Gather the Daughters

Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed.   352 pages.

Years ago, just before the country was incinerated into a wasteland, ten men and their families started an island colony off the coast.  Building a radical society of ancestor worship and the strict rationing of knowledge, they also instilled a controlled breeding process. Only the Wanderers, chosen male descendants of the original ten men, are allowed to cross into the wastelands and scavenge among the still smoldering fires.

Or is this all a story, told to keep the daughters of these men as wives-in-training, going from adolescence right into matrimony.  These girls have children when they are children and when they are no longer useful to the society, they drink a final draught and die.

In the summer, though, the children (boys and girls) run wild, fighting over food and shelter, free of their fathers' hands and their mothers' strict rules. A shadow of these summers is the knowledge that as each girl starts menstruation, she faces her Summer of Fruition and immediate marriage and pregnancy.  Not all girls feel this is a good thing, including Janey Solomon, who has been starving herself to stave off her menstrual cycle. When little Caitlin Jacobs sees something horrifying right at the end of one summer, she has to share it with the others, driving Janey to bring all the girls together to unravel the mystery of what Caitlin saw and to start an uprising against the island's traditions.

This is a dark story, where some things are hinted out and others are plain stated, which makes for a compelling read. I found I couldn't put this book down (which means sneaking in a few pages here and there and then just all-out reading one afternoon).  I'd say that this echoes some of The Handmaid's Tale, where a woman's worth is all about her ability to bear children, but this book takes that idea and runs with it into a pretty shadowy and nasty place.  Really a good book and one that's been sticking in my head since I finished it.

The first 10 books in The Hallows Series by Kim Harrison

Dead Witch Walking, The Good, The Bad and The Undead, Every Which way but Dead, Fistful of Charms, For A Few Demons More, Outlaw Demon Wails, White Witch Black Charm, Black Magic Sanction, Pale Demon, and Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison, 4722 pages in 10 books.


The Hallows follow the detective/bounty hunter work of Rachel Morgan, a witch, as she and her partners Jenks (pixie) and Ivy (vampire) tackle both human and supernatural threats.

Strangely enough I actually found The Hallows series through its graphic novel adaptation of Dead Witch Walking. I was intrigued enough by that graphic novel what I went looking for more, and despite there not being more graphic novels, I learned that this series exists.

There are a lot of interesting subplots that really add to The Hallows depth and make it great. There is the fact that Jenks is already old for a pixie, and how much longer he might have. There is the fact that Ivy wants to drink Rachel's blood, but won't without her "permission". There is conspiracy to have Rachel killed. And then there is Trent, a multimillionaire that cannot help but wiggle his fingers in everybody's pies. 

All of this makes this series good. Like Dresden Files good. I would recommend this series to anyone who likes the somewhat gritty urban fantasy.

Instrumental

Instrumental:A Memoir of Madness, Medication and Music by James Rhodes     304 pages

This memoir is unapologetic, candid, outspoken, bold, somewhat harrowing and at times, a little funny.  It's less about his life than it is about the therapeutic powers of music and how his passion for music has been his lifeline (and saved his life).  Each chapter begins with him writing about a particular piece of music and included at the beginning is a link to a site where you can hear all of these pieces.  I liked that bit, because you can read the chapter, then go back and listen to that particular piece.

Admittedly, I found parts of this book difficult to read, which is expected because Rhodes has lived through some pretty horrendous abuse.  I also didn't find him likeable. Interesting enough to read this memoir, yes, but I wouldn't want to have him for dinner, and I definitely think his intensity about classical music would wear me out.  And that's coming from someone who has studied classical piano.  However, I can appreciate his writing about music, and how it can be transformative and life-changing.

The Lost Continent

The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson              Audio Book:  2 hours, 20 minutes     Hardback:  314 Pages              

Bill Bryson is a gifted author.    I like his writing a lot, however, having said that, I also have to say, the man gets pretty catty in this one.    He is as cynical about America and extremely haughty about his belief that the English culture is so much better and so much smarter as was Charles Dickens on his tour of America in 1842.     Bryon grew up in Des Moines, Iowa,  and while there are funny moments in this story of his road trip through (mostly) rural America, he spits venom with such complete disdain, I can’t imagine why he hasn’t left America for good and cut all ties.   Hmmm, must be the money he makes as a writer, here, huh?     I guess, his attitude is he thinks he is being comical and sometimes he is, but, most times he is just mean spirited and saying cruel things about everywhere and everyone American.  He doesn’t seem to think anyone is a brilliant as he is and his writings wreak of a narcissistic disorder in that he comes across self-absorbed, overly self-important doesn’t really seem to have any empathy for others and he seems to feel that his opinions are the only ones that are worthy – uh, Mr. Bryson, perhaps you missed that adage about, “Opinions being like sphincters (I cleaned that up) – everyone has one.”     He does value his English wife which is good, one should love their spouse and hold them dear, but, he always emphasizes she is English.    He has since moved to England and has dual citizenship, I cannot imagine openly  belittling one’s own country and culture so badly and praising another culture and country so much that they would have anything at all to do with the former.   He seems to use Americans and America for fodder for his often harsh remarks, especially in this book.    So, while funny at times, he is a bit abrasive in this book.    He does tend to hold that attitude in the previous book I read by him, too.   Poor lad, he should have come up in Oxford.  J

The Stranger in the Woods

The Stranger in the Woods: the Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel          Audio Book:  6 hours, 30 mins   Hardback: 224 pages        

Christopher Knight decided one day in 1986 at 20 years old he would disappear into the woods and never come out again and that is almost exactly what he did.    This is the true story of Knights 27 year long adventure in the forest living alone and surviving by pillaging surrounding vacation camps and living off the land seeing humans face to face only once during which time he asked the ice fishers to please not tell anyone they saw him.   They didn’t until years later when a sheriff wanting to catch the “Hermit in the Woods,” stayed in what appeared to be an abandoned cabin and arrested Knight when he came in to pillage.     In all fairness to Knight one of his teachers did come forward in his defense to say that he had taught his class how to survive out in the woods and told his class that if you were out in the woods and came upon a cabin or settlement that no one was at and you needed food to survive it was totally o.k. to break in and take what you needed to survive that people would understand.   This must have stuck with Knight as he would break in to cabins/homes in the woods on occaision after having staked them out to see that no one was there.    He would watch also during the Spring, Summer and Fall to see when people were around and when they weren’t.   Once he knew they were gone for the season if he needed to he would break in take only what he could carry back to his camp and never disturb anything of value or take anything new.   He did however, take batteries and an old black and white t.v., an out dated game system and food.    He would sometimes take clothing if his was worn out, but never did he take everything only what he specifically needed.   He did dress rather well as most of the items of clothing were good quality and often name brands though that did not mean anything to him – he was just trying to keep warm and clothed.   He only stayed inside a cabin one night the first winter he was out there sleeping in a warm bed but decided that was a bad idea and afraid of being caught he never did that again.   During the winter he only went out when there was ice on the ground as going out in snow left tracks.   He would go out in the snow to forage if a snowfall was coming down to cover his tracks.    Though people missed a thing or two here and there they chalked it up to losing it themselves, or their kids taking it.    I don’t want to give too much of the story away.    It is a good story of a man who just had enough of the outside world and all the people in it.   He just went away and disappeared and his story is interesting and well told, though I bawlk at the second part of the title.    Knight never thought of himself as a hermit and doesn’t fit the profile as he didn’t live entirely in solitude as he did keep up on the news on t.v. so he wasn’t totally out of touch and he wasn’t pristine and unsullied by the things of the world because he did partake of “things” from time to time and particularly loved candy – swiping a bag of Halloween candy he once came upon after breaking into a cabin.   He wasn’t out wearing sackcloth chanting a mantra nor eating grubs and vegetation he found or planted.   He wasn’t meditating on a higher power he was just away yet close enough.   The author, though well meaning did tend to badger the poor guy and stalk him a bit not to mention going around talking to anyone he pilfered, anyone who knew him from his early years and even his teachers.   His family would not divulge any information.   I get it that the author felt it a good story to tell and one he tried to tell fairly but the author also did encroach on the poor man’s privacy and did tell things that were told to him in confidence by the subject.   Many lines were crossed some were honest moral dilemmas but where does one respect another’s choices and honor the trust given them?    A number of ethical questions arise in this story.   It was well told by both the author and the subject, Christopher Knight.

Beauty’s Kingdom

Beauty’s Kingdom by A. N. Roquelaure, 356 pages

“Mega-bestselling author Anne Rice, writing as A. N. Roquelaure, returns to the mysterious kingdom of Queen Eleanor in this new chapter of her Sleeping Beauty series. When the great queen is reported dead, Beauty and Laurent return to the kingdom they left twenty years before. Beauty agrees to take the throne, but she insists that all erotic servitude be voluntary. Countless eager princes, princesses, lords, ladies, and commoners journey to Beauty's realm, where she and her husband usher in a new era of desire, longing, and ecstasy. Provocative and stirring, Rice's imaginative retelling of the Sleeping Beauty myth will be adored by her longtime fans and new readers of erotica just discovering the novels.  This book is intended for mature audiences.”  I had read the first three books in this series and enjoyed them.  I liked this one a little better than the third book but not quite as well as the first two books.  People who like erotic fiction will want to read this.

Heart of the Matter

The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene, 242 pages

The protagonist of The Heart of the Matter, Major Henry Scobie, is an Assistant Commissioner of Police in an unnamed British African colony during the Second World War.  Scobie is an honest, though not necessarily virtuous, man in a sink of corruption, but his apparent honesty only results in rumors of some secret, deeper, and more shameful corruption.  Meanwhile, Scobie is able to please neither his superiors, who pass him over for promotion, nor his wife Louise, who has been desperately unhappy since the death of their daughter, nor the clandestine agent sent to investigate possible espionage, whose personal dislike of Scobie leads him to target the major, nor the young widow with whom he begins an affair, but for whom he cannot leave his wife, nor his God, to whom he is above all else responsible.

In a novel as bleak and gloomy as the seemingly neverending rains, Greene painstakingly maps "the wide region of repentance and longing" as Scobie works out his damnation with fear and trembling.  If such a thing is really possible.

Sour Heart

Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang.   320 pages

This series of stories is centered around a community of immigrants from China and Taiwan who live at the poverty line in 1990s New York City.  They explore the ways that family and history can lift people up, but also weigh them down, and how the children of immigrants can struggle with fitting in to a new society, while still staying true to their families.

Call me sour, but I didn't love this book. The stories were interesting, but I never felt much of a connection to any of the characters. I enjoy how fiction allows me to learn about different people and cultures, and explore different kinds of lives. However, I just never quite connected to these stories, as as much as I found it an okay read, determined I'm just not the reader for this book.

The Benedict Option

The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post Christian Nation by Rod Dreher            Audio Book:  8 hours, 24 minutes     Hardback Book:  272 pages        

The Benedict Option is the author’s way of imploring the Christian Community to return to the orthodoxy of the church as Jesus originally set forth.    He talks about the ways the church has fallen away from the original precepts layed down and today’s modern church is nearly unrecognizable in its political correctness, tolerance and acceptance of many issues that were strongly preached against in the apostolic times.    He sees family values and the Christian faith at odds with the coming onslaught of anti-christian discrimination.   He discusses how Christians need to return to the original teachings and adhere strictly to the words of the Bible and not the modernized watered down version that church goers are fed today.     Standing on the righteousness of his deep faith he upholds the Ten Commandments as guidelines for living not the 10 suggestions.    Dreher does not mince his words, he does not apologize for clearly speaking his  mind and he does not back down.    He sticks his chest out for the arrows that will come from the sector of society today that has discarded the traditional values of the early church to accept as normal behaviors and attitudes less stringent moral turpitude than Jesus and His apostles preached.    Dreher offers warnings and gives reasons as to why and when he believes the integrity of the religious Christians in today’s society will be brought up on charges and disregarded as anything but fanatics in the very near future.   He cites examples of how Christians are being black balled in several ways already from legal procedures and Christian college graduates in the field of Law are being disregarded in Canada for their views on gay marriage, abortion, etc.  with groups calling for them not to be allowed to practice due to their fundamentalist beliefs.    St. Benedict is known in the Catholic Church for his adherence to a strict life of prayerful devotion and service.   Dreher calls for a return to pure Christian values and living in community with like minded Christians eschewing as much as possible the watered down form of Christianity permeating society today to return to the life of Christian devotion modeled by St. Benedict.   Not in a scary cult kind of way but in a let’s get back to basics organic kind of way.    Well written in a format that is both teaching and reaching out.   A good biblical work.    His straightforward approach will offend some.

The Shack

The Shack by William Paul Young         Audio Book: 8.5 hours   Hardback Book: 266 pages      

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book.   I had heard the premise after seeing mention of the film.   I haven’t seen the film and I don’t want to give it away nor do I want to give too much away on the book, suffice it to say I was pleasantly surprised.    The book hit me from left field with the earthly stuff that takes place.   I did not have a clue on that so WOW factor there.   I did not see that coming until it was in front of me.   It is a very emotional story.   Lots of ups and downs and contemplations thereof.    I enjoyed many of the concepts,   thought the characters and representations of the triune God very well developed and the arguments pro and con very well thought out.   I have to say, to me, the horror of something that happened did not seem to be answered but glossed over.   There were many discussions on it but never the extraordinary explanation that couldn’t be there because honestly how could an explanation really be understood of those incredibly awful happenings in such a way as a human mind could undertake to understand such atrocities?   Some reasons were given as to why a person becomes a monster and why a monster preys on the innocent but I kept feeling like somehow I wanted or needed the characters of the Godhead, the Supreme Beings of the Universe to tell me more in this story.   Now don’t get me wrong, they tell a lot and say many thought provoking things and offer great understanding of some very hard to decipher topics but while I liked the book and liked the characters, I felt like the relevant issues was ice and the characters were skating on top of it and all around it.   Talking about it but not aggressively giving any comfort for the awful picture you are left with even after all is said and done in the story.    I did like the book.    I liked all the characters but somehow I was left feeling the burning question was never answered though I know it was addressed in several different ways.    I am glad the story was fiction but in real life when you hear of such things my mind always goes to the suffering of the one involved not the peace of no more pain when the crossover occurs, though that is very important for the comfort of the souls involved.    The book was written for the catharsis of the Young Family to cleanse and reunite them all after a long dark spell the family went through from there friends were given copies who had friends who wanted copies and it blew up from there.    Well done, Paul Young (he doesn’t go by William).

George and Lizzie

George and Lizzie: A novel by Nancy Pearl.  288 pages.   Due out September; I read a galley

George and Lizzie have very different ideas of what love and marriage should be. George grew up in a warm, supportive family environment and Lizzie grew up as the only child of two famous psychologists (who seemed to view Lizzie more as an in-house subject to study, instead of a child to love).   Over the course of their marriage, George is happy but Lizzie clearly remains unfulfilled, making George determined to find a way to make her happy (or at least lift some of her sadness). What George doesn't know is that Lizzie has a secret in her past that keeps threatening to come to the surface.

I found this an interesting book. Lizzie isn't really likeable most of the time, but she's an interesting and compelling character. I can see why George takes so much time to try to understand her, although I marveled at his patience. We get the backstory of both of them, so you begin the book in the past, come into the present, and then reflections into the past. It's a good way to tell their story and also give insight into why Lizzie is the way she is.  It's easy to feel sympathy towards her every time the subject of her parents comes up (although I still had a hard time liking her).  One of the main elements of her story is the fact that she fell in love with a boy when she was in college, knew him for about 3 months, and then he left, never to contact her again. She continues to wonder about him, even after she is married to George, which I found difficult to understand (and difficult to empathize with). More than 3/4 of the way through the story, George makes a list of why he loves Lizzie, which is helpful; it not only explains why he is so patient with her, but also allows the reader to see her as he does, which I thought was a neat trick.

Rise: How a House Built a Family

Rise: How a House Built a Family by Cara Brookins                  Audio Book:  9 hours,  54 Minutes    Hardback Book:  320 pages           

Cara Brookins grew up in Wisconsin with parents who held can-do attitudes, no matter what the project.    She learned how to use tools,  plant gardens,  can fruit and vegetables, and to never think she couldn’t do something if she wanted to.   She instilled those teachings into her four children.   After living through two extremely abusive relationships which she discusses in length in the book, she and her children decide to start a new life in a new house and to build that house themselves.  Well, it was more Cara’s idea, but, the kids worked their patooties off helping her to get the house built.    They were their own little habitat for humanity workers spending as much as 19 hours a day working to get their home completed.    She goes into how she acquired the land and how she paid for the materials to keep things on the doable end of the financial realm.   They burned up the internet watching how-to videos learning the ends and outs of carpentry, and what is needed for the electrical and plumbing aspects to get done to pass inspection in order to receive the right to occupy their new digs.    It is beyond amazing what they were able to accomplish and you will picture every inch of the way it took them to accomplish this mean feat even while enduring the terror of looking over their shoulders to see which demon might pop up out of the bushes.   How they endured it all is described in great detail and she lets the reader into the world of enduring the criminally psychotic mentally ill that often puts family member lives at stake.    It is quite a read.    Not for the squimish as some of the things the last schizophrenic husband does will definetly grab you.   I didn’t always like Cara for the decisions she made and for many of the situations she put her kids in without thinking about the fact the boogey man could be lurking outside the door (which he often was)  while the kids were home alone.   I get it sometimes she needed to get away from everything kids included but in my opinion she should have either had the guy committed or taken a harder line againt him regardless what his mother or sister said.    The guy’s family members did not keep a good eye on him and he was dangerously mentally impaired.   I don’t want to give too much away, but, I did like the book if not all the actions.     

Best Loved Stories

Best Loved Stories as told and sung by Jim Weiss            Audio Book:  56 minutes and 44 seconds.     50 pages

This book tells 3 stories that the Brothers Grimm researched then brought to the world though they are not the originators but the purveryors of the tales.    The stories included here are:
“The Twelve Dancing Princesses”credited to the Brothers Grimm original source not cited,  “The Sleeping Beauty” with credit for the story given to Charles Perrault  and  “Snow White and Rose Red,” also credited to the Brothers Grimm original source not cited.    Lovely telling of these stories, they are true to a copy of the stories of the Brothers Grimm I had when I was a child and I enjoyed them all over again.    Fairy tales are such good stories that no matter how old you get they still hold that element of wonder.     I highly recommend these stories again and again.    They never get old even if we do.   Good for all ages.

Lyric Poetry

Lyric Poetry; Etna by Pietro Bembo, translated by Mary P Chatfield, 125 pages

Pietro Bembo was a man who could only have lived during the Italian Renaissance - after being trained as a Venetian diplomat, he became an accomplished humanist who helped restore the popularity of the works of Petrarch and Boccaccio, then the lover of Lucrezia Borgia, and finally a cardinal of the Holy Roman Church.  He embodies those traits which seem so puzzling or scandalous to so many in other times and places - particularly the combination of a genuine concern for virtue and a deep religiosity with casual hedonism.  His poetry - presented here as a translation of his own compilation, the Carminum libellus, along with works he omitted and works attributed to him and included in later editions - reflects this curious mixture, shifting between paganized hymns, comic insults, and lurid eroticism.  Also included in this volume is Bembo's dialogue Etna, a reconstruction of a conversation with his father retelling the author's exploration of the famous Sicilian volcano, in which he seamlessly combines classicism and scientific inquiry.

Death Unmasked: A Novel of Reincarnation & Retribution

Death Unmasked: A Novel of Reincarnation & Retribution by Rick Sulik      264 pages

Well, I tried to read retired police officer Rick Sulik’s novel, but all three times would get to the end of Chapter 6, I had to give up. It’s a mish-mash of poetry and prose that doesn’t work for me.

I knew I was in trouble by the beginning of Page One for three reasons: Sulik’s original poetry that I didn’t’ get; excerpts from Oscar Wilde’s “The Ballad of the Reading Gaol” (from 1898) that made no sense to me, and the lack of imaginative chapter titles. It’s true that many authors don’t title their chapters, only number them, but here it seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. I feel like the reason for that is that most authors don’t list the chapters. A fourth reason was that each sentence is its own paragraph. A fifth reason was the time frame listed in that first chapter, “Somewhere in Time.”

I hate to say it, but as plowed through, not only was I bored, but confused and lost. There is no tension in the writing.

Therefore, Death Unmasked: A Novel of Reincarnation & Retribution receives 2 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. One star is for effort and a cool front cover.

Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year

Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year by Anne Lamott        272 pages

I’m not a parent. I’ve been a step-parent twice over. Still no matter whether it’s biological or vis marriage, nothing, and I mean nothing, can prepare you for parenthood.

Such was the harsh reality novelist Anne Lamott. She found herself pregnant and alone (ie: without a husband or reliable partner). However, Anne is not alone. She has a bevy of friends and neighbors with a speckling of strangers thrown to help her.

Anne was absolutely sure that she would have a girl. If she was going to do this, God would give her a girl, another female in the house. She was a girl; she could raise a girl. But when she learned that the blossoming bud inside was a boy, well, she could hardly comprehend it. She never fully accepted her fate until her son, Sam, was born. This is not the journey of pregnancy; it’s the journal of that first year, in all its glory and its horror.

Some of the journal entries are short, some a bit longer, and some last almost two pages. It’s isn’t a day-by-day account. Who has time for that when there is a colicky baby screaming at the top of his lungs?

The entries are equally poignant and humorous. I laughed so hard at times that I woke hubby, who was asleep in another room. Anne’s entries also have a cadence to them. From I love him so much, he’s the best baby ever to he’s trying to kill, I hate him, I laughed and cried.

My favorite account occurs not to long after Sam and Anne are home. She has to take his temperature. When she learns that anal, not oral, is how this is done on babies, it’s laugh at loud hilarious, especially when she describes how his tiny rear-end erupted like a full-scale volcano, spewing feces everywhere.

I recommend Operating Instructions to everyone. It’s short and easy to read and leaves the reader, or at least this one, with a new-found respect for new mothers. Therefore, Operating Instructions receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Deadly Pursuit

Deadly Pursuit by Irene Hannon, 340 pages

Alison has only been recovering from a bad car accident and subsequent break-up with her boyfriend for the past year.  Although her leg (and her heart) are still healing, she has been handling everything pretty well.  When Mitch, a police co-worker of her brother’s, needs a date to a wedding, Alison reluctantly agrees to help out.  Mitch is also a reluctant participant in the date Alison’s brother set up but they both quickly realize that they are attracted to each other.  Unfortunately, Alison is being stalked by someone and it is up to Mitch and Alison’s brothers to find out who is responsible for the sinister messages she has been receiving before the stalker reaches his end game.  This was a very typical formulaic Hannon story but she is a good writer and the characters are likeable and relatable, which make the stories fun to read.  I would definitely recommend it to fans of romantic thrillers.

I Woke Up Dead At The Mall

I Woke Up Dead AtThe Mall by Judy Sheehan, 278 pages

Sarah wakes up at the Mall of America the day after she is murdered by her stepmother.  Apparently, she is not quite ready to move on and must go through therapy and exercises to prepare herself for the next step.  Unfortunately, Sarah finds herself feeling tied to her old life because of danger to her father and also to her current state of afterlife, due to a cute dead boy, Nick.  If Sarah can’t resolve her issues she may be doomed to walk the mall as a zombie forever.  I thought that the premise of this book was fun and parts were exactly as fun and silly as I thought it would be but there was a little too much teenage jargon thrown in for my taste.  Teens might like it better than I did but I wouldn’t highly recommend it.

Ramona Blue

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy, 408 pages

“Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever. Since then, it's been Ramona and her family against the world. Standing over six feet tall with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona is sure of three things: she likes girls, she's fiercely devoted to her family, and she knows she's destined for something bigger than the trailer she calls home in Eulogy, Mississippi. But juggling multiple jobs, her flaky mom, and her well-meaning but ineffectual dad forces her to be the adult of the family. Now, with her sister, Hattie, pregnant, responsibility weighs more heavily than ever. The return of her childhood friend Freddie brings a welcome distraction. Ramona's friendship with the former competitive swimmer picks up exactly where it left off, and soon he's talked her into joining him for laps at the pool. But as Ramona falls in love with swimming, her feelings for Freddie begin to shift too, which is the last thing she expected. With her growing affection for Freddie making her question her sexual identity, Ramona begins to wonder if perhaps she likes girls and guys or if this new attraction is just a fluke. Either way, Ramona will discover that, for her, life and love are more fluid than they seem.” I couldn’t put this book down.  This is one of the better books I’ve read this year.  I would consider this a must read for any teen who has any questions about their sexuality, and it would be a great read for any teen, including those who believe they are confident about their sexual identity.

11 Birthdays

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass, 267 pages

“Amanda and Leo, best friends with the same birthday, had a falling out on their tenth birthday and have not spoken since, but peculiar things begin to happen as the day of their eleventh birthday repeats itself again and again.”  A sweet and funny story.  Fun for kids who like magical realism.  

After Alice

After Alice by Gregory Maguire, 273 pages

“From the multi-million-copy bestselling author of Wicked comes a magical new twist on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Lewis's Carroll's beloved classic.  When Alice toppled down the rabbit-hole 150 years ago, she found a Wonderland as rife with inconsistent rules and abrasive egos as the world she left behind. But what of that world? How did 1860s Oxford react to Alice's disappearance?”  This was an odd story, but not really that much stranger than the original Alice stories.  It was fairly typical of Maguire and adult fans of fantasy and retellings of traditional children’s stories will enjoy it

Waiting For You

Waiting For You by Susane Colasanti, 322 pages

“Fifteen-year-old high school sophomore Marisa, who has an anxiety disorder, decides that this is the year she will get what she wants--a boyfriend and a social life--but things do not turn out exactly the way she expects them to.”  I didn’t feel like this was Colasanti’s best work.  It was the very typical teen romance and was extremely focused on the “woe is me, when will someone love me and if someone does, how can I keep him” aspect.  A lot of this book felt whiny and it was annoying.  The anxiety disorder added some interesting bits and I wish there had been a little more of that and maybe more focus on the friend who keeps trying to date older boys and getting involved with people online.  More about those dangers might have improved the story.  I feel like she’s done better teen romance than this. This would definitely not be my first choice of an introduction to this type of work.  For a teen who loves romance, this would be an ok pick though.

Strange Girl

Strange Girl by Christopher Pike, 413 pages

Aja is unusual.  When she appears in Elder, South Dakota, Fred is almost immediately drawn to her.  She is beautiful, quiet, and fascinating.  It becomes quickly clear that odd things happen when Aja is around: people who were injured or ill are healed and angry mobs become calm.  Many people think that Aja is the cause, but disagree on whether her power is good or evil.  Aja herself is somewhat enigmatic about the power.  Fred is uncertain about what he believes but is determined to protect Aja.  This was a well written book that might appeal to teens who like books with a science fiction bent.  The one drawback is that this book doesn’t have a lot of action.  Although the main character is a boy, I don’t feel like the book has strong boy appeal.

Symphony For The City Of The Dead

Symphony For TheCity Of The Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich And The Siege Of Leningrad, 456 pages

"National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson delivers a brilliant and riveting account of the Siege of Leningrad and the role played by Russian composer Shostakovich and his Leningrad Symphony. In September 1941, Adolf Hitler's Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in Western history--almost three years of bombardment and starvation that culminated in the harsh winter of 1943--1944. More than a million citizens perished. Survivors recall corpses littering the frozen streets, their relatives having neither the means nor the strength to bury them. Residents burned books, furniture, and floorboards to keep warm; they ate family pets and--eventually--one another to stay alive. Trapped between the Nazi invading force and the Soviet government itself was composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who would write a symphony that roused, rallied, eulogized, and commemorated his fellow citizens--the Leningrad Symphony, which came to occupy a surprising place of prominence in the eventual Allied victory. This is the true story of a city under siege: the triumph of bravery and defiance in the face of terrifying odds. It is also a look at the power--and layered meaning--of music in beleaguered lives. Symphony for the City of the Dead is a masterwork thrillingly told and impeccably researched by National Book Award--winning author M. T. Anderson." This was hard to read because of the subject matter.  Anderson doesn't stint on writing about the hardships the people of Leningrad endured or on the brutality of Stalin's government.  However, it was well written and Anderson makes the subject matter fascinating, even in the midst of the horror.  I would definitely recommend this to history buffs.

Genevieve's War

Genevieve's War by Patricia Reilly Giff, 222 pages

Genevieve has been staying with her grandmother in France the summer before World War II.  Although she is supposed to return to the United States, she decides to stay instead and becomes embroiled in the war, including hiding a member of the resistance in their attic, while a German Nazi is staying with them.  This was a very good story for kids about this experience.  Kids who like historical and realistic fiction will enjoy it.

Shinto

Shinto: The Way of Japan by Floyd H Ross, 171 pages

Although few Japanese identify themselves as "Shintoists", Shinto rituals and festivals remain extremely popular in Japan.  According to Floyd Ross, this is entirely consistent with the fundamental orientation of the religion towards practice rather than doctrine.  As a result, in this study Ross concentrates on the study of "Shrine Shinto", the religion as expressed in formal worship and associated popular festivals, rather than "Folk Shinto", the traditional beliefs of the Japanese countryside, or "State Shinto", the reformed religion developed during the Meiji era and dismantled by the Allied occupation, although he is also clear that the various forms of Shinto are interrelated.

Unfortunately, despite his own explicit statement of distrust in the infallibility of the social sciences, Ross relies on them in practice, to the point of assuming that, when the myths do not fulfill the theories of comparative religion, the myths must have been changed.  This dovetails with his preoccupation with a Shinto purified of foreign - primarily Buddhist and Confucian - influences, a Shinto which may never have actually existed and is certainly not the Shinto of today.  This results in a presentation which. while interesting and informative in places, overall fails to satisfy, revealing as it does more about the author than the subject.

Sin of a Woman

Sin of a Woman by Kimerla Lawson Roby - Book 297 pages
This book is the latest in the Curtis Black Series. Raven is the (self-called) pastor of a megachurch in Mitchell, IL, where Pastor Black also lives, and her current success is not enough for her. She aims to make an even bigger name for herself and if she has to step on several people along the way, so be it. Porsha is associate minister at Raven's church and Raven thinks she's gotten too big for her britches. The story is about these 2 women who while both being unscrupulous, one decides to turn away from greed and lust and the other runs faster toward it. How will their choices affect their lives and the lives of those around them?

I enjoyed this book like I did all the Curtis Black books I've read. This book wasn't short on drama and I'm always glad when a book has a lot going on but not too much, because there is such a thing as too much. Most of the characters were engaging, but there was a lot of repetition in certain areas, such as what they would say to justify adultery or fornication, it was the same as I read in other books, that's not necessarily the author's fault, but I wish there would have been some originality there. I am a fan of Roby's dialogue, it never sounds bland or unrealistic, I can genuinely hear the characters saying, yelling or whispering those words to each other. All in all, Sin of a Woman makes me eager to read the next Curtis Black novel.

Gods of Revolution

The Gods of Revolution by Christopher Dawson, 166 pages

In The Gods of Revolution eminent cultural historian Christopher Dawson explores the history of the French Revolution, its development and aftermath.  As Dawson finds the cultural, spiritual, and intellectual causes and consequences more significant than the merely material, political, or economic, this is where he focuses, beginning with the end of the Wars of Religion and continuing on through the world wars.  In this analysis, the Revolution is revealed, despite its anti-clericalism, as a part of, and a key shaper of, a broader spiritual revival in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Dawson's study provides a deep understanding of the origins and progress of the Revolution, as well as insight into the rise of the competing idols of rationalism and nationalism, freedom and equality, for whose glory so much blood was, and continues to be, spilled.

The Grimm Legacy

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman                Audio Book: 9 hours, 19 minutes     Hardback Book: 336 pages                

Good book.    The first in the Grimm Legacy Series.   Fun book.   I am a fan of fairy tales and definetly a fan of magic so I was intrigued with this book from the get-go.    I love the premise of this story and it kept me rapt from beginning to end.    How cool is the idea of there being a repository of all of the enchanted items from the Grimm’s Fairy Tales?    And even better that young people could get jobs at the repository as Pages?   Too fun.    The repository is more like the Smithsonian from the way it sounds, sort of a museum of everything you can think of with the story built around that specific “special collection” because as we all know every one of us reading this story would be riding on that flying carpet, trying on all those magical shoes and boots doing our magic thing with every ounce of teenage curiosity and bravado in our bodies.  I didn’t know this was a series when I read the book but have since found out it is so I will certainly be checking these characters out in the next installment – the story is that good.   For a fun read I do recommend this story.   The characters are portrayed realistically speaking in the vernacular not in swooney oohs and ahhhhs.    A good tale,  I think Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm would be proud of the way Ms. Shulman brings them into the 21st century.

Hell Is a Very Small Place

Hell Is a Very Small Place: Voices from Solitary Confinement by Jean Casella (Editor), James Ridgeway (Editor), Sarah Shourd (Editor).  240 pages

This book contains firsthand accounts from people who have served time in solitary confinement, but also contains essays and information from experts on solitary confinement. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has denounced the use of solitary confinement beyond 15 days as a form of treatment that often rises to the level of torture. However, in the US, more than 8000 people may be held in isolation on any day.

This was an interesting and sobering read. The accounts here differ a little bit, but there are shared elements in all of them and it's really an eye-opening read. It's not always clear why some of these people have been placed in solitary confinement, but I found I really wasn't too curious -- to me, that wasn't the point. After reading this book, I wondered if solitary confinement is really a good solution, even if the crime committed is horrific.

Nimona

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson.  262 pages

Dragons! Science! Nemeses! All of this and more are contained in this fun, sharply funny, irreverent graphic novel. We have a villain, Lord Ballister Blackheart, who has a vendetta against Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics. Enter Nimona, an impulsive young shapeshifter who is itching to take on the role of Ballister's sidekick, encouraging him along into her small acts of mischief. However, when her interactions with their enemies start to build into more vicious battles, Ballister has to admit that he's not quite sure where Nimona's powers come from, and if she's truly able to control herself.

I absolutely loved this graphic novel (enough that it's on my book wishlist). Even though it's aimed at a younger audience, there's plenty of subversiveness and storyline to entertain adult readers. Nimona is a charming character and I loved her right away, even though I suspected there was more to her than she was revealing at the beginning.  I also liked that her interactions with Ballister, and Ballister's interactions with Goldenloin, helped give insight into all of the characters. There were things to think about in this story, too, so it's not just a cute story about a shapechanging sidekick; there is exploration about self-knowledge, and the story has a lot of heart (and the ending may surprise you, too).

A Beautiful, Terrible Thing

A Beautiful, Terrible Thing: A Memoir of Marriage and Betrayal by Jen Waite   272 pages

When Jen Waite discovered that the person she built her life around never existed, she also discovered he happened to be a psychopath. After a disturbing email sparks her suspicion that her husband, Marco, is having an affair, Jen begins to try to rebuild the trust in her marriage. However, the more she discovers, she finds more lies, more infidelity and more betrayal than she could have imagined.  Obsessively analyzing her marriage, she tries to find a single moment that is true.

Obsessive is the right word here. I picked up this book because what I had read about it made me curious. I kept reading, although I really didn't love this book.  I found I was impatient with the author, and I didn't understand her obsession with her husband. The way she writes it, when she discovers the email, she's immediately screaming at him. Then, she's obsessed with finding out more, staying with Marco, then leaving him, but still obsessing about what he's done and what he's continuing to do.   I was glad that she had her family to rely upon, since she discovered the incriminating email right after her daughter is born --- but frankly, I would have cut my losses, let my family help me, and filed for a divorce. It's tempting to keep trying to understand why this guy cheated and lied, but I guess I'm just not prone to obsession.  It is interesting to read about how she starts looking up information about his behavior and discovers that he's a textbook psychopath, something she would never have known when she fell in love with him.

Domina

Domina by L.S. Hilton  320 pages.

This sequel to Maestra finds Judith Rashleigh in Venice, with her own art gallery and using the name of Elisabeth Teerlinc. Hoping she can finally stop running, she's got the life she dreamed of, not to mention the interest of a Russian billionaire.  However, when she has a chance encounter in Ibiza which leads to a corpse (for once, not one of her own doing), she finds her life is back on the line.

This story is a true sequel, where you really need to have read the preceding book to understand what is happening here. Judith is not a likeable character (at least, I don't think she is), but she's compelling. It's intriguing to read this story and see how she's going to find a way out of the situation she finds herself in. When I think about her character, I think about an eel - she's strong and slippery and out for her own survival. The author does a nice job of creating a rich story, and it's easy to envision the settings, which is important because they influence the story. Judith will lie, steal and manipulate anyone she can just to make sure she's surviving (and thriving, if possible).  I did feel that this sequel wasn't as strong as a story as the first one, but I kept reading because I was curious about what was going to happen.

Silver Sparrow

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones.  352 pages.

"My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist."  And so begins this story about one man's deception, and two teenage girls caught in the middle.  Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, we have two families: the public one and the secret one.  The story begins with Dana, the secret daughter, whose mother is married to James Witherspoon, but not really legally.  Dana and her mother are more than aware of James' other wife and daughter, to the point where they occasionally do surveillance on them, observing them at home and at work.  In the second part of the story, we get the viewpoint of Chaurisse, James' other daughter from his public, legal marriage.

When Dana meets Chaurisse, the two form a friendship where only one of them knows they are sisters.  So is it really a friendship or is one of them angling to hurt one of the families?

I found this to be a realistic, authentic story where you explore the lives of flawed characters and are drawn into their lives.  It was easy to feel immersed in the story, and even though I was frustrated with the characters at times, I found their stories to be compelling. It's an interesting way to explore relationships between siblings, as well as families in general.

The Wife Between Us

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.  343 pages.  Due out 1/9/2018 (I read a galley)

"When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
You will assume you are reading about a jealous wife and her obsession with her replacement.
You will assume you are reading about a woman about to enter a new marriage with the man she loves.
You will assume the first wife was a disaster and that the husband was well rid of her.
You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships.
Assume nothing."    summary courtesy of Goodreads

This book is tricky to summarize because I don't want to give anything away.  However, it's easy to start reading this and make assumptions about the main character and the plotline. You start thinking, I've read this story before. First wife gets dumped for new wife, develops obsession and stalks new wife.  Well, kind of . . . but not quite.  

I liked how the authors create a story where you think you know where you're going and then suddenly, you're on a different track.  You're drawn to a story where the main character is someone you can easily picture, and maybe even identify with a little bit and then before you know it, you're startled to find out that she's not necessarily who you thought she was. And neither is the husband.   This is a novel of psychological suspense with a steadily increasing pace -- I found myself turning the pages faster and faster (and would sneak in extra reading when I had time, just so I could keep going with the story).  This is a well-crafted story that also makes you think -- about relationships, how people change for someone they love, and how it's easy to get caught up in something and not realize that you're trapped until it's too late.   Great story and an engrossing, entertaining read.

The Patient’s Playbook:

The Patient’s Playbook: How to Save Your Life and the Lives of Those You Love by Leslie D. Michelson        Audio Book: 11 hours     Hardback book:  336 pages         

This book is a real eye-opener for the uniniated dealing first-hand with medical care in this country.     Having dealt with many hospital situations with family members over the years this book was like preaching to the choir in my case.    I have seen many of the situations described here and learned to be the advocate in many cases for the patient.     I was brought up in the age when people believed doctors knew everything and you never disputed anything they said because they were like demi-gods.    I quickly learned that was not so even at an early age.    Listening to some of the things doctors did or said that frankly seemed questionable brought me to the realization that doctors are people.   Doctors are not dem-gods.    Doctors are not all knowing.   I reiterate, doctors are people and we all have opinions and we are all fallible.    Having experienced emergency rooms where the patients were treated second class while the staff discussed what they were going to get for lunch/dinner,  having witnessed doctors tell patients what they had and what they were or were not going to do to them (the patient) without any discussion nor allowing for questions to be asked.   I have witnessed and been one of the family members trying to speak to a doctor that would not return calls nor would the nurses contact them because they were told never to do that.    I have gotten up at 3:30a.m. in order to be at the hospital when a doctor was doing his rounds at 5:00a.m. just so I could talk to him/her.     This book gives the reader clarity into a very secretive and mysterious profession.    It is an excellent guide for both the patient and the family through all steps of medical care and offers counsel on how best to approach diagnosis and how to get second and third opinions when serious problems are present or serious operations are rushed through and scheduled before the patient and the patient’s family have time to process such a serious procedure.    This book is a MUST READ.    Doctors don’t always have all the answers and the answers they do have are not always right.    The author’s best advice is don’t let anyone doctor, specialist, etc. rush you or the patient into anything without giving you/the patient time to process.    His second best piece of advice:  NEVER FORGET THAT MEDICINE IS A BUSINESS.    The author gives you the statistics on how many operations are done that don’t need to be,  he also gives you the statistics on how much the hospitals and doctors receive in payment for various medical procedures.     He gives the pros and cons on going to teaching hospitals as opposed to local or regional medical centers/hospitals and also the low down on urgent care centers.     This book was recommended to me and I am paying it forward by recommending it to everyone else.    Do read it, you will be glad you did.

“And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer: A Novella”

And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer: A Novella by Fredrik Backman           Audio Book:  1 hour  Hardback Book:  96 pages        

What a great novella.   Though short, this story speaks volumes.    So much emotion here, honestly at times it brings tears to your eyes, but, it is also so full of love and fun memories and joy that it creates the perfect balance on a theme that is melancholy but leaves you feeling enriched for sharing the verbal experience.    Lovely.    If you liked the book and/or film, “Tuesdays with Morrie” or the banter between Grandpa and Grandson in, “The Princess Bride,” you will thoroughly enjoy this book.    If there is a smooth wave carrying us from this life to the next,  this book is that gentle wave.   I truly enjoyed this story of transition that leaves you not sad but satisfied.    My compliments to Fredrik Backman.

Lunch poems

Lunch Poems by Frank O’Hara                      Paperback Book:  82 pages                    

Frank O’Hara loved lunch and had a voracious appetite for life.    Sharing his thoughts on everything is like a bite into a crisp juicy apple, tasty, refreshing, savory and something you can sink your teeth into.    His words stand out 3-D on the pages and scream to be read aloud.   It must have been like a respite in a French salon of the 60s with artists, writers, beat poets all the self-expression of the unconventional crowd of non-conformists gathered and up walks Frank O’Hara to read aloud his works.    I would have loved to be in that audience.   Frank O’Hara has a most unique voice like sharing a delicious secret with a dear friend.   Reading his poetry allows you a voyeur’s view into his life, like peeking through blinds or through a rear window.    So pinpoint and precise in the moment almost like you are looking over his shoulder.    You will feel the sun on your skin and picture yourself sipping a mimosa and looking through sunglasses while reclining luxuriously on a beach chair in St. Tropez.   O’Hara was quite the globe trotter and described several of his lovers and trists along with a  myriad of other topics.    I confess I had to read many of his poems aloud they just lend themselves to that.    Excellent introduction to the writings of Frank O’Hara and I understand it was one of his favorite works as well.