editing software. She can make the most disastrous party look like fun was had by all. For the most part, she is just a fly on the wall, unseen and unnoticed.

Then Delta is hired by Amelia and Fritz Straub to shoot eleven-year-old Natalie’s party. It’s there that she realizes this is the perfect family and longs to be noticed, to play an important role in their lives.

She develops a plan that will integrate her into their lives and becomes indispensable to the Straub’s. The plan begins with Delta taking an interest in the neglected little girl. She begins babysitting on Friday nights when Amelia and Fritz have to go out. The Straub’s are famous architects who have clients around the world. Delta tries to seem like a friend who can help. She runs errands for Amelia; talks with Fritz about a myriad of subjects.

When Delta isn’t at the Straub family home, she is in her apartment, manipulating photos to include herself. The pictures are of her and Fritz…in bed and naked; of her and Amelia…laughing and drinking wine, standing extremely close together…photos of her and Natalie having fun.

Delta learns Amelia deepest desire, and how that desire has been thwarted over the years. But Delta knows how to help make her dream come true.

Carter, a first-time novelist, has created a super-duper creepy thriller that will have readers looking twice at anyone who comes into their homes. I read it in one day! There was only one problem in this pageturner. There is no explanation as to why Delta needs this family so much. What triggered this obsessive need to fit in with the Straub’s. Not that it impedes the creep factor, but as I read the last page, I wondered what was Delta’s motive?

I was going to give “The Photographer” 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. However, due to the lack of motive, “The Photographer” received 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Love, Jack

Love, Jack by Gunilla Von Post 158 pages

I’m just old enough to remember that “’brief, shining moment’ before Camelot, before an assassin's bullets shattered the hopes of a nation.”  Yeah, I’ve read another book about JFK.

This one is a memoir published in 1997. The author, a Swedish aristocrat, waited until after Jackie’s death to share her romance with a handsome, wealthy young Senator from Massachusetts. She was trying to be sensitive to the president’s memory.

In 1953, Jack Kennedy was trying to evade an Italian countess who was hell bent on catching him when he accidentally met Gunilla Von Post on the Rivera. It was love at first sight. But it was a love that was not meant to be…or in better words, a love that was not allowed to blossom. 

Jack hoped to get the nod as vice president in the upcoming election, knew that a bid for the U. S. Presidency was in his future, was engaged to marry Jacqueline Bouvier, and was under the complete control of his father, Joe Kennedy, Sr. Although Jack tried to get Joe, Sr. to let him back out of his engagement, and even his marriage, Joe would have none of it.  If he left Jackie, his change to become the most powerful man in the world was at jeopardy, and he would probably lose. 

Between 1953 and 1959, Jack and Gunilla carried on a love affair. But I’m not sure that I would call it a love affair. They seldom saw each other and rarely spoke. Gunilla had letters that proved his desire and need for her, but I have to wonder. Knowing what a womanizer Jack turned out to be, after reading this book, I’m convinced that, while Jack might have been smitten with Gunilla, he was truly only interested in the chase. But then, maybe I’m wrong. The world will never know. 

“Love, Jack” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Much Ado About You

 Much Ado About You by Samantha Young  372 pages

Summary from Goodreads: The cozy comforts of an English village bookstore open up a world of new possibilities for Evie Starling in this charming new romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young.

At thirty-three-years old Evangeline Starling's life in Chicago is missing that special something. And when she's passed over for promotion at work, Evie realizes she needs to make a change. Some time away to regain perspective might be just the thing. In a burst of impulsivity, she plans a holiday in a quaint English village. The holiday package comes with a temporary position at Much Ado About Books, the bookstore located beneath her rental apartment. There's no better dream vacation for the bookish Evie, a life-long Shakespeare lover.

Not only is Evie swept up in running the delightful store as soon as she arrives, she's drawn into the lives, loves and drama of the friendly villagers. Including Roane Robson, the charismatic and sexy farmer who tempts Evie every day with his friendly flirtations. Evie is determined to keep him at bay because a holiday romance can only end in heartbreak, right? But Evie can't deny their connection and longs to trust in her handsome farmer that their whirlwind romance could turn in to the forever kind of love.

And here's what I thought:  I can suspend my disbelief for plenty of science fiction and fantasy books, no problem. I can believe in fairies and elves, I can believe in magic, I can believe in space battles. But I have a very difficult time suspending my disbelief when it comes to romance.

This book has a fun premise and I liked the main character -- but I found all of this way too difficult to believe. After a while, it wore on me enough to make the book irritating. I finished it because I wanted to know what happened at the end, even though I could kind of predict it. Which might not bother some readers, but I won't be re-reading this one any time soon.

However, this light romance has a very fun premise and for a "beach read" holds a lot of appeal. 

The Girls Are All So Nice Here

 The Girls Are All So Nice Here by  Laurie Elizabeth Flynn 308 pages

Summary from Goodreads: A lot has changed in years since Ambrosia Wellington graduated from college, and she’s worked hard to create a new life for herself. But then an invitation to her ten-year reunion arrives in the mail, along with an anonymous note that reads, “We need to talk about what we did that night.”

It seems that the secrets of Ambrosia’s past—and the people she thought she’d left there—aren’t as buried as she believed. Amb can’t stop fixating on what she did or who she did it with: larger-than-life Sloane “Sully” Sullivan, Amb’s former best friend, who could make anyone do anything.

At the reunion, Amb and Sully receive increasingly menacing messages, and it becomes clear that they’re being pursued by someone who wants more than just the truth of what happened that first semester. This person wants revenge for what they did and the damage they caused—the extent of which Amb is only now fully understanding. And it was all because of the game they played to get a boy who belonged to someone else and the girl who paid the price.

Alternating between the reunion and Amb’s freshman year, The Girls Are All So Nice Here is a “chilling and twisty thriller” (Book Riot) about the brutal lengths girls can go to get what they think they’re owed, and what happens when the games we play in college become matters of life and death. 

And here's what I thought: I found Ambrosia to be annoying. I just want to get that out there right away. However, as annoying as I found her, I wanted to know what was going to happen to her. Maybe something really mean, which sounded like it would serve her right.  Yes, I'm awful - but I don't need to like a character to find them interesting enough to read a story.  Actually, I didn't like Ambrosia's friend Sully, either. And reading about their freshman year at college gave me flashbacks I didn't enjoy, either.  But I found the story interesting and because I was curious, kept reading to the end.

In a nutshell, this story is: Someone gets revenge on some mean girls. Finally. 

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake

 Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis J. Hall   435 pages

Summary from Goodreads: Following the recipe is the key to a successful bake. Rosaline Palmer has always lived by those rules—well, except for when she dropped out of college to raise her daughter, Amelie. Now, with a paycheck as useful as greaseproof paper and a house crumbling faster than biscuits in tea, she’s teetering on the edge of financial disaster. But where there’s a whisk there’s a way . . . and Rosaline has just landed a spot on the nation’s most beloved baking show.

Winning the prize money would give her daughter the life she deserves—and Rosaline is determined to stick to the instructions. However, more than collapsing trifles stand between Rosaline and sweet, sweet victory.  Suave, well-educated, and parent-approved Alain Pope knows all the right moves to sweep her off her feet, but it’s shy electrician Harry Dobson who makes Rosaline question her long-held beliefs—about herself, her family, and her desires.

Rosaline fears falling for Harry is a guaranteed recipe for disaster. Yet as the competition—and the ovens—heat up, Rosaline starts to realize the most delicious bakes come from the heart.

And here's what I thought:  This book has a bunch of elements I like: Baking contest, fun characters, and some surprise elements. I very much appreciated that there's more than meets the eye to Rosaline (spoiler: she is bisexual) and she's a great character -- someone I'd want to know in real life. I liked the baking elements, especially because I'm a fan of The Great British Baking Show. And while I don't usually read romance stories, I liked this one --- it's light, and the romance elements are there but they don't drive the entire story. And Rosaline has a good head on her shoulders, which I appreciated.

Midnight in Chernobyl

 

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham  538 pages

Summary from Goodreads: April 25, 1986, in Chernobyl, was a turning point in world history. The disaster not only changed the world’s perception of nuclear power and the science that spawned it, but also our understanding of the planet’s delicate ecology. With the images of the abandoned homes and playgrounds beyond the barbed wire of the 30-kilometer Exclusion Zone, the rusting graveyards of contaminated trucks and helicopters, the farmland lashed with black rain, the event fixed for all time the notion of radiation as an invisible killer.

Chernobyl was also a key event in the destruction of the Soviet Union, and, with it, the United States’ victory in the Cold War. For Moscow, it was a political and financial catastrophe as much as an environmental and scientific one. With a total cost of 18 billion rubles—at the time equivalent to $18 billion—Chernobyl bankrupted an already teetering economy and revealed to its population a state built upon a pillar of lies.

The full story of the events that started that night in the control room of Reactor No.4 of the V.I. Lenin Nuclear Power Plant has never been told—until now. Through two decades of reporting, new archival information, and firsthand interviews with witnesses, journalist Adam Higginbotham tells the full dramatic story, including Alexander Akimov and Anatoli Dyatlov, who represented the best and worst of Soviet life; denizens of a vanished world of secret policemen, internal passports, food lines, and heroic self-sacrifice for the Motherland. Midnight in Chernobyl, award-worthy nonfiction that reads like sci-fi, shows not only the final epic struggle of a dying empire but also the story of individual heroism and desperate, ingenious technical improvisation joining forces against a new kind of enemy. 

And here's what I thought: Maybe not an uplifting story, but definitely very interesting -- and scary. I remember when this accident happened and how the details really did not come out for a very, very long time. Which did not make it any less scary.

Understanding what the USSR was like at the time gives perspective here, and I liked that the author includes political details here, not just a step-by-step of what happened. The Soviet approach to everything really did impact what led up to the disaster and how it was handled, so it's important to give a full picture of that. 

This book is insightful and detailed, and includes the human element of the whole disaster, which really makes it clear just how horrifying the whole accident was. It's a scary book, but engrossing and interesting. 

Dark Horses

 Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic  344 pages

Summary from Goodreads: Fifteen-year-old equestrian prodigy Roan Montgomery has only ever known two worlds: inside the riding arena, and outside of it. Both, for as long as she can remember, have been ruled by her father, who demands strict obedience in all areas of her life. The warped power dynamic of coach and rider extends far beyond the stables, and Roan's relationship with her father has long been inappropriate. She has been able to compartmentalize that dark aspect of her life, ruthlessly focusing on her ambitions as a rider heading for the Olympics, just as her father had done. However, her developing relationship with Will Howard, a boy her own age, broadens the scope of her vision.

And here's what I thought:  I found this to be a dark, compulsive pageturner of a read and found it difficult to put down once I started. It's a bit of a trainwreck with the main character and it's impossible to look away. As you can see from the summary, Roan's relationship with her father has some big problems --- no spoiler alerts here. But be prepared to be disturbed. I found the characters compelling and the story interesting, even as there are plenty of disturbing elements here. 

White Oleander

 White Oleander by Janet Fitch  390 pages

Summary from Goodreads: Everywhere hailed as a novel of rare beauty and power, White Oleander tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet imprisoned for murder, and her daughter, Astrid, whose odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes--each its own universe, with its own laws, its own dangers, its own hard lessons to be learned--becomes a redeeming and surprising journey of self-discovery.

And here's what I thought: I re-read this book about once a year because I enjoy the story and a lot of the imagery. Both Astrid and her mother are interesting characters and the way they play off each other lends an extra element to the story of a daughter exploring the results of her own choices. When Astrid's mother is charged with murder and imprisoned, Astrid is left to navigate the foster care system. As expected, some places are better than others and through the years, Astrid has to struggle to hang on to who she really is.  Astrid is an artist and her mother is a poet, so there are plenty of both throughout the story. This is a book that is beautifully written, which is why I re-read it on a regular basis.

The Calculating Stars

 The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal  431 pages

Summary from Goodreads: On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.

Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too.

Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.

And here's what I thought: I picked up this book for a book group read and really enjoyed it. The premise is interesting and believable, and I liked that the story focused on a woman who is really good at math. Which may sound odd --- but really, it's kind of nice to have a focus on intelligence, rather than what she looks like. Or how bad-ass she is.  Because she is bad-ass --- but it's because she's really smart.

Kowal includes plenty of realistic details, so you could imagine this story really happening.  This is alternate history, but it's so well done that it could be a nonfiction memoir. Definitely looking forward to reading more in this series!

Takedown Twenty

 

Shirley J.             Adult Fiction                    Female Bounty Hunters, Comedy Adventures

Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich   307 pages

Why is there a giraffe moseying down the street?   Lula sees it first, then later Stephanie does.   THey begin to question whether it is a magical giraffe, because they are the only ones who have seen it and no one has reported a live giraffe just out strolling around.  Huh?  In this adventure, Morelli's Uncle Sonny is wreaking havoc, stealing, he's already a known killer and he also just happens to have missed his curt date so Stephanie and Lula are on a mission to apprehend him which is not as easy as it sounds even if he is an old guy.   He has lots of family watching over him especially Gramma Bella who is cursing  Stephanie with her super duper burn in hell evil ey this time.   Sonny is one of gramma Bella's favorite nephews afterall.   Stephanie finds herself being dropped off a bridge, she breaks a finger and she gets her nose broken in a freak accident with a gangbanger.   Steph decides it is time to find another career and tries her hand at being a butcher (through a hookup made by her mother- but you would always have great meat and at the very least a big discount when the family went to buy meat).

Lula names the giraffe, Kevin and starts leaving lettuce out for him.   A fun story from beginning to end.   I recommend this one to mature middleschoolers on up.

The Last Ballad

The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash   416 pgs

Shirley J.                          Adult Historical Fiction                       Mill Workers 1929,  unions

Ella May Wiggins was the Norma Rae of her generation.   Working in a cotton mill in North Carolina in 1929, there were no rules for pay, for hours, nor anything really concerning workers who basically had no rights on the job and no voice with management. .   The years after the Great Depression were especially difficult and bosses were allowed to treat their employees however they liked.  They could pay them little or unequal pay and fire people without notice on a whim.   this is a fictionalized version of what actually happened and how a  mother of four, doing her best to scrape by became the surprise voice of the union revolution beginning across the south at the time.   A very fine story told with candor and appreciation to detail.   A good read to gain a deeper understanding of the times and the worker's plight.    I recommend this book to adults who will appreciate the deeply emotional situations the characters find themselves in

The Merry Spinster

Shirley J.                Adult Fiction            New Spins on Old Tales with Fractured Endings    190 pgs

The Merry Spinster: Tales of Every Day Horrors by Mallory Ortberg

Oh my dears, these are not the tales as Disney would have told them, all these familiar classics have a little bite and venom to them.   From the little princess who goes 9ut in the woods to find her 6 brothers missing for many years with lots of story in that time to how when she is supposed to be living her happily ever after, her prince is not quite so charming and her enchanted brothers save her one day by pulling out a giant sized can of Whupass on the blaggart and his kingdome.   I especially liked the Merry spinster version of the Velveteen Rabbit when like Pinocchio once the rabbit's boy believes him to be real he becomes real and life blossoms from tragedy.    There are optional ending takes on Beauty and the Beast,  the Goose Girl, new twists on true love, ie. take the ring and vanish.  THe take on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is more like going down the rabbit hole with Alice.turning into a when good friends go bad situation and they try to convince him he has lost his mind- Bad Friends!  Bad Friends!   A few different Mermaid stories, one with marriage, children, poison and kidnapping, there is a transgender tale of the Frog and the Princes that  has so many read between the lines moments and inuendos it almost rates a R rating and the Flounder and the Fisherman becomes a tale of no matter you just can't please some folks and end up sticking it to yourself by trying.   Very interesting spins on old tomes.   I think I would recommend this one to adults who have already been through a few jaded times in their lives and will appreciate where these stories are coming from.   All in all, I have to say I did like this book and the not entirely happy endings it delivers. 

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Winter's Bone

Shirley J.           Adult Fiction              Children of Meth dealers growing up in poverty in the Ozarks

Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell    193 pages

Life is tough enough on kids and families when you are poor but add to the mix, Daddy is cooking Meth instead of moonshine in the Ozark hills.    The mother of the family is not quite "right," herself ,  which leaves the oldest daughter Rees to take care of her two younger brothers.    Folks in the community are not keen on the family as they have a long history of being trouble makers and low lifes.   Unfortunately the stigma of the father is visited on the entire bunch and neighbors and law enforcement alike have little to do with them and never offer a kind word or help even to the youngest innocents reaping the sin of their father.    When Daddy is missing and might miss his upcoming court court date on drug charges no one in the house thinks much of it.   It is a pretty standard pattern for him, he often disappears for spells then turns up like nothing happened.   This time the house was put up for his bail and the family will be turned out to fend for themselves in the field if he doesn't appear.   Their mother is a lost cause in trying to get him back so Rees takes it on her own shoulders to try to locate him and get him to appear in court.   She does her best sleuthing trying to figure out where he might be hiding or if he wronged somebody else and could be laying in a creek somewhere.   Much happens and the language is written like the characters speak. with the language, cadence and colloquialisms  familiar to the speech of folks living in the Ozarks or Appalachia.   A good story.   I would recommend this one to adults.

Notorious Nineteen

Shirley J.                Adult Fiction                 Feale Bounty Hunters, Little People, Grave Digging

Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich    356 pages

Stephanie Plum is at it again and up to her elbows in corpses. sometimes because she is thrown into an open grave that is already occupied.    What is going on?  One of the perps Stephanie and Lula are tracking has stolen a Tiki statue from Hawaii and become abnormally attached to it (O.K. he thinks it is speaking to him)  then when it ends up riding around with Lula and Stephanie, they too, start receiving messages from "Tiki" and begin loading up on carbs like there is no tomorrow.   and Stephanie is trying not to gain weight because Ranger needs her to work security at a wedding which she somehow gets roped into being the Maid of Honor and forced to wear this pink monstrosity of a dress with a giant bow on her butt and another one for her hair which is another story all in itself.   More vehicles are blown up,  our favorite little person is back and getting stuffed thrugh a mail drop slot to help her gain access to a suspect  warehouse.   So much going on and Grandma Mazur proves her sleuthing chops.  Sliced with a knife, poisoned and set on fire - our girl is having way more than a bad hair day.     Excellent story as always.   I recommend this one to MiddleMiddle Schoolers on up. 

The Days of Anna Madrigal

Shirley J.          Adult Fiction               A Transgender Life,   Burning Man, Regrets and Reparations 

The Days of Anna Madrigal by Armistead Maupin (Book 9 in the Tales of the City series)  270 pages

An enjoyable story of a transgender woman named Anna Madrigal who lives in San Francisco and is ninety-two.   It is very much a coming of age story, a coming of sexual orientation story and a last hurrah at Burning Man for wanton pagan debauchery and fun.    Anna confides her life story how she became who she is, the regrets she bears and the best way she knows how to honor what has gone before and since.   Fun details of burning man, bittersweet memories of several lives touched  and proof that rough beginnings don't hold us back, they just teach us how to proceed.   Excellent story,    I recommend this one for mature teens on up

Cavewomen Don't Get Fat

Shirley J.               Adult Non-Fiction                    Low Carbohydrates/High Protein Diet Info.

Cavewomen Don't Get Fat: The Paleo Chic Diet for Rapid Results by Esther Blum   304 pages

I have heard a lot about the Paleo diet and this book explains it from the get-go and more importantly goes over all of the benefits women can gleen from it.    While I was delighted to find it is basically the low carb/high protein diet that I am extremely familiar with Esther Blum also goes into several herbal and vitamin additions that aid in detoxifying the female body, balancing estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, yeah, ladies, we have a little of that, too, and how you can feel better, look better and do your body better healthwise by eating a diet heavy in protein like our cavelady ancestors ate and giving a nod to that hunter gatherer lifestyle gals back then had, she tells you how foraging the produce aisles at the grocery store/health food store can prove amazing on getting us lean in a short time with miniimal effort on our parts.   She recommends exercise but not nedesssarily hard core hit the gym 6 hours a day 7 days a week stuff.  no, do some form of exercise 20 to 30 minutes 3x a week while staying away from the processed food stuffs and revisiting our love of meat or other forms of protein, eating good for you fats and treating yourself to sweets of the fruit variety or natural think a bit of honey, after the first week will please that sweet tooth.  Taking a walk counts as big-time exercise so don't worry about   anything strenuous unless you want to go that route.   It is a good book with lots of good information in it and for a change recipes that not only taste good but aremade from stuff normal people buy not celebrity chefs.    I recommend this book to anyone yung r old who would like to drop pounds and learn how to love and live the life that will keep them off.

Hanging God

The Hanging God by James Matthew Wilson, 81 pages

In 2017, James Matthew Wilson released The Vision of the Soul, a magnificent argument for imagination and beauty as portals to truth.  It is difficult to read this collection of poetry, published a year later, outside of the light or shadow of the earlier work.

     It pleases, rather,

     In wakefulness

     To praise and bless

     What grows and gives

     To thoughtless matter

     Its purposes.

In The Hanging God he confirms that he is an artist rather than an ideologue.  The poems collected here, on subjects ranging from friends' weddings to vicious lovers to the Way of the Cross, have the freedom to be beautiful without being forced to prove some abstract point.

     For our ideas are fading things,

     Wants change with what the weather brings,

          But this stamped weight of being remains.

Of course, in so doing, he makes his case, and offers considerable pleasure besides.

     Chastening us that though our time seems dire,

     Much has endured through beating rains and fire,

     And good can still be made in this dark season.

Hamnet

 Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague by Maggie O'Farrell, 372 pages

An award-winning book that had been on my radar for a little while, I was glad to get the chance to read this! Although he is never specifically named, instead being referred to as "the Latin tutor" or "Hamnet's father", etc., this book is a fictionalized story of William Shakespeare and his family. Names are important in this book: Hamnet's mother, Agnes, tells "the Latin tutor" her name is Anne at their first meeting, and the pronunciation of her name is often mentioned throughout the book. Similarly, the book begins with the explanation that during the time period that this book was set, the names Hamlet and Hamnet were interchangeable. So while the reader is always aware that this is a story about William Shakespeare's family, by never naming him, and keeping him out of much of the action (he is in London at this point, gaining fame as an actor and playwright), the reader becomes much more invested in the story of Hamnet and his twin sister Judith, as well as the story of Agnes and her courtship with "the Latin tutor".

As the subtitle states, this is a novel of the plague and the author tells us in advance who in the family will be affected. But the author is excellent at drawing the reader into the story of the family as a whole, and specifically Hamnet and his mother, Agnes. In addition, we learn much about how families lived and interacted during this time, and we get a glimpse of how Shakespeare's family might have functioned, and how his relationship with his wife, in-laws, and his own family might have shaped him. History knows very little about Shakespeare's wife and I found her character in this story to be richly imagined and fascinating. I very much enjoyed this book and have been thinking about it quite a bit since reading it.

The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction

 Shirley J.       Adult Non-Fiction         How Reading Aloud can Improve the Quality of LIfe

The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction

 by Meghan Cox Gurdon    278 pages

The author discusses how she began reading to her children andcontinued into their early teens.   It became a family time with age appropriate books and there was lively discussions of the stories, some acting out of the story especially by her son, Paris who particularly loved treasure Islad and playing the part of the Pirates.    Her children preferred her using different voices and accents to portray multiple characters in the stories.   Through observation she noted this down time, just an hour a night relaxed the children and this became a part of their winding down process before bedtime.   She discussed it with friends and colleagues and when they tried it with their children  all were astonished at how gettig away from their tablets ipads, and phones to spen quality time with one another improved their children's vocabularies, helped them to be more socialized at school and in life.   They developed a comfort level with speaking to and also in front of others when she introduced allowing the children to read aloud too.   Her friends found that while babies would rampage during the pre-verbalizing stage, by the time they were two they had settled down and were picking their own stories to be read instead of chewing on the books.   She has also found that reading to Alzheier patients,  and the elderly in general is also a pacifying exercise enjoyable to all involved.  She found you never become too old to appreciate the sound of someone reading to yu.   She had been hesitant thinking older people wuld not go for it, but, to her delight found out they did enjoy it.   She experimented further while volunteering at an animal shelter finding that the animals that came in fearful and hyper would calm down when she sat down in front of their cages or on one to one times listening to her read to them soothed them, they would often come closer when they had at first stayed as far back in their cages as possible.   There have beren studies done proving that children who are read to perform better academically.   While realizing it is often not doable for families who work and may not have the time to indulge in an hour of reading but she suggests even a short book, or newspaper article or even reading the ingredients off of a cereal bos, cake mix, etc. as one woman told her that during the Second World War in England when there was little time and little access to storybooks, she would read the backs of food packages to her son to keep the idea of storytime going.   She said his favorite was reading the back of an ovaltine box.    So many delightful ways the spoken word helps improve the quality of life for every one man and beast.regardless of age.   I love audiobooks myself and I'm 65.   I remember when my Mom would read newspaper articles to me after dinner while we still sat at the table talking.   When I was little she was an avid reader and set the example for me to read, too, bringing me Little Golden Books to read.  Good times.   I recommend this book to parents, teachers, and all who love the written and spoken word.  

The Bohemians

 The Bohemians by Jasmin Darznik 352 pages

Dorothea Lange. I wonder how many young people recognize her name or recognize the most famous photograph, “Migrant Mother” taken in 1936 during the Great Depression. Probably not that many in the thirty and younger crowd. I have to admit, while I know the name and the photograph, I knew little about the woman behind the camera. Author Daznik has written a compelling biographical fiction novel that allows readers to get to know Dorothea during her coming-of age as an artist in the 1920s.

Dorothea left her native Hoboken, New Jersey, when she as twenty-three years old for San Francisco. She arrived in a town, only twelve years from the 1906 earthquake, that celebrated and misfits.

One of the first things I learned about Dorothea was that, when she was seven years old, she suffered from polio which left her with a stunted leg and a noticeable limp. She loved photography because she felt that she could hide behind a camera; that no one would notice her.

When she first arrived, she was pickpocketed of all the money, some two hundred dollars, she had in the world. In a city where she knew no one, she was terrified. She spent her first night there on the street. One of the first people she was met was, in the book, called Caroline Lee. In reality, Caroline is referred to as “Ah-yee” or the “Chinese Mission Girl” in the historical data.

The two became quite close. Carolina introduced her to the Monkey Block, where all the artists lived. It once occupied the site of the Transamerica Building. Its pyramid-shaped is one of the city’s most iconic buildings. Back then, Monkey Block was “a four-story artists’ colony that housed some eight hundred writers, performers, and artists…and it was the heart of San Francisco’s bohemian area.” According to the Author’s Notes, that only Chinatown still stands---and looks much like it did in the 1920s.

“’The Bohemians’ is about a lost time and hidden history.” It is a story that resonates in today’s world---anti-immigration sentiments, corrupt politics, war, a world pandemic and racism.

I almost put this novel on my DNF list, but I kept seeing it on all the book sites. Granted I didn’t really care for the first 80 pages, but if you decide to read this novel, hang in there until then. Something grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. “The Bohemians” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Broken Silence: Conversations with 23 Silent Film Stars

Broken Silence: Conversations with 23 Silent Film Stars by Michael G. Ankerich 331 pages

When I think of silent movie stars, there are certain figures who leap to mind: Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Valentino, Lillian Gish, Tom Mix, Keystone Cops, Theda Bara. In addition there are countless other who started in the silent but really made a name for themselves in the talkies: Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Laurel & Hardy, Gary Cooper, to name only a few.

In his book, “Broken Silence: Conversations with 23 Silent Film Stars,” author Ankerich chose to highlight the ones who may have been household names decades ago, but who have sadly faded from memory. With the exception of one that is: Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. I’m expected more of the remembered names and less of those who have receded into the twilight.

Ankerich conducted these interviews from 1987 to 1991. He had three methods of interviewing these now-elderly individuals: by mail, by phone or in person. He started with Lina Basquette and ended with Dorothy Janis. Remember them? Me either.

I liked the Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. chapter a lot. Maybe it’s because I know a little more about him, his career and his life. Other than that chapter, I was disappointed in this book. I felt like all the mini-bios were just a collection of facts, some more engaging than others, but most kept me at arm’s length. I never felt pulled into their stories; they didn’t touch me at all.

“Broken Silence: Conversations with 23 Silent Film Stars” receives 2 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Every Breath You Take

 Shirley J.                 Adult Fiction            Reality T.V. Show,  Cold Case Files

Every Breath You Take by Mary Higgins Clark (Under Suspicion Series)   287 pages

Laurie Moran is the host of a reality based t.v. show, "Under Suspicion,' which delves into unsolved criminal cold cases to try and solve them through interviews with the witnesses and suspects from the time of the event and by researching all the clues.   Her new co-host Ryan Nichols is the nephew of one of Laurie's boss' friends and landed the job and seems like he is trying to take over the show.   When Ryan sets up an interview with his personal trainer, Ivan Gray, who was under suspicion of murdering his much older wealthy girlfriend 3 years ago, Laurie is ready to hit the roof until she looks deeper into the details of the case.  Wealthy widow, Trustee on the Board of the Met who gives money and expensive presents to her lover and when her grown children and nephew give her grief about his being a golddigger, she decides to cut them all out of her will and donate her vast fortune to charity leaving them only their father's company to run or run in the ground as their inheritance and while her husband suggested leaving her nephew a quarter million s his inheritance, she cuts him down to $50,000 due to his gambling addiction .  Word gets back to her kids and nephew of her plans and the next thing she is tossed off the roof of the Met during a lavish fund-raiser.  The suspect pool has increased significantly.  While the siblings and cousin are all pointing the finger at the boyfriend are their hands completely clean?  Good book, excellent murder mystery.  I will be reading all 7 books in this series.   I recommend this one to highschoolers on up and expecially for murder mystery fans. 

You Don't Own Me

 Shirley J.                  Adult Fiction                     Reality Cold Case File T.V. show   

You Don't Own Me by  Mary Higgins Clark  271 pages

Robert and Cynthia Bell contact Laurie Moran to reconsider re-opening  their son's murder case.  They believe their daughter-in-law murdered him though it was never  proven.   Their son was an upstanding member of the community, a doctor no less, well respected and had no enemies.  He was unhappy with his wife and wanted to divorce her but was afraid he might lose custody of their two children.   After his death, his parents wanted the mother found guilty and they want to take the two kids to raise saying their daughter-in-law is unfit, she drinks, she takes drugs and witnesses have said she was in the company of a rough looking guy and the nanny said she would keep large amounts of money.in drawers around her room then all of a sudden the money would be gone but the nanny didn't see any purchases to show for it.   So many accusers but no guilty conviction.   Can Laurie prove her innocence or guilt on "Under Suspciion," or will new evidence come to light?   Good story, good plot line all the way to the end.   I would recommend this to  highschoolers on up.                 

TED Talks: the Official TED Guide to Public Speaking

 Shirley J.                         Adult Non-Fiction                      Public Speaking,  TED Talks

TED Talks: the Official TED Guide to Public Speaking by Chris Anderson   269 pages

The complete handbook for how to give a TED Talk, or really how to best present yourself while maintaining calm and keeping your audience interested from the time you walk out on the stage to when you wrap up and leave the stage.   Tried and true methods on what to do and what not to do when giving a speech, a presentation an informal talk.   The tips here are invaluable.  From talk about what you are passionate about and as if you are explaining it to your best friend.   What to do if your mind goes blank, you start to sweat and need a minute to find your place while standing in front of 10,000 people.   Chris Anderson shares tips on how to engage your audience and how not to begin your talk by boring them to death.   This is the best book on public speaking I have ever come across.   He cites many examples and gives names of some of the best speakers in the series and tells how to find their TED talks on YouTube.   So much good information here I recommend this to middle schoolers on up to senior citizens.  You can't start too early nor too late in learning how to speak comfortably in front of an audience.  Speakers, actors, politicians, teachers, preachers, students, everybody will benefit from reading this book.   I can't recommend it enough.   This is another of those books we all ought to be handed as guidebooks to life.  Excellent!

STL Scavenger

 Shirley J                         Adult Non-Fiction                  Scavenger Hunt/St. Louis

STL Scavenger: The Ultimate Search for St. Louis' Hidden Treasures by Dea Hoover  184 pages

All 366 clues in this book are written in rhyme they take you through 17 neighborhoods in St. Louis (Soulard, Beov, the Hill, Downtown, Forest Park, etc.)and to some of its surrounding cities, Ferguson, Edwardsville, St. Charles sharing clues to uniques sites in all of the areas covered to delight and surprise readers.   The bonus here is that the book is actually a real scavenger hunt and anyone solving all 366 of the clues can submit their findings to:  www.stlscavenger.com between May 1 and December 1, 2021.   All of the correct submissions will be put in a hat and a name will be drawn for the 1st prize - $500   2nd prize is a goodie bag from STL Made full of local fun stuff and 3rd prize will also be StL memorabilia.  So making a present of this book to someone is truly the gift that keeps on giving whether you win the prize or not you get the fun of  learning more about the area and seeing things you might never have known existed.   Kudos to Dea who is both a local tour guide, a state of Missouri tour guide and an international tour guide owning her own businesses scheduling each.  Kudos to Dea Hoover for making good use of her pandemic downtime! 

Handmade Wedding

 Shirley J                Adult Non-Fiction                               Wedding Crafts

Handmade Wedding: 35 Handcrafted Projects To Make Your Special Day Unique  by  CICO Books  260 pages

Tissue paper, craft knife, hot glue gun, you are in business!   These are some of the most easiest crafts that end up looking like yu put a ton of effort into them, but, the time and effort amount to a fun day in Art Class at school.   From paper brides to feathery butterflies to Huge Poms and Roses and hydrangea garlands to faerie light  flowers from coffee filters no less!  I love the bonbon hearts that look like these huge boxes of valentine candy to  tissue paper hearts hung from the ceiling so gorgeous this is the first one I'm going to make.   The stencil cutouts are so Pennsylvania Dutch looking, so intricate they look like a professional must have spent days or hurs on them, yet with the guides and instructions you will find her they are no more difficult to create than the valentine hearts we all cut out in gradeschool and covered our school windows with.  Amazing!   the invitations, the memory book, the favors for folks to take home with them fill decorated bags or create elaborate looking crackers lie you see at Christmas sometimes.  I really like the fun confetti heart shaped boxes and the confetti itself heart shaped, so cute.   There is such an easy to make china teacup and white rose table decoration in here that is just gorgeous and so simple to make.   I have always loved doing crafts and I especially like  things that are easy and turn out beautiful from simple supplies.   This is that book!   Table decorations and how to make your own invitations will save folks a bundle of cash when you want an amazing looking wedding but don't have a caviar budget.      Of course, I also use these ideas to create things for other occasions and the knowledge you glean here will bring joy in so many different venues once you learn how to make them.  What a blessing!   I recommend it to brides, to crafters to anyone wanting to make beautiful things without paying humongeous prices to do so.   Something that is fun to do will gain anyone putting the time in a lot of praise.  

When No One Is Watching

 Shirley J              Adult Fiction (Let's hope!)                      Gentrification,   Cover-Ups

                                                                                           Unethical Practices,  Racism

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole   352 pages

Let me start off by saying, OMgosh!!!!!   Let's hope this book is fiction!   Set in the Gifford Place neighborhood of Brooklyn, the story starts out with a bunch of Yuppies with attitude coming in on a tour scoping out the predominantly black neighborhood with some ethnic businesses.  Sydney, who lives in Gifford Pace joins the tour to see what is up.   Funny, the tour guide talks about the history of the white settlers to the area way back when, but, fails to mention the indigenous people, the Native Americans who were living there that the white settlers drove out.   No mention was made of Weeksville either which was a settlement of Free Blacks living there during the era being discussed on the tour.   Sydney kept bringing up significant histories of Black Americans who lived in the area, who owned various homes the tourguide was pointing out the architecture of but never mentioning any of the minority inhabitants.    Not long after the tour, young up and coming white couples began moving in the neighborhood.   Most chose not to get to know the people living in the neighborhood.  Verentech, a mysterious corporation has gone against public outcries and intend to put a methodone clinic in the neighborhood which the current residents are against but the Yuppies are for due to the new jobs that will come.   Funny, the company wants to buy out the neighborhood for expansion but the local residents aren't for it, yet, all of a sudden some people seem to be selling their property to the corporation.    Weird happenings are going on around the old abandoned some say haunted hospital.   There are rumors of mole people!    What the heck is going on?      Good book.    A tale of gentrification  gone hallucinogenic.    I would recommend this book to adults.   

Wicked Business

 Shirley J.             Adult Fiction                       Magical people, cookbooks, demons

Wicked Business (Book 2 of the Lizzie & Diesel series) by Janet Evanovich    299 pages

O.K., I love Janet Evanovich's writing. I'm just making an observation, I think Lizzie Tucker is Stephanie Plum's magic alter ego and I love them both.  Both series are fun with great characters and storylines and Diesel slips easily from the Lizzie & Diesel series to the Stephanie Plum series where he becomes a third person of interest in Stepanie's love life, too.   (What would Lizzie say?  Heck of a cat fight that one!)   In this, book 2, of the Lizzie and Diesel series,  Lizzie comes up with an idea for a cookbook and plies the publisher with her cupcakes to sweeten the deal.   He is in love with her cupcakes, her cookbook, not so much.   But, then, he does believe himself to be the reincarnation of one of the seven princes of Hell, the demon, Mammon to which he plans to ascend.  Wolf is still lurking around and some people are turning up with handprints burtned into their flesh like the one he put on Lizzie.  Hmmm, his signature move or is this a thing with some unmentionables?  Lizzie meets a mortician who might be doable except that Diesel is front and center.  What is up with the sonnet thing and its connection to the Luxuria Stone (the stone of Lust in keeping with the 7 deadly sins theme).   Lizzie's one-eyed cat, Cat 7143 and Carl the monkey are back, as is Hatchett and Glo, Clara and Dazzle's bakery.  Glo puts a bloating spell on Hatchett and gives a customer her order for free to hurry her out the door before the farts soak into her cupcakes!    This book made me laugh till I had tears in my eyes.  It's a riot!  I recommend this one to mature middle schoolers on up.   Diesel introduces everyone to the Sandman and who is Diedre Early?   Loved this story.