Apples Rot on the Ground --by Kate Padilla

Nonfiction / Poetry

30 pages

5 Stars

 

This is a small collection, in the size known as ‘Chapbook.’ It is small but crammed full of big poems! Padilla opens with a sestina which may bring a tear, but will also bring a loud cheer at the end! At least I cheered after reading , “…She stretched a long / rope and baited the beast, yelled…/..She was not her mother, afraid.”

 

Her poems are pure unadulterated emotion, they are history—history of New Mexico and history of family. Not all are sad, Rustler made me hungry—and smile, Forbidden Friend called to mind portions of my childhood. A Santo Protects My Mother made me cry that I hadn’t thought of that. Taos Harvest, the last poem, another brilliant sestina, made me sob. 

 

These poems are like a perfectly cooked and seasoned steak that has enough texture to make you know it’s beef, and flavor to die for. This is a small book, large poems, to be read and reread—often.

A Tale of Two Reapers --by Jack Wallen

 Fiction: Urban Fantasy

292 pages / 3579 KB

5 stars

 

Every year I give me a new book from me. That way I know I’ll get at least one new book I will enjoy. This year’s Christmas present from me to me was A Tale of Two Reapers. I could not have picked a better book to curl up with on the sofa and read, cover to cover. I love a good urban fantasy that makes me laugh out loud several times through the book. On most pages, actually.

WARNING: This is a one-sit read! Hire a babysitter and check into your nearest motel. Splurge on room service. You'll be glad you took this advice. Honest. Trust me.

 

I felt like I was an old friend and Grim was telling me his story. I absolutely loved the style of writing, very relaxed, very humorous, and obviously, Mr. Wallen is a very disciplined writer. I look forward to reading other books by him.

 

The characters were well developed, thought out, and fun. The kind of people I’d enjoy calling ‘Friend’. I especially liked how Grim treated his young friend, Jonesy. That was an unexpected and most delightful bit to enjoy. Grim is 500 years old or so, so everyone is younger than he is. He deals in death all day, every day. His one and only job is to harvest souls of the good, the bad, and the awful. He has a young friend, Jonesy who is other-abled, and Grim treats him as a friend, a fully realized adult. He enjoys the company of Jonesy, and it shows. I dare say most of us could learn from their interchanges.

 

I suppose for some, death is a dark and all but taboo subject, but really, it’s just part of the Circle of Life. And this was such a delightful way to handle it.  I eagerly await buying and reading books 2 and 3. (Am saving them for my birthday ;-)

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: A Message of Spiritual Wisdom —by Comcast NBCUniversal

 Nonfiction / spiritual

623184 KB

4 stars

 

 

I’ve read other books by/about HH the Dalai Lama that I thought were better, that said, I think this is a good intro into his life, and how he ended up where he’s at today. It’s also a good intro to Tibetan Buddhism.

 

My biggest complaint was the total lack of editing. This very well may be a direct transcript of what he said, complete with uhs, aahs, and grammatical errors. I think Comcast NBCUniversal would have done him, and the readers a service with just minor editing (verb tense, primarily).

 

It’s a quick read, and lots of goodness to be found there.

Pretty Little Fliers (Magic Market Mysteries Book 1) --by Erin Johnson

 Fiction / Urban Fantasy

202 pages  / 2359 KB

5 stars

 

 

Having read the prequel, Saved by the Spell, a Novella, when I came upon Pretty Little Fliers, Book 1 of the Magic Market Mysteries series, I grabbed it. And look forward to the next in the series.

 

Ms. Johnson has created a fun universe where it appears everyone has magic of one sort or another—except our heroine. She had magic, at one time, and then ran into a spell that deleted it. At one time, our heroine had a life, a job as a lawyer, the ability to shift, an affianced—then she met someone who didn’t like her and wham, zam, not anymore ma’am. So she get’s to live in the slums as a pet psychic, gets involved in a murder, falls for the hunka hunka cop who is sweet, but borderline clueless, and I’m not gonna tell you anymore!

 

I easily put this book on the shelf labeled: Calorie-Free Reading. It’s fun. Period. And we need fun in our lives. A great story for bedtime, no adrenaline gushing, no foul language (well, not in our language anyhow), no graphic descriptions of torture or anything else. If my preteen daughter wanted to read it, I wouldn’t hesitate to loan it to her. 

 

The Girl Who Lived in a Shoe and other Torn-Up Tales —by Bernice Seward

 Fiction / Retold Fairytales

88 pages

5 Stars

 

Oh dear! I just realized I laughed all through a kiddie book! I thought the retold stories were for adults. Well, I loved them, and I heartily recommend them, both for the young people in your life and for the young person in you.

 

According to one review, this book is written for 2d /3d grade levels. I don’t care. It was fun. Pure and simple. 

 

Five authors wrote one story each, taking apart an old fairytale and making it modern and relevant to today. 

 

If you have young ones at home, I believe this is a book you can read to them over and over and over and not get bored, or use it to help them read. 

 

If you’re in your second childhood, you will, truly, enjoy these stories. And the artwork is delightful.

 

Buy this book for the young people in your life. But be sure to buy a copy for you!  

Louisiana Hotshot: A New Oeleans Murder Mystery; Talba Wallis #1 (The Talba Wallis PI Series) —by Julie Smith

 Fiction / Detective

353 pages / 3854 KB

4 Stars

 

What a hoot! How refreshing to read of an older PI who gets headaches from computers and hires a young black woman as his assistant. She’s smart as a whip, writes poetry, and is somewhat known in New Orleans as the Baroness de Pontalba. Eddie is an old curmudgeon, and he and his new assistant, clash every so often, like every time they meet face to face. He’s an ex-cop, she a graduate of Harvard. 

 

The book is filled with scenery of NOLA, and some interesting tidbits of actual history. Remember the old Tennessee Williams play/movie, Streetcar Named Desire? (Stellllaaaaaa!!!!!) Well, there WAS a streetcar line called the Desire line. Who knew? I love it when I can learn something from a fun book.

 

I look forward to reading the next in the series to see what else Talba gets into. 

Oh, maybe I should mention the language is street language. If that bothers you, don't bother reading, you won't like the book. Though you might get an education.

To Cipher and to Sing (The Fairlight Project Book 1) --by Ian Lahey

 Fiction / Sci-Fi

191 pages / 777 KB

5 Stars

 

Mr. Lahey has a marvelous and understated sense of humor. It shows every so often in the book, but in a manner that adds, rather than detracts.

 

This is my kind of sci-fi — it is interesting, humorous, and not all doom and gloom. The androids are fun, especially the newest one who comes to live with and learn from Professor Fairlight, who is not a techie though his wife is. If your type of sci-fi is dystopian with everyone dying by the end of the book, keep on looking elsewhere. But if you like a certain amount of plausibility with your possibility, pick this one up and read it.

 

If you’re a fan of the tv show, Columbo, I think you’ll really enjoy this book. And that’s all I’m going to say about it. Enjoy!

 

Another America / Otro America --by Barbara Kingsolver

 Nonfiction / Poetry

160 pages

5 stars

 

I have read this book twice. I found myself in thrall after the first reading, her poetry stayed with me for years. After this second reading, I found myself amazed at how fresh it was, how relevant to our days and times. I had forgotten so much; I just remembered the beauty of her writing. This time I saw for the first time again the pain, the blood, but still, the beauty.

 

This book speaks of love, of tenderness, of cruelty, of loss. This book speaks of life in all its beauty and its grit, and does so with a poetic elegance accessible to anyone who reads it.

 

Although I do not speak Spanish, I enjoyed having the left-hand page in Spanish, and the right hand page in English. Someday maybe I’ll learn Spanish, and then I can read all the even numbered pages.

 

This time through, I read it in conjunction with another book of poems, also with a great deal of Spanish, but within the poems, Songs Older Than Any Known Singer —by John Phillip Santos. The books blended and complemented each other as if they had been written one for the other.

Songs Older Than Any Known Singer --by John Phillip Santos

 Nonfiction / poetry

129 pages

5 Stars

 

These poems are stories. These poems are memoir. These poems are songs. These poems are beauty. These poems are exquisite art. 

 

This book is to be savored like the most expensive liquor, like the most decadent desert. Unlike said drink and desert, this book can be enjoyed over and over, and has no calories.