Tuesday, December 29, 2020

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.

Saturday, December 26, 2020

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. 

 

Thursday, December 17, 2020

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.

Sunday, December 13, 2020

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!

 

Monday, December 7, 2020

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. 

Sunday, November 29, 2020

Roots in the Air, New & Selected Poems --by Shirley Kaufmans

 Nonfiction / Poetry

225 pages

5 stars

 

These are not poems to devour as fast as possible. These are poems to savor, ponder, meditate over. Poems that will remain with you, if not the actual words, the emotions they evoked.

 

Many of Ms. Kaufman’s poems bring for not just images, but also smells—from salt water to burning feathers.

 

Roots in the Air was my introduction to Ms. Kaufman, and I am sorry she is no longer with us. What has been published is it. I will look for her other books, and the hours of enjoyment they shall surely bring me.

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Reckless: Book 1 of the Mia Kazmaroff Mysteries —by Susan Kiernan-Lewis

 Fiction / Mystery / paranormal

291 pages / 1621 KB

3 Stars

 

 

I finished the book, so that’s an automatic 3 stars. I so wanted to like this, it just looked like great fun, but I had a really hard time believing any of the characters. I sort of liked them, but I couldn’t believe them. Mia is 28, and behaves more like she’s 13. Maybe she’s just naïve in the extreme, but…

 

Oh, maybe that was the whole bit? It’s not meant to be a book for adults, but was written for for those teens approaching adulthood and the 28 was a typo and should have been 18? I believe that genre is called New Adult? 

 

I will not be looking for more of this author’s books.

Friday, November 13, 2020

Penitent: a Scottish murder mystery…(Detective Inspector Munro murder Book 9)—by Pete Brassett

 Fiction

199 pages / 2218 KP

4 Stars

 

 

This is my first Detective Munro book, and I’m glad there are 9 others to enjoy. I enjoy all things I’ve come across that are Scot — yes, even haggis — perhaps because my family is from Scotland, and I enjoyed this story tremendously, especially the language used. Those words I was unfamiliar with were explained in context. All except one, and a quick search on my computer gave me the definition of what is the ubiquitous brown sauce ;-)

 

I loved that the characters were a tad competitive with each other, but they obviously like, and even love, each other and have each other’s back. It was fun to watch them work and play together and solve the murders together.

 

All pieces nicely tied up at the end. A wonderful escape and a great read!

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Memories in the Drift: A Novel —by Melissa Payne

 Fiction

279 pages / 3329 KB

5 Stars

 

 

I loved this book. I was afraid it would turn into a Woe-is-me-I’m-a-victim, story. It didn't! Some may cry when they read it, I didn’t, but I came close. I laughed, and I cheered, and I feel better for having read it than for not.

 

Clair had a seizure ten years ago, she lost her baby, she lost her capability to form memories. She had the ones from ‘before’ but relied on notebooks and cards and her phone, to keep her current. Fortunately, she has always been very organized and she has retained that capability. 

 

In a way, she is stuck in Groundhog Day, but as she reads her daily journals, as the people in the town help her, the pain of death and loss diminishes, and she is able to form, or reform, old bonds. 

 

I think this is one of those books I’ll re-read, especially when my reality gets to be a tad more than I care to deal with.

 

The book was very well written, and it must have been difficult to write because of the memory loops, but Ms. Payne pulled it off with great style and beauty. It is a book of hope, of love, of friendships, of great beauty.

Sunday, November 8, 2020

The Man She Married: A gripping psychological thriller with a heart-pounding twist —by Alison James

  

Fiction / thriller

312 pages / 1298 KB

5 Stars

 

My definition of a good novel is one that invites me in to play in its world, gives me an escape, and gives me a satisfactory ending. This met my definition.

 

Imagine meeting Mr. Right when you’re 31, after having been left at the altar by your first Mr. Right. Your biological clock is ticking, louder and louder. You ignore little things, after all, they sound plausible.

 

On Valentine’s Day, shortly before the third anniversary you discover you’re pregnant. Your husband is late getting home. Dinner is ruined. When you finally hear the car in the drive and open the door ready to read him the riot act, you’re met with two cops who inform you your husband is dead. Killed in an accident with a bus. And then, when you go to see the body you find his estranged brother who you’ve never met, is there, and he says it’s not his brother.

 

I like the way the author tells the story. She starts off with what I’ve just told you, only she did a much better job, then the next several chapters are all from Alice’s POV. Part II is from Dominic’s POV, and then, Part III is dessert. Uh, the finish.

 

I read it in one day. It was just what I needed to escape our national elections for a few hours. Not only was I transported to another country (England), but to a whole new set of adventures. Thoroughly enjoyed the book, and look forward to ready more by Alison James.

Saturday, October 24, 2020

Many Sparrows --by donnarkevic

 Nonfiction / Poetry

66 pages

5 stars

 

 

This slim book contains some large and powerful poems and images. A memoir in poems of the author growing up a Polish Catholic altar boy in a steel town beside the Ohio River. He writes of growing up, of facing death when another boy dies by suicide, of being given those boys clothes, of taking over his paper route, of growing into a man.

 

donnarkevic’s poetry is easily accessible in its conversational tone, his images are powerful, his stories are rivetting. 

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Before Our Eyes: New and Selected Poems, 1975-2017 —by Eleanor Wilner

 Nonfiction / Poetry

232 pages

5 stars

 

I had already marked several poems by the time I reached page 50 that I liked, and will go back to read. When I got to page 50, Moonlit Wake, I read it, and stopped. It’s not fair to claim it’s my favorite out of all the poems, but at the moment I read it, it didn’t just resonate with me, it sang to me. 

 

“The broken moonpath on the darkened sea…” 

 

This book is a calorie-free meal of your favorite foods topped off with a slice of Death by Chocolate cake. It is the stimulating dinner companion you’re always craved. It is the thoughtful companion for which you’ve longed. 

 

If you like poetry, buy this book. Like that meal above, eat slowly, chew well, savor flavor and texture. 

Monday, October 19, 2020

The Vagina Bible --by Jen Gunter, MD

 Nonfiction / Medical 

432 pages

5 Stars

 

Oh. Em. Gee!!! A friend of mine, a retired MD, suggested I read this, and he also suggested it should be required reading for all medical students. As a lay person, I agree. I could hardly put it down.

 

It does read more like a textbook than a novel, but Dr. Gunter talks about a subject with ease, and humor, that many still find almost embarrassing to bring up. Myself included. I was raised in a very conservative family, and one just didn’t talk about such things unless in euphemism. For me, this book is a godsend, and I truly wish I’d had it when I was young and in child-bearing years!

 

If you think there is nothing humorous to write about a vagina, start with the cover of the book, a pink zipper, opened. All those teeth!!! ;-) And go from there. I laughed out loud often.

 

I read this book cover to cover, but it would also be a great book just to keep on your reference shelf. Or, read it cover to cover and then put it on your reference shelf.

 

I believe Ayelet Walman said it bed, “Buy this book if you have a vagina or if you spend any time at all in reasonably close proximity to one.” If you have a vagina, or know someone who does, I heartily recommend this book. 

Left Hand of Darkness --by Ursula K. LeGuin

 Fiction / Science Fiction / High Literature

330 pages

3 stars

 

 

First off, if you enjoy what I call ‘high literature’—words over plot—this is the book for you! I love the idea, the concept, of her story, more than adequately described in 50-plus years of reviews, but I could not enjoy it. I would not have finished it had the book group I’m joining not chosen it for the next meeting.

 

Ms. LeGuin is, as my sister has told me many times, one of the all-time greats, her writing is technically perfect. I don’t want perfection, I want story. When I read fiction, I want escape. I want to get between the pages of the book and go adventuring with the characters. I want to cry with them, laugh with them, starve with them, swim with them. Unfortunately, for me, she puts a psychic distance between her characters and me. She wants me to sit and watch through a glass window. I can do that with the television set.

 

There were a couple of places where she slipped up, and I actually began to feel an emotional tug to a couple of the characters, but she caught herself, corrected course, and again forced me to sit still and be quiet, when I really wanted to stay with the characters.

 

I have read a few of her novels, and gone back for more through the years, but always the same. The characters are allowed to go play, I must sit primly on the sofa and watch through the window. She is consistent.

 

Her short stories; however, are a delight. In them, I’m invited to play.

Monday, October 12, 2020

RAGE by Bob Woodward

  

Nonfiction / biography

480 pages

4 stars

 

 

This is my first Bob Woodward book. I tend to read a lot of nonfiction, and I don’t know if it was the writing, the editing, or the subject, but I found it easy to put the book down, but it was also easy to pick it up and start again. Normally, a 500-page book wouldn’t take me very long to read – 5 days at the outside, but this book took me close to two weeks.

 

The writing was nothing less than I would expect from a pro like Woodward, so I’m going to guess the subject matter was my problem with the book. I did like the fact that Woodward looked for and reported on the good things he found with Mr. Trump, though they were few and far between. 

 

This was also my first Trump book, and though it wasn’t anything new and surprising (it has all, or most all, been said and reported through the last few years, but the book was a good chronology of those events, with a lot of backstory.

 

My favorite part was the early part, where Woodward talked about the early cabinet members— Mattis, Pompeo, Tillerson. Mattis is a bit of a local hero here, in Richland WA, who I’d never heard of until he went to work for Trump’s White House. Frankly, it was good to meet my neighbor, at least through this means, and now I’d like to meet him in actuality. And I was, somehow, quite pleased that Mad Dog was a name Trump gave him. His code name was in fact, Chaos, but Trump liked Mad Dog better. The same with Tillerson. These two men in particular worked hard to educate Trump, to help our country, until finally…

 

My understanding of reportage is that a good reporter (Woodward) will look for both sides of the story and report them both as honestly as possible. I think Woodward did an admirable job of it.

Sunday, September 27, 2020

The Night Swimmers by Peter Rock

Fiction / autobiographical

272 pages 

5 Stars

 

 

I’m not positive how to review this. I listened to a recording of the book, so didn’t actually read it. I think I would have preferred reading the book, than listening to it, but I may be wrong. This is my first audiobook in several years and my introduction to Mr. Rock, and I will be checking out more of his novels. In hard copy.

 

Not knowing what to expect, I spent the time actually listening, not trying to do other things while listening. I didn’t know if this would be a male coming of age, or what. It is ‘or what.’

 

The story revolves around his returning home after college to work on a novel and lives with his parents at their summer home on the lake, where he goes swimming after dark. He meets a new widow about twice his age, and they begin swimming together at night. She is rather enigmatic, secretive actually, and a certain swim, changes everything. She leaves, he moves on, but he never forgets her, and years later, they meet again.

 

Had I read the book; I probably would have read it in one sit. I listened to it in one sit. 

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Wirds, Weld Champneys' best --by Weld Champneys

 Nonfiction / poetry

288 pages

5 Stars

 

The cover says these are the best of Weld Champneys. It is correct.

 

This is the book that will stay by my bedside, to be opened at random and enjoyed before turning the light out. In these turbulent times when good news and humor are both at an all-time low, it is a book that is needed.

 

Most of the poems are short and will bring a smile to your face with which to sleep. Check out “DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A

SIMILE AND A METAPHOR

 

cats are like small

women in fur coats 

 

men are dogs”

 

Not only may you learn something from Mr. Champneys, you’ll get a chuckle while doing so.

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

The Woman in the Moonlight: A Novel --by Patricia Morrisroe

 Fiction / Historical Romance*

381 pages / 3759 KB

5+ Stars

 

One of the most captivating novels I’ve read in a while. Though a novel, a great deal of research went into it, and Morrisroe brings the characters alive. I knew Beethoven went deaf, but, oh, the heartache, the pain.

 

As a child, I took violin lessons—and though I loved classical music, I didn’t (and still don’t) have a musical molecule in my body. Of necessity, this book is filled with music, and fortunately, I am somewhat familiar with the music discussed. I could, literally hear it as I read. 

 

I don’t know if it was intentional on the author’s part, and I somehow think it was, this is an older fashioned ‘told story’ rather than a more modern one that is ‘shown.’ I rather enjoy a well-told story and had no problem with it.

 

What a most delightful, sumptuous, way of time travel to a romantic period of European history. The balls, the forced marriages, the gowns. Sumptuous! Brava, Madame Morrisroe. Brava!!!

 

*It’s really a love story. A gorgeous, beautiful Love Story.

 

Sunday, August 23, 2020

A Gothic Treasure Trove —by M. Brent, P. Whitney, V. Holt, B. Michaels, D. Eden, and J. North

 Fiction / Gothic Romance-Thriller

639 pages

4 Stars

 

 

Before I begin my reviews please note I seldom read condensed books, and bought this online, having been assured by the seller it was not condensed. The illustrations are charming. Alas, it was. I must admit, I am somewhat familiar with a couple of the authors, and I think the Reader’s Digest Condensing Staff did a fairly good job. So…

 

Moonraker’s Bride—by Madeleine Brent (aka Peter O’Donnell). The reason for buy the book, actually. A friend recommended it. The story begins in Tsin Kai-feng, China where the orphan Lucy Waring lives. Her parents were missionaries and died when she was a baby. She was then raised by two women, only one of which who now lives, also missionaries. It is up to Lucy to take care of the children, figure out how to procure food, etc., since the mission committee no longer supports them. 

 

Through a series of events, she finds herself meeting two Englishmen, both seeking treasure. Alas, one, she meets in prison—she for attempted theft, he for desecration of a tomb—and because he helps her buy her way out, she marries him and receives the gold he had secreted on his person. He writes a will, has it witnessed by two other Europeans, and tells her to return to England and see his lawyer in 6 months.

 

Intrigue, treasure, love, everything that makes a good gothic novel, well, Gothic.

 

The Golden Unicorn—by Phyllis A. Whitney.  The television journalist, Courtney Marsh new she was adopted, and now that her loving adoptive parents are both dead, she comes upon a clue to who her birth mother might be. Alas, those records are sealed, and she cannot find out through legal and proper channels. One clue is a pendant she found that she thinks, may have been hers since birth or a golden unicorn. She takes it to an art dealer and discovers there is a reclusive artist in the Hamptons who almost always paints unicorns someplace in her art, often in the moon. Her work is quite famous, and against all odds, Courtney gains an interview and time at the home of the artist.

 

True to form, no one at the home from siblings to in-laws to adult children are “normal.” And someone wants Courtney gone. For good.

 

Kirkland Revels —by Victoria Holt. Cathy comes home from school to a dark and gloomy house. Her mother died when she was a babe, her father was aloof. She meets Gabriel out on the moors, and though not passionately in love with him, she likes him, and feels sorry for him, and agrees to marry him. When they go to him home, Kirkland Revels, she finds herself caught up in family intrigues she had no idea existed except possibly in fiction. 

 

Kirkland Revels is anything but fun. No revelry here. Death. Ghosts. Not wanted by anyone in the family, with no friends and no one to turn to, Cathy must choose her companions carefully. At least one wants her dead. Or locked in an asylum.

 

Wings of the Falcon —by Barbara Michaels. Francesca is a young Englishwoman. Her mother was Italian, died when she was young (do you see a pattern here?) and her father, the Englishman, died as she becomes a young woman. He never talked about her mother’s family, but shortly before his death of consumption, he wrote a letter to them, explaining and asking. (Do you really need to know what? In either case?) He dies. The evil landlord is into bodice ripping and just as he’s about to go to the next step, into the room steps a dashing young count who rescues her and takes her home to there grandfather, the Prince Tarconti.

 

She meets her two male cousins, twins, one crippled by a horse-riding accident, the studious one. The other the dashing young swain. She also meets her aunt and another cousin, female. This is set in the time when Italy was rebelling to become a unified country instead of city states, etc. The popes, of course, didn’t want the unification. Francesca is in the northern, Piedmonte area, and the local rebel leader is known as il Falcone. He cuts a dashing figure and is the Italian version of Robin Hood, or perhaps Zorro. Oh, come now Gentle Readers, surely you can figure it out. But it was a fun read, especially since it was in Italy and not dark and gloomy England.

 

The Lady of Mallow —by Dorothy Eden. A long-lost son, Blaine and his small boy, Titus suddenly arrive to take their place at the House of Mallow. The mother, Lady Malvina is so starved for her son who left in a rage 20 years plus ago to come home, she is willing to overlook a few forgotten things due to his “amnesia.” She hates his wife but adores little Titus. In the meantime, her nephew Ambrose, who was sure he would be the heir, sued and lost.

 

Sarah Mildmay, the fiancé of Ambrose, decides to go to work for the Mallows to help Ambrose, her one true love, take his rightful place as Lord of the Manner. But things are not what they seem. Amalie, Lady Mallow and her husband’s marriage does not ring true. And the boy, Titus, not only bonds with Sarah, but she with him. People sneak in, people sneak out, Miss Mildmay keeps a journal and writes her beloved Ambrose of her findings. He is also playing detective and returns to Mallow House at the climactic end to announce his findings and reclaim what he is sure is rightfully his—the house, Miss Mildmay, the title, the money. 

 

River Rising —by Jessica North. Rochelle Dumont never knew her father. If she asked her mother about him, she was told he’d died, end of story. At the age of two, her mother, Charlotte Armitage, took young Rochelle and left the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence River for Antigua where Rochelle grew up. As her mother laying dying (note the reverse here?) she tells Rochelle never to trust her Canadian Armitage family and dies. Sometime later, she receives a letter from her Aunt Regina, of River Rising, the big house on the river cliff, with an invitation to come home to, and meet, her family, and the funds to do so.

 

With her mother’s words echoing in her memory, she goes. The village is almost medieval. The large chateau is rumored to be haunted. Her first introduction to the villagers is less than friendly, her introduction to her family isn’t much warmer. She isn’t wanted. Well of course she isn’t wanted. If she was wanted this wouldn’t be a Gothic Thriller, would it? But why isn’t she wanted? And who wants her dead? The cousin? The friend? The dashing boat captain? The village witch?

 

 

This is, truly a fun anthology. If you would like a copy, I suggest you check out www.abebooks.com

Sunday, August 16, 2020

A Better Man --by Louise Penny (Inspector Gamache series)

 Fiction / Mystery

417 pages / 9984 KB

5 Stars

 

Thoroughly enjoyable! Complex story lines, woven together at the end. If you’re a fast reader, you might want to consider slowing down. The clues are all there, can you figure it out? 

 

Mostly this is the story of Gamache as he comes off his suspension/leave and returns to a job at the Surete. Lacoste also comes full circle and returns. I have a couple of questions that weren’t answered, and I’m hoping they will be next book. Then, again, perhaps they have been answered and I just don’t like the answers!

 

Vivienne has either been murdered or committed suicide. Her husband is abusive and the obvious suspect. But, did he do it? Who was her lover? Whose child was she carrying? Who else had a motive to kill her?

 

Why is Clara being treated like she is? I hope she gets redemption in the next book. I can understand why she feels the way she does — negative reviews hurt, even if correct. But why so vicious?

 

Perhaps the most important question raised is, is Ruth softening? 

 

Kingdom of the Blind --by Louise Penny (Inspector Gamache series_

 Fiction / mystery

375 pages / 6643 KB

5 stars

 

Once again, I had a mini vacation to a fictional village, with fictional friends. As one of my t-shirts says, “Books make me homesick for places I’ve never been and people I’ve never met.” I do so enjoy my mini vacations to Three Pines and the surrounding areas. And to see what my friends are up to. A good cup of coffee, friendly gossip, and I’m good to go until the next book comes out.

 

This is the first book Ms. Penny wrote after her beloved husband died. It must have been terribly difficult, as well as rewarding.

 

Armand and Myrna and one other person unknown to them, have been chosen as executors to an estate of a woman they’ve never met. It doesn’t take long for a body to appear, in a most unorthodox place and manner. The “Countess” as she was known, has three adult children, why weren’t they chosen as executors? Why strangers with no apparent connection? How did one end up dead in his childhood home?

 

All good questions, and all questions will be answered by the last page. If you’re a fan of Gamache, I think you’ll enjoy this one, too. 

Saturday, August 8, 2020

guillotine --by Eduardo C. Corral

Nonfiction / poetry

72 pages

5 stars

 

After reading one poem online, I ordered Slow Lightning and pre-ordered guillotine. I absolutely loved Slow Lightning, and as I try to do, succeeded in forgetting I had another of his books on pre-order. It arrived the other day. Christmas in August! I devoured the book in two nights. I could have done it in one, but I wanted to savor it, at least a little. I will reread it again, and again, and the next time, I’ll not only read it slowly, as is proper, I’ll have my Spanish dictionary beside me.

 

Yes, some poems are completely in Spanish, and many (most?) have Spanish in them. It is not necessary to read and understand Spanish to taste the beauty of the words or grasp the meaning.

 

The poems are gut-wrenchers in their beauty and their pain. The son of Mexican immigrants, he sings the celebration of surviving the Sonora Desert, of surviving life. He also sings the lamentations of the immigrant, those who are still in the desert, of the man different, of the self-inflicted pain seeking to give glory. 

 

Corral plays not only with words and notes, but with style and form. Some of the poems are out of focus, as if being read through tears. One is written in two loose columns that merge, separate, life, death. One poem is all names, out of focus, hard to read. I cried. 

Honey and Salt --by Carl Sandburg

 Nonfiction / poetry

110 pages

4 Stars

 

Although I liked several of the poems in this book, they are beautifully written and nicely constructed, I can only give it four stars. To be honest, I think it’s my personal bias. These poems were originally published in the late 1950s and poetry has morphed since then. I prefer the newer

styles.

 

Of the ones I liked, my favorite is Love is a Deep and a Dark and a Lonely. If not the poem itself, the title. 

 

I can see why Sandburg is the quintessential American poet. If you haven’t read him, I think you need to. Perhaps that is part of my bias, I came to him in my twilight years. 

Sunday, August 2, 2020

You Must Revise Your Life --by William Stafford (Poets on Poetry)

Nonfiction /essay/poetry

136 pages

3 Stars

 

An interesting book by an interesting man. Basically, it’s how he wrote and taught. If you are new to the writing life, or contemplating it, I recommend reading this book. There are some insights you might find useful. The ones that strike a chord in your psyche, take and own. The others—leave in the book.

 

There was, as one reviewer noted, a smugness to the book that I think was neither needed nor intended. How his way of teaching was so much better than other ways. At least, I hope it wasn’t intended. Although I am not a teacher, I have participated in many workshops, and I found the ones that tempered criticism with a little praise, were the most helpful for me. I don’t think I would have enjoyed a class where neither was given. But, then, again…

 

The most fun was in misreading one of his poems. He wrote ‘map’ I read ‘NAP’. When I realized my mistrake, I re-read it. I like it better with nap.

Monday, July 27, 2020

School of the Arts: Poems —by Mark Doty

Nonfiction / poetry

128 pages

5 stars

 

A friend suggested I read Mark Doty. I bought this book, read the first few, and thought, “Yeah, they’re ok, but nothing to write home about.” Then I turned the page and was clobbered up the side of the head with POETRY! OMG! My friend was right!!!

 

Whereas I had planned on finishing it, and giving it to someone else, now that I’m finished, if anyone wants to borrow it, they will have to have clean hands, wear cotton gloves, and promise not to get greasy eye marks all over it.

 

Most of these poems are multi paged; however, there is a lot of white space, artfully placed. From Notebook/To Lucian Freud/On the Veil, “I love starting things // Fat and shadow, oil and wax / mobility solidified, / like cooled grease in a can—"//

 

Somehow, he has managed to paint his song with words in in both bright and subdued melodic colors. A great bedtime read. A great anytime read.

Sunday, July 26, 2020

The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010 (American Poets Continuum_ --by Lucille Clifton, author and Kevin Young, editor (plus 2 ore_

Nonfiction / poetry
720 pages, Hardback (2.7 pounds)
5x5 stars

My sister, a poet, insisted I buy and read this book. I’m so glad I listened. I whined a bit about the weight, but I learned, or relearned, to enjoy reading sitting up instead of horizontal in bed.

In all the poems, there was not one I did not like, and many I liked very much. Several times, something she said, the somehow of her saying it, flipped a switch in my mind, and I put the book down, and wrote poems because of her work. Not copies, not even similar, not even on the same topic, but her words, her beauty, spurred me to write.

I am so sorry I will not have the opportunity to meet her, to take a class from her, to tell her ‘Thank You’ for so much beauty, so much song, so much life, in person. When I grow up, I want to be Lucille Clifton. I am so grateful I have this wonderful book. Kevin Young did a marvelous job putting it together.

When I grow up, I want to be Lucille Clifton

Sunday, July 5, 2020

A Rule Against Murder --by Louise Penny

Fiction / Armand Gamache Mystery (book 4)
313 pages 
5 stars

Armand and his wife, Reine-Marie visit their favorite ‘back woods’ lodge for a few days before their anniversary—the luxurious, isolated Manoir Bellechase. The Finney family are having their annual reunion, a month early, during the same time. The Finney’s are a dysfunctional family actually, quite nasty. Imagine the surprise when the late-comers turn out to be friends of the Gamache’s. Imagine the surprise of the Finney’s when one of their own is murdered, and it comes out that the polite and soft-spoken gentleman is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete Homicide and not a grounds man married to a housekeeper.

Ms. Penny uses a lot of French in her books, they are after all, set in French Quebec. However, she carefully lets those of us who don’t know French, know what the character’s say. 

Madame Dubois, who runs the lodge, has a rule against murder, and is none too pleased that the rule has been broken and one of her guests has been killed. I was fairly sure I had this one figured out, but, alas. I didn’t. I wasn’t even close. And very little of the book takes place in the village of Three Pines. 

The Cruelest Month --by Louise Penny

Fiction / Armand Gamache Mystery
320 pages
5 stars

I truly enjoy these books. They are mysteries like I enjoyed years ago, not full of violence for violence sake, we don’t get long, drawn out sequences of how the body came to be, we just come upon it, fait accompli.

The village of Three Pines makes me homesick for a place I’ve never been, a place that doesn’t exist, except in the collective imaginations of those of us who live there. Or at least get to visit now and then. I miss my ‘neighbors,’ especially the irascible poet, Ruth Zardo, and love it when I can go home to my mythical village for a visit.

Gabri has scheduled a Good Friday séance that doesn’t go quite as planned, and a second séance is scheduled for Easter Sunday in the old Hadley House. That doesn’t go as planned, either, as one of the guests is killed.  Quite literally, scared to death.

The Team Gamache sets up in the volunteer fire department ‘garage’ and Gamache brings in a new member, that everyone likes, and is easy to work with, and agent Yvette Nichol returns, as disruptive and manipulative as ever. Possibly more so. Plot twists and turns, and you may rest assured the butler didn’t do it. Did he?

Taboo --by Yusef Komunyakaa

Nonfiction / poetry
144 pages
5 stars

A tad apprehensive when I bought this book, leery of a whole book in three-line stanzas, I quickly became enamored with the writing. I didn’t understand some of it, I felt like I’d been invited to a party, and my date left me standing with strangers and expected me to know who they were a time or two, but mostly I knew the other guests and I never felt alone. 

These poems are different than the ones in Dien Cai Dau, the first of his books I purchased and read. Yusef Komunyakaa is a poet of many talents, and I look forward to reading more of his books.

This book is book one of The Wishbone Trilogy, what are the other two books? Are they written? Are they published?

Saturday, June 13, 2020

The Bone Jar --by S. W. Kane

Fiction / Mystery

328 pages / 2229 KB

5 Stars

 

 

If the F-bomb offends thee, read not this book! Yes, it’s used liberally, but is there for a reason, not just gratuitous use. After all, it’s a perfectly good word, and has a very legitimate and historical use. 

 

First book in a new series I had a hard time putting down. A cop, DI Kirby, who is normal, not rogue. He plays well with others—his partner, his boss, his parents, and his new girlfriend. He gets along with all of his suspects, isn’t a bully, in short, he’s a decent cop. 

 

An old woman is killed and placed in an abandoned mental asylum. She is obviously posed, no identification, and someone’s cell phone found nearby. As we all know, the identification of the deceased is paramount to finding her murderer. In the search, we learn the people connected to the story have a connection, one way or another, to the abandoned home. We also learn the old woman was a Saint personified, or a Witch, depending on one’s point of view. 

 

This is one of those stories I did not want to skim to get to the end. I wanted to read every word. And every word was important. Like other reviewers, I hope Connie and Raymond return in later books. Especially Raymond. What’s he going to do now? How is he doing? I hope the next book comes sooner than later!

Friday, June 5, 2020

Slow Lightning --by Eduardo C. Corral

Nonfiction / Poetry
96 pages
5 Stars

In the couple of weeks I have owned this book I have read it cover to cover twice. I have read many of the poems three and four times, and I sat with a Spanish dictionary and now have translated all the poems. (I can order a beer and a taco, and that’s about it.)

Lyrical, musical, magical realism, even not understanding all the words the first time through, the poems sang themselves off the page, grabbed me in their arms and danced me around the room. I eagerly await his next book. 

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Paper Wife, a Novel –by Laila Ibrahim

Fiction / Historical, China, California
293 pages / 4223
5 Stars

I’d read about Ghost Brides, Picture Brides, Mail-Order Brides, but never a Paper Wife. The title alone was enough to grab my attention. A paper wife is none of the aforementioned—she is a lie. 

Mei Ling’s older sister Jah Jeh was brokered in marriage to a Chinese man, Chinn Kai Li, who lived in San Francisco. In 1923 it was extremely difficult for Chinese to immigrate to the US, but he was married, lied about his occupation, and came to China to collect his wife and young son. His first wife died just before he arrived. He had all the paperwork for his first wife, and it could not be changed, so he hired a broker to find him a suitable wife to care for his young son, Bo. The marriage would be the following day, and Jah Jeh would have to become his first wife, at least until through immigration.

Jah Jeh gets sick, and Mei Ling gets married to her sister’s betrothed, finds herself with a husband, a very young son, and on a voyage (steerage) to San Francisco. En route, she studies her book, all about her husband’s first wife. By the time they get to San Francisco, she realizes she is pregnant. How will he react? Will she be out of Immigration before the baby is born? Will she be deported? Will he keep her if the baby is a girl? What will happen if he finds out she is not who he thinks she is? All valid questions, and fearful ones.

On the ship she meets a six-year-old girl, who she wants to keep. The girl is in the women’s section, her uncle in the men’s, so Mei Ling “adopts” her. At least for the voyage. Mei Ling wants to make it permanent; will her new husband agree? Adopting a girl is not the usual thing a newlywed couple do. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was a fascinating insight into 1920s China, and even more, into the treatment of the Chinese on our shores. Basically, it is a story of an arranged marriage, a marriage built on lies, and how the couple grow, how Mei Ling adapts to a new country, a new culture, and I couldn’t put it down! I really hated for it to end.

Monday, May 25, 2020

Daughters of the Dragon --by William Andrews

Fiction / Historical, Korea
362 pages / 2675 KB
4 Stars

This could have been an embarrassment, but had it turned out that way, I wouldn't be writing my review. You see, I ordered this book by accident, I wanted another and clicked the wrong button. I am sooooo glad I did.

Though I might not have read this book, had I read the story is about the comfort women, women enslaved by the Japanese for sexual pleasure. By the time I got there, I was intrigued by the story, and read on. Up front, let me state I thought the topic was handled as tastefully as possible.

Anna is Korean, was adopted by Americans as a baby, and is now twenty, and a college student. Her mother has died, and she and her father decide to go to Korea to meet her birth parents if possible. She finds out her birth mother died giving birth to her, but she does meet her grandmother who tells her an amazing story of her youth, an old comb, and how she and her sister were "volunteered" to be comfort women in China. 

This book is not just a story of survival. It is a story of family, of heritage, of coming of age. I am not an historian of Korea, or Asia, so I don't know how accurate the history is, and though there were places I thought might have been a tad contrived, and a couple of places I questioned the validity, over all I enjoyed the book and read it in a couple of days.

I do believe Japan still owes the comfort women a formal apology and some sort of compensense

The Art of Inheriting Secrets --by Barbara O'Neal

Fiction / mystery/romance
359 pages / 1898 KB
5 Stars

I was a tad trepidacious about reading this book. I read her later novel, When We Believed in Mermaids and loved it, and I so did not want to be disappointed in this one. I wasn't. I will now look for more of her books.

As a little girl, I was sure I was a real princess, and had been kidnapped and raised by my parents, and someday... Of course, it was fiction that I grew out of. But can you imagine being an adult, in an abusive relationship, your mother dies, and you discover you're not a princess, but a countess with your own estate in England? 

Olivia couldn't, but she had to check it out. And it was true. She was a countess, and the estate is in a sad state of repair, but she hopes to salvage it. Many of the village detest her, as an American, they are sure she will sell the estate to a developer. Some in the village truly like her, and are willing to help her. And her solicitor has been robbing her blind for years. And where is her uncle? The one who disappeared in India? Puzzles within puzzles. 

And the romance is a breath of fresh air. True romance, not a bodice ripper.  A most delightful book!

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Tomas Tranströmer Selected Poems 1954 - 1986 --ed by Robert Hass

Nonfiction / Poetry
208 pages
5 Stars

Seldom has a book of translated poems struck such a chord with me.

The very first line of the very first poem had me: Prelude // Awakening is a parachute jump from the dream. I knew, then, I was in thrall to a Master. What a wonderful introduction. My only complaint is I don't read Swedish, and I would love to read these in the original.

When I'm involved in a good book of poetry, I often find myself underling special lines, marking poems I really like, that speak to me in whole or in part. I'm guessing 50% of the poems in this book affected me so, such as these lines from The Gallery:

"Because the margins will finally rise
over their edges
and drown the text."

"It happens, but seldom,
that one of us really sees the other."

"It is his life, it is his labyrinth."

I look forward to finding and reading more of his work.