twenty-sixth, A Poetry Contest Chapbook by the Yakima Coffeehouse Poets, April 2021

 Nonfiction / Poetry

54 pages

5 Stars

 

This is a handmade chapbook, one of the means for raising money for the Yakima Coffeehouse Poets of Yakima, Washington. Every year, YCP holds a contest and publishes the best poems of the entrants. They had over 54 entrants this year, and the best made it into the book.

 

There is no ISBN for this little book, and the only way to get your own copy is through Inklings Bookshop in Yakima, or by ordering directly from YCP at PO Box 2874, Yakima, WA 98907, or by emailing ycpoetrycontest@gmail.com. Either way, the cost is a $10.00 donation to YCP. If ordering by snail mail, please include enough to cover postage. (I suggest at least $4.00 to cover the price of envelope and postage. $5.00 would for sure work and be appreciated.)

 

The book begins with nine Honorable Mention poets, and topics range from cutting each other’s hair during the pandemic to first love. Each is different, and each is well done.

 

There is a series of poems about saying goodbye that won the Tom Pier Prize. Some of them made me cry. Then there are the Third, Second, and First place poems, with each section having multiple poems by the prize-winning poet.

 

This is a delightful anthology of local poets (most are from Central Washington, with one as far away as Walla Walla and one as far north as Twisp). To get a copy, contact Inklings Bookshop (www.Inklingsbookshop.com) or YCP (see above). Also check out the YCP website (yakimacoffeehousepoets.com). You’ll be glad you did. Best $10.00 you’ll spend in a long time.

The Death of Sitting Bear, New and Selected Poems --N. Scott Momaday

 Nonfiction / Poetry / Passages

192 pages

5 Stars

 

I don’t think it is within the realm of the possible for Mr. Momaday to write anything that I would not find beautiful.

 

He brings the histories and legends of the Native peoples to the Europeans in ways accessible to them, whether in prose or poem or passage.

 

When one reaches a certain age To An Aged Bear strikes a ringing chord: “Hold hard this infirmity. / It defines you. You are old.”

 

His poetry of the land, of the people-whether us or of another culture, another country, are not to be missed.

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents --by Isabel Wilkerson

 Nonfiction 

496 pages 

5 Stars many times over!

 

As some reviewers have stated, this may be a tough read for some, but if it is, persevere and learn something. You may not agree with everything Ms. Wilkerson says in her book, but you will learn from it, and it may be a hard lesson—but a worthwhile one.

 

Some have accused her of being ‘left leaning’ and I think she is ‘life leaning’ for surely that is what her book is about, life, living, free, and full.

 

To be honest, I’d never considered caste in this country. Born and raised as a member of the dominate caste, I didn’t see it. I saw the racism, not the casteism, and yet I am a member of some of the lesser castes. 

 

When I get my eyes fastened to a good book, I tend to read too fast, turn those pages, get on to the next sentence, chapter, part. I know I miss things, and I tried to read more slowly. The goodness is, I own the book, it is mine, and I can read it again. And I will.

 

I think Caste is a book that should be required reading for all high school students before they graduate. It should be read in class and discussed in class. It should be discussed, in depth, chapter by chapter, at least two or three times per week. Daily would be better.

 

This is the best book I’ve read in quite some time. It is worthy of more than one reading.

In the Bear's House --by N. Scott Momaday

 Fiction / Nonfiction / Poetry

96 pages

5 Stars

 

 

Mr. Momaday and I share something in common,  as he says in the Introduction, he “hungers for wild mountains and rivers and plains. I love to be on Bear’s ground, to listen for that old guttural music under his breath, to know only that he is near. And Bear is welcome in my dreams, for in that cave of sleep I am at home to Bear.”

 

The first portion of the book is a series of dialogs between Yahweh and Urset, God and Bear. They are short, delightful, and well worth thinking about. Then there are poems and finally passages. Momaday writes deceptively easy poems that, when considered, pack a wallop. Momaday brings a Native American perspective to us, an explanation if we choose it, as to how and why indigenous peoples relate to nature. I love the different points of view of the transformation. It reminds me I am mortal, not to fear.

 

The illustrations are by the author and are wonderful. This is a book I shall read more than once.

Breaking Bat: A Cozy Witch Mystery (Book #6) --by Erin Johnson

  

Fiction / Paranormal / humor / cozy

120 pages / 1272 kb

5 Stars

 

Another piece of delightful brain candy from Ms. Johnson. I don’t think you need to read these books in order, I certainly haven’t, and haven’t had a problem keeping up with them. I do suggest you read the first one first, just to get a back story of the characters and story line.

 

The universe is great fun, nothing that will give you nightmares if you read in bed. A great commentary on the prejudices that run rampant in our own world, without beating you about the head and shoulders. That commentary does not detract a whit from the story of a bride who died right after the ceremony. And Daisy, our truth sniffing dog has a severe case of allergies and can’t smell anything! Can Peter and Jolene solve the murder without Daisy? You’ll have to read it to find out.

Deja Dead: An American in Paris, Book 1 --by Susan Kiernan-Lewis

 Fiction / Mystery (Cozy)

318 pages / 4961 kb

5 stars

 

 

What fun! Clair Baskerville and her devoted husband of 35 years head to Paris for a vacation. Claire’s father is not only French but lives in Paris with his second wife. Claire and her father were never close, due to the divorce, so she doesn’t let him know she and her husband are coming. Then, Clair returns to their hotel after an afternoon of shopping, to wake her husband from his nap so they can go out to dinner. Except he won’t wake in our world. The chief suspect, she’s taken to the police station, and eventually cleared. On her way out, she receives a phone call from her stepmother, who is 20 years her junior and a real piece of work, informing her that Claude, her father, has just died.

 

Clair returns to Atlanta and discovers not only has she lost the love of her life, but he spent all of his money, their money, and her money—on his mistress? Then she finds out her father left her his apartment and an inheritance, so she ends up back in Paris. Where the cops are doing nothing to find the murderer, her stepmother is suing her for her inheritance, and just when we thought it was safe to go back in the water…

 

I love the fact the protagonist is in her 60s and not imbued with supernatural skills, that she worked as a skip-tracer a few years earlier (finding missing people), and that she has learned to live with Prosopagnosia—face blindness. How do you explain that to a cop? “Yes, officer, I made eye-contact with him, but can’t tell you what he looks like.” I had heard of prosopagnosia before, but this is the first time I’ve actually read anything about it. 

 

Love having an older, human, woman sleuth. And one that men of Paris still flirt with, even the cops. ;-)

The Reluctant Queen (Book 2, The Queens of Renthia) --by Sarah Beth Durst

 Fiction / Fantasy

373 pages / 4582 KB

5 Stars

 

I am such a total coward! Really. I started this book and had a horrible feeling one of my favorite characters wasn’t going to make it the end. I even read the end and couldn’t tell. So I called my friend who recommended the books (gave them to me, actually) and said if she didn’t tell me, I’d put them up, unfinished. She told me. I finished the book. And soon hope to read the 3d and last. As I said, I’m a coward. Part of me wants to dive in right now, but part of me wants to hold off so I won’t reach those dreaded last two words, “The End.” I don’t want the series to end, I want to enjoy the world as long as possible.

 

I like how Daleina “grew” as queen, how she tackled the knowledge she would die with no heir. But I love Naelin, a mother of two, a divorcee, a reluctant heir, and the love interest of our favorite Champion. 

 

The romance in the book is nice, and realistic. And not overdone. This is an adventure fantasy, not a romance fantasy. Life is hard on this planet, but really, if you think about it, no harder than on ours, just different horrors we all must deal with. Nature is neither good nor bad, it just is.

 

As I said in my review of Book 1, Queen of Blood, buy all three books at once so you won’t have the frustration of being forced to wait unless you want it. and don’t be turned off by the title.