Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals

Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis  216 pages

Shirley also read this book this month, so I won't elaborate about what the book is about (since Shirley's post already did a great job with that!).  I found this book to be a good read, although a few times it felt like it was repetitive.  And, at times, the author's boundless positive energy was a little much --- I feel like she's got enough positive energy to power the sun, which is great, but a few times made me feel like I just needed a break.

However, she has some good, realistic, straightforward advice here.  The one thing that I kept remembering after I finished this book was something she wrote about it being ok to ask for help. She wrote something about how there are many, many ways to swim but only one way to drown, and that is to not ask for help to keep you from drowning.  Out of everything, that was one thing that really stuck in my mind to remember.  Overall, though, this is a good read and I think I'll pick up her other book and give it a try.

Southern Lady Code

Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis    224 pages 

"Helen Ellis has a mantra: "If you don't have something nice to say, say something not-so-nice in a nice way." Say "weathered" instead of "she looks like a cake left out in the rain." Say "early-developed" instead of "brace face and B cups." And for the love of Coke Salad, always say "Sorry you saw something that offended you" instead of "Get that stick out of your butt, Miss Prissy Pants." In these twenty-three raucous essays Ellis transforms herself into a dominatrix Donna Reed to save her marriage, inadvertently steals a $795 Burberry trench coat, witnesses a man fake his own death at a party, avoids a neck lift, and finds a black-tie gown that gives her the confidence of a drag queen."  (courtesy of Goodreads)

I had read Ellis' book of short stories, American Housewife -- which I really enjoyed and also really enjoyed as an audiobook. So, I had been eagerly anticipating this book of essays by Ellis.  And, I was not disappointed --- I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

From the Goodreads summary, you might get the impression that all of the essays are humorous, but that's not true --- there's one, in particular, about Ellis' decision to be child-free (which you can read here, as well), which I found very thoughtful and serious.  However, I also laughed out loud a few times when reading this book.  In fact, at one point, I laughed so hard that I just sat with the book on my lap and snorted with laughter --- which made my husband come up from downstairs, where he heard me over the noise of the hockey game he was watching, to ask me what was so funny.  

I know you want to know what was so funny ---- it was Ellis' description of how she came home to a remodeling project and discovered one of the workers masturbating in a room, behind an open door. Ellis wrote that at first, she thought the guy was doing something connected to "Die Hard," the Bruce Willis movie, and she was tempted to jump into the room, screaming, "Yippee Ki-Yay, Mother.....r!!"  And then realized there was a sound "like an otter trapped in a pickle jar," coming from the room.... so she did not do anything but silently walked away (and then notified the worker's boss).  Just the idea of her popping into the room screaming that line from Die Hard made me laugh --- but the sentence about "an otter trapped in a pickle jar" put me over the edge.

Hotbox: Inside Catering, the Food World's Riskiest Business

Hotbox: Inside Catering, the Food World's Riskiest Business by Matt Lee,  Ted Lee  272 pages

Two brothers take the reader inside the real-life drama behind the curtains (a/k/a pipe-and-drape) of catered events (large and small).  In the world of catering, cooking conditions are often more like mobile army hospitals than restaurant kitchens and cooks need to know how to adjust things on the fly, making sure food is delicious and temperature-safe.  Stepping inside the catering business for four years, the Lee brothers worked for different chefs and learned things from the ground up.

I found this book to be interesting, especially in comparison to some of the memoirs from chefs that I have read. Catering is an entirely different kind of business, and I had no idea all of the things that can go into cooking for events. So, it was great to get an insider's view of the catering world from two authors who weren't just observing, but who were in there, sweating it out and cooking/running at top speed/improvising under supervision at these events.  Definitely a different spin on the usual chef memoir.

Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A personal history of violence

Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence  by Geoffrey Canada   192 pages

"Geoffrey Canada was a small boy growing up scared on the mean streets of the South Bronx. His childhood world was one where “sidewalk boys” learned the codes of the block and were ranked through the rituals of fist, stick, and knife. Then the streets changed, and the stakes got even higher. In his candid and riveting memoir, Canada relives a childhood in which violence stalked every street corner."

I thought this was a great book. Canada has a descriptive writing style that takes you into his world growing up in a dangerous neighborhood, so you get a very clear feel for the setting. But you also get a clear picture of the people he knew, and feel his connection to them.  I appreciated that Canada doesn't spare the gritty details. However, there is always a sense of hope in this book --- it isn't just an exploration of his childhood and violence and a "poor me" feel to it.  Instead, you get, yes, the realities of his childhood --- but there is also his strong sense of self and how his childhood shaped him and inspired him to do great things and give back to his community.

Definitely a good book to read in tandem with some of the others I have read this year, including There Are No Children Here.

Women With Money

Women With Money:The Judgement-Free Guide to Creating the Joyful, Les Stresses, Purposeful (and, Yes, Rich) Life You Deserve by Jean Chatzky          AudioBook:  8 hrs., 30 mins    Hardback Book: 288 pgs.

This was a very user friendly book.   It addresses women’s attitude about money – that topic that is not spoken of often enough and should be.   Women can get lost in the web of financial talk if they try to ignore finances, bills, savings expenditures, budgets or worse yet, let their husbands handle all of the money, banking statements, bills, etc. until one day they are left on their own without a clue how to handle any of the afore mentioned aspects of their financial situation but have no idea where they currently find themselves.   Ignoring financial pertinent information is well PERTINENT!   Ladies, we can’t go through life thinking someone else will always be around to take care of us.    Life has a bunch of gut punches to teach us differently.    Now is the time to make sure you have working knowledge of what you have in the bank, what you are responsible for, benefactor of and what is and is not in place for you and any children you may have in the event tragedy strikes and your spouse/partner is no longer in the picture.   Know your first and next step at all times.    Surprises are only fun when they benefit you in some way, not when tragedy strikes and it is now you against the world.    Jean Chatzky sites examples of and don’t we all know people who have been in similar situations where someone else was always in charge of the responsibilities particularly keeping an eye on all financial accounts, insurance policies, bill paying, mortgage paying then in the blink of an eye their lives are changed, now they must become the breadwinner and/or take on the responsibilities for upkeep on the home, handling all outgoing income and trying to sort out what must be taken care of and when.    Stay an equal partner in all things, ladies.   Being in shock from the loss of a spouse (death, divorce, whatever) is no time to have to take a crash course in what all you need to do yourself now.    Jean Chatzky walks women through coming to terms with it isn’t someone else’s responsibility – its yours!   You may have children to feed, clothe and keep a roof over all of your heads don’t go through life wearing blinders – this is your reality, too.   She talks about all the financial issues a woman needs to address:  should we have one joint bank account or a joint account for household bills and repairs then separate accounts for each spouses personal expenditures; our parents are getting older we need to think about what if they can no longer live independently – move them in with us or assisted living or a nursing home situation?   College funds for the kids, how much insurance is required to pay off the house and aid the other spouse in the event they are on their own to cope?    Do we have plans and plan Bs in place so that life continues on with relative smoothness or do we need to work on that?    Jean Chatzky discusses things in very understandable terms that helps women put their financial futures in a realistic perspective.   Jean takes women through her 3 part plan to achieve financial security by exploring your relationship with money, taking control of your money then using your money to create the life you want to live.    Assess what you have ie.  where you are – be proactive in budgeting know where you are and how much it takes to keep you comfortable – then decide how comfortable you want to be and do everything you can go strive for that good life.   Wishing for it to happen won’t cut it.   Making it happen is what we have to do.    Jean Chatzky shows how she suggests you get there.    She discusses how to assess if you are being paid your worth and if not,  how to negotiate getting more pay.   She talks about having the drive to become an entrepreneur and open your own business.   She discusses the work involved in establishing yourself, how to prepare for the lean times in the beginning when profits tend to need to be put back into the business but how to profit from solid work and being aware of your market, trends in the market, competition, etc.    She talks about how to invest your money for the future and how to make your money last and provide for you and yours now as well as continuing to grow for the future.   She talks about how to guide your children financially so they too grow up savvy about money and don’t blow every penny they get without weighing it against upcoming needs.   This also breeds confidence.     And Jean Chatzky also shows you how to do it and leave a legacy for your children and grand-children.    Well layed out book with friendly not forced advice.    I would definetly recommend this book to all young girls through elderly women.   It is never too early nor too late to learn the financial information you need for a better life.   Well done, Jean Chatzky.

 - Shirley J.

Outliers: The Story of Success

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell                    Audio Book:  7 hours      Paperback Book:  336 pages    

Malcolm Gladwell spells out all throughout this book that success, genius, financial gain, celebrity are not just luck of the draw.    Glory and accolades do not favor one over the other.     Things don’t merely happen without cause factors  behind them.   Most importantly, none of us are born under a bad moon and therefore haven’t lost out at life for any reason other than our lack of experience.    In this book Malcolm Gladwell points out a strange anomaly that the best and most famous hockey players in the world tend to be born in the first 3 months of the year which seems to be off putting for want to be players born in the latter 9 months, but, upon closer inspection, we see that the kids born in the early part of the year, start school and training sooner than the other children born latter.   So the first born of the year have access to earlier beginning of training, more time on the ice than the latter born and more guidance from Pros turned coaches.    It actually has nothing to do with the dates what it has to do with is additional training.   In truth, players born latter would need to increase their time on the ice extensively to catch up and the actual practice time is what accounts for winners as opposed to the kids with less coaching and less ice time.     He talks about how some folks seem to be born at the right time under the right star to succeed and again at first glance millionaires,  Andrew Carnegie, J Paul Getty, etc.  were born around the same time but in their environment times were changing, the railroad became the popular means of transportation both people and freight and so anyone getting in on the ground floor at that time became phenomenally rich in a short amount of time – it had nothing to do with just when they were born but then too it had everything to do with when they were born because the way of life was changing with the environment so therefore being born at that time was fortuitous for investing in a soon to be burgeoning railroad business.     It was what was occurring at the time they were born, but, it wasn’t just lucky to be born then.   Opportunities were at hand and these men by virtue of their knowledge and business prowess were able to take advantage of them and prosper.    Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and the rest of the Silicon Valley group were born in the 1950s.   Again, it wasn’t just that they were born at lucky times of the year or in years pulsing with luck.    Bill Gates lived a well-to-do existence as a young boy and young man and because of that he was afforded opportunities that not just any young man walking in off the street would have been given.    Bill Gates was born during the time that computers were the size of entire rooms and worked off of punch cards.   Bill proved to be so knowledgeable and spent so many hours on the system in place then that he was afforded the opportunity to unlimited access to working on a computer as many hours as he wanted by studying and gleaning the knowledge that proved him worthy of independent study and his love of computing and the endless hours he spent on it gave him a foot up on others who at a time when a computer could cost up to a million dollars and few, not even college professors had the type of unlimited hours granted them that Bill was approved for.   He would go and go on the computer until he literally dropped from lack of sleep and food.   So, when someone says, man, Bill Gates got lucky and look where he landed.   Bill Gates paid his dues by gleaning knowledge from all the thousands of hours he spent on the computer he had access to  learn all the ins and outs and develop new ideas on how to make possible better and faster ways to find new information and come up with alternate programming ideas.   It was about being born in a lucky year or decade.   It was about putting more effort into learning  the skills that made him the billionaire he is today.    He cites the Beatles as an example, too.    They didn’t just luck into their celebrity.   When they were playing weekends gigs for not much money they got an offer to go to Hamburg, Germany to play.   They were young guys with lots of energy though they had no idea they would be expected to play 8 hours a day, 7 days a week!   You don’t hear about that part of their Hamburg days, too often, but that is where they honed their craft.    They arrived a little green, but they returned to England with a tight sound, great guitar riffs,   spot on vocals, and a confident stage presence all of which they learned from all the time they spent performing on stage in Hamburg.    Had Hamburg not happened to them, we may never have heard of the Beatles or the Quarrymen or the Silver Beatles or any other name they went by prior to stardom, Hamburg, while the rough years due to their workload also taught them what worked and what didn’t, gave them the time to work out their awesome sound, forced them to start writing their own material since with so many hows to perform they couldn’t keep playing the same cover tunes over and over.  So again, it wasn’t being in the right place at the right time so much as it was yes, being in the right place to get the offer, but working their little  guitar, keyboard and drum playing fingers to the marrow in order to win the skill to bring in the fans that led to the notoriety that led them to world fame.    All these folks Gladwell calls Outliers – they were out there with lots of others but they all surpassed others in their fields because they had something special the rest didn’t – they had done their homework, focused on gaining what skills they needed and put in the time and effort to perfect their talents making it look easy when it certainly was not.   They gave up a lot to gain the knowledge they needed but it paid off substantially for all of them in the end.   Not luck – love enough for what they were doing to pursue whatever it took to be the best.   Good book.   It will really illuminate a lot of things we take for granted.    Well done, Malcolm Gladwell!

 - Shirley J

Run, Spot, Run: The Ethics of Keeping Pets

Run, Spot, Run: The Ethics of Keeping Pets by Jessica Pierce              Hardback Book:  256 pages               

You know the saying “after you see it, you can never unsee it again?”   This book is like that.     This book presents so much information on domesticated animals and exotic animals kept in homes both pro and con that being a part of the pet owning population – you will never look at pet ownership the same way again.     Ms. Pierce brings up the point that pet ownership is little more than slavery.   Some people acquire a “pet” dog for instance, but, then, they chain that dog up in their yard and may never take the chain off for the rest of the poor animal’s life.     It’s life revolves around the length of the chain.   No one  has much interaction with the animal – it is a watch dog – not that theoretically the poor thing can do much other than bark and alert its owner that someone or something is in the vicinity of the house.   It isn’t free to chase any intruder,   Often the animal Isn’t thought about as to if it is comfortable?   Does it have shade or a house to get out of the elements in?   It may be fed minimally but would any human want to live like that?   Domesticated animals should be treated with respect and given decent and fair treatment as a fellow living creature.    They all deserve love, too, in my book, but so many people consider animals lower than humans and perhaps that is how they can escape their consciences badgering them for unequal treatment.   While the author is a pet lover herself and has over the years bought her kids, fish, geckos lizards, turtles, gerbils, hamsters, mice and rats as pets, she also admits to feeling sorry for the creatures as they tend to have short lifespans.   She regrets that her children may have been a little rough in their loving of such delicate pets, though, she went over with them the proper and improper ways to handle them.   In her research for this book she went to some dark places, the fighting of animals, (birds, dogs, etc.)  where animals are abused by both the humans who own them as well as the life they are forced to lead until killed brutally in a fight.   It gets worse, there are websites for people who want to sexually abuse animals and for various fees they can go to places that keep animals for that purpose.    Remember I said once you see it, you can never unsee it?   When I read that my blood ran cold.   To think of poor innocent animals being horrendously abused and often killed by the violence, and people are doing this for profit.   It is heinous when such cruelty and torture happens to humans how less can we see it because it is being done to animals?   Ms. Pierce says there are animal activists who are trying to get more protective wording into law regarding the well being of animals who suffer at the hands of miscreants bent on unspeakable acts being performed on them.   Animals deserve their rights too and to be protected from rape and worse just as any being does.    This book delves into whether it is ethically moral to keep an animal in slavery even if it is considered a part of the family afterall, if an animals freedom to go where it wants to go but can only stay in a home or a crate or allowed out into a small yard to “do their business” then back to their owner’s will – isn’t that a kind of slavery?    The term for an animal’s owner is Master.   She discusses the issues of puppy and kitty mills – animals forced to breed over and over again often to their death or killed when they can no longer produce, forced to live in their own excrement and urine diseased and distressed until the breeders sell them to middlemen for the pet market in malls.   What happens to those puppies who aren’t sold?   They are either killed or sent to shelters that kill them soon after arrival if they aren’t adopted within days.    So many ethical questions are brought up in this book,  even the descent breeders – is it ethical to continue to breed animals bringing more puppies or kittens etc. into the world when the shelters are already so over run with animals that millions are killed every year?    Heart breaking realities are brought to light here but all that is brought up in this book is thought provoking and hopefully spurs everyone who reads it to become activists for the cause of those who cannot speak for themselves whether they be human or animal.   Good book if terribly heart breaking in some parts.    It will open your eyes.   I would recommend this book to mature teens on up to the elderly.  

- Shirley J

Killer Smile

Killer Smile by Lisa Scottoline            AudioBook: 10 hr. 51m    Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages                          

This is a Mary DiNunzio mystery which I was happy about.   I love the Mary DiNunzio/Rosato & Associates mysteries because it is always so fun to get to read about Mary’s family and her conversations with her friends and family is always like visiting with favorite characters, which it really is.   This story has Mary doing pro bono work for a family friend on a man’s estate that has been dead for over 40 years.    Without warning she was fired from the case.   Fired from a case she was doing for free, Mary’s curiosity got the best of her and she researches and does as much work as she would for any paid case and comes up with lots of info and lots of enemies.    All the while Mary’s boss and her best friend keep fixing her up with blind dates feeling she has been a widow long enough and now she needs to get back out there and start dating again.    Mary is so immersed in the Brandolini case however, she barely can tolerate the blind dates and does her best to find fault with each.   Her behavior borders on rude to her would be suitors but she finds the whole exercise tedious and is obsessed with finding the answers she seeks and when she learns that Italians were sent to internment camps she is flabbergasted that such a thing could take place in the U.S.A.   People who had been living in the U.S. for decades, who had raised their children here, who had given their sons to the war effort to fight and many died during the war meaning they gave the ultimate sacrifice and yet the FBI still rounded up their parents and families as potential spies for the enemies’ side.    That was news to me.    I had heard about the Japanese Internment Camps but hadn’t realized the Italians in America were interred, too, and I’m assuming the Germans were as well.   You always learn things from Lisa Scottoline novels, one of the many things I can sing her praises about.   I love Lisa Scottoline’s style of writing.    Mary DiNunzio in her research travels to Montana for answers to some of her many questions regarding the case and finds a kindred spirit there all the while learning she likes Huckleberry Pie which she thought was the title of a Mark Twain novel.   So cute and funny and serious and heart pounding at times.    The Suspense will make you wonder if Mary will stay alive until the end of the book.    What starts at as a reparations case over a man who committed suicide while detained in an internment camp has so many twists and turns and Mary champions the case of a man who has charmed her across the years from a simple photo.   She is truly on a mission in this one to get justice for this ghost she cannot ignore.   GOOD BOOK.  I highly recommend this one to Middle Schoolers on up.   Great Story and all the angles are so well thought out and I adore all the side stories, too!

 - Shirley J.

Creative Crafts for Kids Valentine Crafts

Creative Crafts for Kids Valentine Crafts by Greta Speechley      Hardback  Book:  32 pages                

Well, first of all, the crafts in this book were unattractive.  Having said that, I also have to say that the labor involved was way over the heads of little kids and the age level the skills required to manage the instructions for wouldn’t be interested in doing the crafts involved.   I give the author props for trying but this book Is not a winner.  There is a nice recipe for making a cookie at the end which sort of helps but the crafts were ugly and not something you would want to make.   That sounds so mean, but, it is true.    I would not recommend this book and I really like Valentine’s Day projects as a rule, just not any of these.

 - Shirley J

How to be Heard: Secrets for Powerful Speaking and Listening

How to be Heard: Secrets for Powerful Speaking and Listening by Julian Treasure          AudioBook:   12 hrs., 29 mins       Paperback Book:  308 pages             

Excellent book on how to speak effectively so that everyone in the meeting room, auditorium or even one on one with friends or lovers.    He talks about how to know when you are losing your audience, visual, and non-verbal body language cues, or if someone pulls out a copy of the Wall Street Journal and starts reading it during your talk.    One of his guest speakers says to memorize everything you want to say even if that means memorizing a quote from someone else and never use notes, unless it is an absolute must.   He says you lose 1/3 of your audience when you look down at notes.   If people are making eye contact and leaning toward you you’ve got them if they are leaning back away from you or worse crossing their arms in front of them not so much they have mentally checked out.  The author is a well known and often asked back TED talk speaker at TED events all around the world.    He discusses knowing who you are speaking to.   If it is a group from another country they may not react in the same way as audiences or people from your own hometown.   He spoke in front of a group of people in Finland for the first time and only got minimal applause and he thought he bombed but after his talk several people came up and told him what a compelling talk he gave.  He give so much good information this book is a treasure trove of communication examples, exercises and he brings in other TED talk speakers to share their insights on communication and the value of speaking and also listening.    He says we all desire to be heard, to be valued and to be understood.   He says you can’t truly listen to anyone if you are doing something else.   If someone is dropping pearls of wisdom but you are checking your email you will miss it.   He and the other guest speakers often come back to the point that to be a good speaker you have to first be a good listener.    People know when you are engaged in what they are saying and they also know when you aren’t.   So many excellent points are made here.   He even brings in speakers who discuss communicating via alternate routes, a deaf woman who plays music after her teacher taught her to feel the vibrations, a man and his wife who have recorded sounds from nature and turned it into music from which they have made 2 documentaries, one in particular titled, “Animal Symphonies.”   They say with all the clearing of land what originally took them two hours to record, now takes them thousands of hours to record then pull useable sounds from that ending up with a 2 hour track.   He says the main point he wants readers to take away and the main theme of the entire book/audio is:  Intention, Focus, Reflection and Summarizing can help you to clarify what you heard someone say, correctly, to make sure the information ws accurately received and to let the person know you did hear them.   That is what active listening is all about.   Excellent book!   You will learn a lot and expand your way of thinking about the myriad types of communication.  I highly recommend this book.

- Shirley J

The Chelsea Girls

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis      368 pages

Since I first discovered books by Fiona Davis during the summer of 2018, I have become one of her biggest fans. Not only are her storylines and characters compelling, I love the way she uses New York City’s historical landmarks/architecture as characters. It adds a layer of complexity that I adore.

Davis hits another one out of the ballpark with her fourth novel, “The Chelsea Girls.” Hazel and Maxine meet in 1945 while they are schlepping through Europe as part of a touring USO band of actresses, performing skits and plays for weary soldiers.

After the war, the girls go their separate ways: Hazel to New York and Maxine to Los Angeles. Hazel gets room at The Chelsea Hotel, a haven for budding actresses, musicians, poets, and other artists. She feels at home among the quirky residents. Hazel makes the rounds, desperate to land a role. She gets a few small gigs, but it’s the typewriter and the play she started during the war that are her siren. Five years after the war ended, “Wartime Sonata,” Hazel has finished her manuscript and is ready to take it to Broadway.

Meanwhile over in Los Angeles, Maxine has become a true movie star. Readers don’t see Maxine in California, but we get to hear about her life when she comes to New York, looking for her old friend. She is running from an abusive relationship and Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Red Scare. Although the two have drifted apart, they quickly pick up where they left off.

Against the mount of Hazel’s play and Maxine’s troubled relationship, there is The Chelsea Hotel.  Fascinating characters inhabit this grand building, where anyone can follow their heart.

When McCarthy is finished with Hollywood, he turns his eye toward Broadway. He is determined to rid the U. C. of any communist activity. Called before his committee, will Hazel cave and name names?  Will Maxine give in to the pressure? 

What a ride!  I think this is Davis’s work yet, and I’m eagerly awaiting her next novel. I hope she writes fast!  I give “The Chelsea Girls” 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Premonition: A Cotton Lee Penn Historical Mystery

 

Premonition: A Cotton Lee Penn Historical Mystery by Tower Lowe   324 pages

I read the first book in the Cotton Lee Penn historical mysteries back in 2015. I enjoyed it a lot. I especially like the character Cotton Lee who suffered from polio and people who thought she couldn’t do anything with a limp other than sit at home and stare at the wall.

Cotton has returned with a new case. Like before, author Lowe uses dueling timelines. This time the periods are 1864-1885 to 1972 and involve some rare gold coins from the Civil War era.

The story opens with the mysterious death of Anselm Bannon.  He was out deer hunting when he was hit by a bullet. Was it a stray or did someone have in it for him? 

Although this novel has a good story, its execution is awful. Author Lowe didn’t remind readers of who many characters were and how they intersected with each other. For example, going back to my review of the first book, I had noted that Max Mayfield was a lawyer who often hired Cotton Lee to help him with his investigations. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to go back and read that first review until I had finished this new work. I was lost with most of the characters, trying to figure out who was who and why they were involved in the story.

Besides not reminding readers of existing characters’ background, there are numerous errors in the book. There are missing words, wrong names, run on or fragmented sentences that don’t work. And it was convoluted…I felt the story was going in circles.

But like I said, the mystery of the gold coins was quite interesting. It fired my imagination in ways not connected to this work. The most frustrating part of the book was that after 324 pages, I’m not sure who killed Anselm Bannon or the origins of the gold coins.

Normally I would give “Premonition: A Cotton Lee Penn Historical Mystery” 1 out of 5 star, but since the gold coins did strike an interest that kept me reading the entire work, I give “Premonition: A Cotton Lee Penn Historical Mystery”2 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Imperial Twilight

Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age by Stephen R Platt, 452 pages

As late as the beginning of the nineteenth century, China was regarded as one of the world's great powers.  Europeans marveled at the sophisticated administration that governed a nation far larger than any in the West, supported by a culture of incredible subtlety and antiquity.  By imperial decree, contact was limited to designated areas of Canton and Macao on China's southeastern coast, far from the capital, and foreigners were forbidden from learning the Chinese language.  From the Chinese perspective, whatever goods they had to offer, Westerners ultimately came to the Middle Kingdom as supplicants pleading for a share in her riches and refinement.  A few decades later all of this had changed.  Europeans now considered China to be a backwards nation mired in superstition, ripe for exploitation and in desperate need of Enlightenment.  Increasingly, the Chinese elite themselves would insist on the necessity of a modernization which was synonymous with Westernization.  The turning point was the Opium War, when the Chinese Empire was humiliated by the might of the Royal Navy - as Tolstoy put it, Progress had been brought to China "by means of powder and cannon-balls."  

Yet, as Stephen Platt relates, none of this was inevitable.  The opium trade was deeply unpopular in England, and the government barely survived a vote attempting to forestall the war.  The Chinese, for their part, understood that the opium trade was ultimately driven by internal demand rather than external supply.  Relations between the nations had weathered other crises in the past, with each government placing the responsibility on their own representatives to avoid conflicts which might endanger existing arrangements.  The Opium War, then, was the result of a breakdown of the status quo rather than its logical culmination.  In telling this crucial but oft-misunderstood story, Platt deftly manages to balance detail and narrative drive, with a particular focus on the intriguing personalities that populated the intersection where East met West.

MIddlegame

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire 528 pages

"Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math. Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realise it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet.

Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own.

Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained."    summary courtesy of Goodreads

I absolutely loved this book, which I kind of expected because I enjoy many of the author's other books. I went with the Goodreads summary because admittedly, I don't think I could write something that made as much sense.  Suffice to say, this story is about two people who are connected in an extremely powerful way.  It's Order and Chaos, and not something as simple as Light versus Dark ---- these two have the power to completely remake the world.

McGuire does a great job of bringing some amazing characters to life in a real-world setting, so that you can actually suspend your disbelief pretty easily and imagine that these people could be walking around in the world. I loved how McGuire would go into so much detail about the power of math (in a way that made sense to me, a non-math person), but also how powerful language can be and how words can move the world. Absolutely a fantastic book.

And a funny little coincidence --- I read this book and finished it over the weekend, and then picked up and finished the Sonja Blue collection --- and both have a Hand of Glory in them, and used in a way to move the story along.

Midnight Blue: Sonja Blue Collection

Midnight Blue: Sonja Blue Collection by Nancy Collins  560 pages

This is a collection of three books (in one collection) from Nancy Collins about vampire Sonja Blue. Starting with Sunglasses After Dark, we meet Sonja in a madhouse. After her escape, you learn more about her and how she was created and how unusual she is: she is a vampire who hunts vampires and other Pretenders (succubi, vargr, etc.).  In this first story, Sonja is determined to confront Catherine Wheele, an evangelist with an unusual ability who was the one to put Sonja in the madhouse.  In the second book, Sonja meets Palmer, a private investigator who becomes her partner in searching for Morgan, the powerful vampire who created Sonja.  The second and third books are tied together, as the storyline continues from the second into the third.

I re-read this book about every year or so because I really enjoy revisiting the stories, characters and settings.  Sonja is a fascinating character, as she is one person with a second personality, The Other, inside.  The Other is a much more powerful entity, but it takes both of them to battle Sonja's enemies. I appreciate how Collins makes Sonja a sympathetic character, but also gives you interesting supporting characters. There's lore here that you may recognize from other vampire stories, but a lot of things that are completely new because Sonja is a hybrid creature. 

Four Men

The Four Men: A Farrago by Hilaire Belloc, 149 pages

This is Belloc's tale, or rather tales within a tale, of a man called Myself and his companions, whom he nicknames Grizzlebeard, the Sailor, and the Poet, as they wander the beloved countryside of their home county of Sussex, which we are assured was "the first place to be created when the world was made" and will be "the last to remain, regal and at ease when all the rest is very miserably perishing on the Day of Judgement by a horrible great rain of fire from Heaven."  The four men (who, needless to say, are all variations on the author) pass their time speaking or, just as often, singing sound nonsense and enchanting sense, including the stories of how St Dunstan led the devil about by the nose and how Mr Justice Honeybubble delivered his famous Opinion at the Cricketers' Arms.

Started Early, Took My Dog

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson          Audio Book:  12 hrs., 22 mins        Paper back Book:  400 pages                          

I liked this book.   It is so quirky and weird and funny.    Lots of stuff happens that leads up to a female detective (there is a great backstory as to how she finds herself with lot of cash) who, seeing a known heroin addicted prostitute literally dragging a child along with her at a fast almost running clip to which she is berating the child for not keeping up.   In a split second, the detective makes the decision to give the prostitute money and take the kid because she believes she would be a better mother to the child.    She hands the prostitute $2,000 for her.      The prostitute is confused but takes the money, leaves the kid and hops on the next subway train and is gone.    Her (former) partner has taken up the cause of a dog who’s master is mistreating it terribly.   Lots of story has brought them to this point but the detective just can’t take any more of it and beats the guy for mistreating the animal and takes the dog himself.    The detective tends to the dog and feeds him.   The dog is waiting for him to start wailing on him but the detective doesn’t.   It is a sweet moment when animal and new friend more than master decide o.k.  this could work just like the female detective who feeds the child candy because she isn’t really up on the parenting thing but is doing her best charging off with the child from an amusement park to other adventures.   So funny and waaaaaaaaaaaaay quirky but amusing and fun.   I don’t want to give too much away because it will all fall into place better if it is a surprise, but, I think you will like this one.    I certainly did.   It is so bizarre it Is funny, like when the two detective partners are investigating crime scenes – their banter Is a crack up.    Just goes to show, the most unusual pairings make the best of friends.  I highly recommend this book – it is so here there and back again but everything plays into the thing before it and comes together.   I loved this book.    I would recommend it to Middle Schoolers on up.       

 - Shirley J

Keep Quiet

Keep Quiet by Lisa Scottoline             Audiobook: 8 hrs.  16 mins      Paperback  book: 384 pages                      

Great Book by Lisa Scottoline.   I know I say this every time, but, Lisa Scottoline is one of the best writers out there.   She grips the reader from the git-go and carries you along for the ride all the way to the end.    Her books are always superb.    This storyline starts out with a father and son.   The son had smoked some pot while with friends that culminated with a night out at the cinema.  When his Dad came to pick him up after the show the son in his fuzzy state starts cajoling his Dad to let him drive home.  The father says no, you only have a permit and that permit expires at 11:00p.m.   The son keeps on, but I’ve only got another month before before I get my license, besides, there is a stretch where there are never any cars, especially not this late.   They go back and forth, finally, the Dad gives in wanting to be cool Dad and lets his son drive.   They are talking and having a good conversation when all of a sudden BAM!!!!    The boy says, “What was that?  Oh no, did I hit a dear?”   The boy starts saying, “Can we call a vet?”…The Dad hauls himself out of the car not relishing what he is going to find and about faints dropping to his knees when he sees it is a body!   The boy gets out and seeing the body, starts freaking out.   The Dad takes charge, “Call 911!”  then he starts doing CPR but she is gone.   The Dad’s mind is racing now.   He will tell the police he was driving, in the meantime, his son is yelling, “Oh God, I killed her!” over and over whipping himself into guilt ridden anxiety.   His father tries to calm him but the young guy won’t shut up.   The Dad is thinking this won’t look good and he isn’t having any luck reining the kids reaction in.    The kid lets his Dad know that he had been smoking pot which might have impaired his response but no, he had been looking at his Dad having a conversation when he hit her.  Just that few seconds he took his eyes off the road.    The Dad is thinking if only I hadn’t let him drive!   The story picks up from there and I don’t want to give any more of the story away but trust me – it is good and will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way to the end.  Excellent story told with all the talent in Lisa Scottoline’s pen.    If you like mysteries and thrillers you will love this one.   I do.   I highly recommend this book to any one young middle schoolers on up.    Remember, it ain’t over till its over!   You won’t see this one coming.   Hats off to Lisa Scottoline.   GOOD BOOK!

 - Shirley J.

The 6 Keys: Unlock Your Genetic Potential for Ageless Strength, Health, and Beauty

The  6 Keys: Unlock Your Genetic Potential for Ageless Strength, Health, and Beauty by Jillian Michaels with Myatt Murphy      AudioBook:   7 hours, 18 mins.      Hardback Book:  304 pages    

I like the way Jillian Michaels talks.   No B.S. just straight talk and she consults neurophysists and speaks the lingo like a pro.    She breaks down a lot of heady stuff about our genetic makeup and all the myriad of things going on in our bodies at any given time, from cell structure on up.   She is a great teacher and while some of her lessons at the first of the book were straight out of a medical classroom 101, it was such engrossing information I had to play it back if I missed something or felt I didn’t quite get it.    She makes me laugh or at least smile at her seasoning of f-bombs here and there to express her point but it just keeps it real and makes the learning feel a little gangsta and very cool to know.   She talks about the 6 age inciters which is what the title – the 6 keys - is all about.   They are:  metabolism; damaged macromolecules; epigenetics; inflammation; stress adaptation and telomeres.   She gives you the background on all of those “keys,” and explains how our bodies don’t have to age if we pay close attention to where we land on the 6 keys and how well we treat our bodies with special attention and care to eat well and do preventative maintenance on ourselves to be sure our keys are in the best shape they can be.      Being mindful at all times ever vigilant  to eat right, to exercise at least 30 minutes a day 7 days a week, drink half our weight or more of water every day to stay hydrated and lubricated,  she gives the reader guidelines and helps with the caveat that yeah you don’t have to give up pizza nor birthday cake for the rest of your life, but just get back on track the next day after you binge on that stuff and get back with the program.   She takes a lot of heavy info and breaks it down into understandable chunks so the reader isn’t bombarded then left to go WTF?  Oops, that was a quote from Jillian.   She gives you tips and tricks to keep mindful of how to grow your telomeres, those little endcaps on our DNA strands very necessary and just because they shrink due to poor diet and lack of exercise once we get on the wagon and start treating our body well again, the damage can be fixed and improved in a very short time and she tells us how.    She talks about how smoke and carbon monoxcide really do a number on us and how we can repair the damage done.   She talks about how meditation can ease the mind and reduce stress she also promotes getting a pet she personally is more of a dog person and how said pet can reduce stress by just being in your home.   She also recommends giving a forever home to a shelter animal.   Doing a good thing for them and for yourself.  People with pets suffer less from stress, less from asthma and loads of other maladies.  She addresses healing the mind, the body, watching what you put into your body to keep it running at top performance no matter what your age,  she disagrees with the many diets out there and promotes eating grass fed meat rather than corn or other feed, she recommends having fun because denial of fun for yourself can lead to a sedentary life which can lead to less social interaction and finally none which can lead to depression and there are too many fun things to keep busy with so no reason to get in such a state.   Delightful explanations.   She talks about fad diets and what they play to within us and why they don’t work ie. once you stop following said fad diet – you balloon right back up to where you were  before.   Jillian’s no nonsense but fun way of coming across is entertaining but also you get what she is saying.   It is not hard it is just doing it.   Very good book.   Now I want to read her book on Metabolism.   I would recommend this book highly to anyone interesting in arresting the age process, getting your body to the point where you have elasticity instead of feeling stove u[ all the time.   Well done, Jillian Michaels.      

 - Shirley J

Cape May

Cape May by Chip Creek   256 pages

When Henry and Effie decided to get married in rural Georgia in 1957, Effie knew exactly where she wanted to honeymoon: Cape May, New Jersey. She had spent a summer there with her aunt when she was kid. She loved the shore and the hustle and bustle of a seaside town.

Unfortunately, it’s September and the town is basically deserted. A few year-round locals are there, running a diner, a grocery, a hardware store, etc. At first, twenty year old Henry and eighteen year old Effie don’t mind. Both are virgins and enjoy getting to know each other as man and wife. But after a week, they are still rather timid with each other couple and decide to go home early.

One evening, Effie recounts memories of the people she knew who lived on the same street. They notice lights on in one of the houses. They venture over, meaning to just say hi and be on their way.

Clara remembers Effie and invites them in. The house is party central. Clara and her lover Max are hosting a birthday party for her brother, Scott. Young, glamorous, sophisticated people are there, drinking, smoking and dancing. The young couple is both intimidated and thrilled.

Henry and Effie know they should stay away, but the gin and the pretty people keep them coming back, day after night after day. Henry finds himself attracted to Alma, Max’s younger sister, who helps them break into the abandoned homes. Not to do mischief, but just look around.

It isn’t long before Henry and Alma have a torrid affair. The partying gets harder and harder as the young couple extend their honeymoon by another week, eventually moving into Clara’s house.

Maybe it’s my age, but I’m over explicit sex scenes. I don’t feel they add anything to the story and my imagination can do more than a writer can. Therefore, “Cape May,” and it receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

How Catholic Art Saved the Faith

How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art by Elizabeth Lev, 295 pages

Every Catholic knows (or ought to know, but, times being what they are, likely doesn't) about the great saints who led the Catholic Reformation customarily, but misleadingly, called the Counter-Reformation: Charles Borromeo and Robert Bellarmine, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, Thomas More and John Fisher, Philip Neri and Francis de Sales, Ignatius Loyola and Peter Canisius, and many others.  Along with this litany, however, there was a corresponding movement in the arts, which boldly reasserted the claims of the Catholic Church in the works of artists including Caravaggio and Bernini, Titian and Rubens, Guido Reni and Artemisia Gentileschi.  In How Catholic Art Saved the Faith, Elizabeth Lev demonstrates how the art of what she calls the Catholic Restoration incarnated doctrine and thus used beauty to convey truth.

Lev has an intimate familiarity with the great art of Rome, and this enables her to not only present the works themselves, but present them in their proper spatial and devotional as well as historical context.  This alone would make the book worthwhile, although her focus on Rome means that she omits a great deal of art produced elsewhere - notably in Spain - and her focus on the visual arts means that other arts are barely mentioned - St Philip's role in creating the oratorio, for instance.  Amusingly, where Catholic medievalists, mostly based in northern Europe, have tended to disparage the Baroque (and therefore the churches of Rome), Lev slights the Gothic.  The book is printed on high-quality paper with full-color illustrations liberally sprinkled throughout, but unfortunately some of these reproductions, taken from public domain sources, are disappointingly poor in quality.

No Exit

No Exit by Taylor Adams    336 pages

If you like locked-room mysteries + a bit of horror + intense pacing, this is a book for you.

College student Darby Thorne is on her way home to Utah to see her dying mother. Unfortunately, she gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado and is forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside, she finds coffee, vending machines and four complete strangers. Desperate to get a cell phone signal (especially because her battery is low and she forgot her charger), Darby goes outside and while by the other cars, makes a horrifying discovery: in the back of a van parked next her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate.

Who is this girl? Who does the van belong to? Can Darby save her? And, considering one of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper, who can she trust?

As it turns out, this is only the beginning of this nightmare. The danger keeps ramping up and with it comes some even more horrifying discoveries. People aren't who they say they are, Darby has to find a way to rescue the girl and escape, and did I mention it's a blizzard outside?  And did Darby wear winter boots? Of course not. You know she didn't.

I whip-read my way through this book, although I will admit skimming slightly a few times when things got a bit too gruesome. Let's just say there's a nail gun and you can imagine the rest.  However, I liked the book and I really liked the character of Darby.  She's flawed, but she's smart and she's relentless (which I think can make for a completely lethal combination).

Let's just say that after reading this book, I am determined that I:
1) would prefer to not drive in a blizzard in the mountains;
2) but if I do, I would be prepared and have chains on my car and a big-ass phone charger
3) and would also be packing some survival tools in my car
4) and did I mention winter boots?

Her One Mistake

Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks     320 pages

Charlotte, busy with her own children, was supposed to be looking after all of them, including Alice, her best friend Harriet's daughter.  Except, with all of the chaos of the school fair, Charlotte assumes everything is fine, seeing all of the kids go into a funhouse . . . and then Alice doesn't appear. Panicking and searching everywhere, Charlotte has to tell Harriet her only child is missing and accept the blame.

Harriet, completely devastated, shuns Charlotte entirely. Trying to keep her marriage together and hold out hope that Alice will be found, Harriet is starting to unravel. It doesn't help that the police keep questioning both women, trying to figure out just what happened to Alice.

As you can expect, dark secrets become exposed as the story continues. And, as you can also expect, Charlotte may be the one person who can help find Alice. I really, really liked this book and found it impossible to put down once I started reading. The pace ramps up as the story continues and you keep feeling like you've barely missed something, but you can tell something is definitely off with one of the characters.  And don't get me started on Harriet's husband --- I really did not like this guy and suspected he was up to something pretty quickly.  What I did not expect were a few of the twists and then a big reveal about 3/4 of the way through.  However, the mystery of what happened to Alice isn't revealed right away, so you have to keep reading and guessing.

Good pace, good character development, good story.

Girl, Stop Apologizing

Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis             Audio Book: 8 hrs., 10 mins.     Hardback Book: 240 pages            

  

I really like Rachel Hollis’ style.   She delivers her words like she and the reader are sitting across from one another and Girl, let me tell you, she discusses everything and doesn’t back up from any topic.   She is so funny and quirky, her books are refreshingly honest and she calls the reader out on things when she can turn it in to a lesson to make you grow in your journey through life.    She cites her own mess ups often as examples to the reader so you won’t be humiliated taping into your own.   She talks about women’s voices and how women have been made to feel they should be everything to everybody and go 24/7 and be 100% at everything without ever asking for help.   She assures the reader and all the women that attend her seminars and read her books – it is o.k. to ask for help in fact it is mandatory!   Why burn yourself out trying to be Svengali – know all, see all when she personally believes the Internet can teach you anything you want to know.    Women do not come out of their mother’s wombs with a skillset of knowledge on how to do everything and do it well and we don’t need to apologize for that.   We also don’t have to do everything there is in life and wait on people hand and foot, clean up after them and go bake cookies and go on our kids fieldtrips when we don’t want to.  It is also o.k. to say no without apologies.   She says she HATES to volunteer at her kids’ schools.   She absolutely loathes it so after the first few years of going along with whatever the schools asked of her, she finally came to a point that she hated it so much she asked herself WHY was she doing it?   After that first No, it got a lot easier.    Now her schedule is so packed already that when someone comes up and asks her to do something for them, she tells them nicely, “I’m sorry, my schedule is so packed now that if I take on one more thing, I will have to take time away from my family and my family comes first so I’m sorry but the answer is no.   She swears when you bring up family no one wants to take you away from your family and they will leave you alone.   She says the other mothers at school give her snarky looks and make remarks, but, she isn’t going to let that bother her.   Their opinion of her is none of her business and if they want to volunteer, power to them.    Maybe they like it, she doesn’t.   That doesn’t make her a bad Mom that makes her a Mom that knows her own mind and doesn’t let others force her into their trick bag.   She says women have to stop identifying themselves by what other people think she ought to do or be.   “Own who you are and what you want, Sister,” Hollis says.   She has a lot og great stories and is an inspiration women in how to be the confident creatures God made us all to be.   Really good book.   I like Rachel Hollis’ attitude and she clearly says some things in this book that I bet she gets a lot of flack for on her website.    But she is so right, we women have got to take our stand on who we are, and while its o.k. to love and do, we also matter and we have to take that into consideration, too.    Power to you, Rachel Hollis.   You are my favorite feminist.  Yes, yes, Women everywhere, read this book, you will nod and agree with what she says.

 - Shirley J

GuRu

GuRu by RuPaul          Audio Book:  1 hour, 15 mins      Hardback Book:  208 pages           

RuPaul becomes our guru sharing the life philosophies Mama Ru lives by.   Sage advice from a self-proclaimed shape-shifter.   RuPaul has reinvented herself many, many times over the years and doesn’t plan on stopping till she drops.     She shares her daily rituals that ease her into each day always giving thanks and showing gratitude for the blessings bestowed on her life.   She delivers witticisms to live by, “You’re born naked and the rest is drag.”   She discusses how she loves to dress well whether as a woman or a man, and shares some fashion and make-up tips along with humorous comments, “extra points for applying false eyelashes on the bottom lashes!”   Telling how she pads her derriere ,“there’s nothing better that a big fat booty!”   RuPaul talks about her influences for her many personnas, first it was Diana Ross, then Cher, Dolly Parton, I would have thought Tina Turner, too, but she didn’t mentiooooooooooooooooooooooooooonetc.   Still fabulous whoever inspired her look – she makes it RuPaul.   Sometimes speaking from a Shamanic place RuPaul guides the reader into meditative states, with a voice so soft she ought to offer classes, she could lull the readers and fans into a spa like place as she speaks of talking to your soul – who we are mentally, physically and spiritually, the essence, the power that created the universe that most people aren’t willing to hear about nor accept but Is so real and tangible in her life.   She reaches out to comfort the sensitive soul with her teachings and spiritual awareness she wears like a fine perfume.   Drag allows her the space to shoot for the stars and what an excellent job she does.  Image maker, fashionista now GuRu, RuPaul does it all.   I would recommend this book, to all the souls out there searching for a fierce Warrior Princess  to lead the charge.   Always entertaining.   Always honest to a tee.  Always true to herself, that is RuPaul.                

 - Shirley J