The Woman and the War Baby --by Bill Ransom

 Nonfiction / poetry / memoir

160 pages

5 Stars

 

Perfection. Pure. Simple. Not one word too many, not word missing. Memories of childhood, or adulthood, of war, of peace. Images seared into your eyes, your brain, by the sheer beauty of a master wielding his pen.

 

Want to know what it feels like being in a war? Instructions on page 142. Or what four-wheel drive really is? Page 127. Love in a fish camp? Page 81. The beauty of dawn on Lake Kapowsin? Page 50. I won’t say these poems will answer all your questions on life, but these poems will give you a better understanding of what it means to be fully alive in the human form.

frank: sonnets --by diane seuss

 Nonfiction / poetry

152 pages 

5 Stars

 

I have never cared to have

an affair with the sonnet—

too much form, too much rhyme, 

too much all the same same. 

Are these truly

sonnets? I dunno, but I do 

know I love them. The ones

with humor, the ones so

hard to read I cried, 

forgot to breathe,

the ones that taught me

my life has been easy. It is

time for me to reconsider

and embrace these Seussian sonnets.

 

My apologies to Ms. Suess. Her book is fantastic. Buy it. Read it.

Golden Poppies: A Novel —by Laila Ibrahim

 Fiction / Historical

297 pages / 2710 KB

5 stars

 

I read another of Ms. Ibrahim’s novels, Paper Wife, and loved it. Serendipity came with Golden Poppies. I had recently read Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. and this novel fit right in with that book. I had not gone many pages before I realized this was the third book of a series. Having read the previous two first might have given me more back story, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will pick up the other two books and read them, but I didn’t find them necessary to enjoy this book. 

 

The story takes place primarily in Oakland CA in the 1890s about two families, one African American one European American. Prior to the Civil War, the white family owned the black family, the matriarch of the white family was raised by the matriarch of the black family and a strong bond developed between them, which was passed down to their families. I found this story engrossing and enjoyable. It offered me hope for our future, that all may yet discover we are connected by the web of life.

 

This book is not an apology for slavery, it does not paint a romantic picture of it. The white woman was a child, raised by the black ‘mammy’ and loved her more than she loved her own mother. She had not yet been taught to see black people as other than black people.

 

Highly recommend this book.

Don't Come Back: A Molly Donovan Suspense Novel --by Tower Lowe

 Fiction / Suspense

214 pages / 611 KB

5 Stars

 

 

This book is a solid 5 stars. There were a couple of typos, and a shaky spot or two, but I read fiction for the escape, for the characters, for the story, and once again, Ms. Lowe has delivered.

 

Ms. Lowe has a knack of writing her female protagonists to be less than perfect. You know, like real people, people I can relate to. They are all differently abled, and Molly Donovan is no different. She suffered a trauma as a teen and one of her arms is crippled well. But she overcame that and went on to become a top notch insurance investigator. She now finds herself in Santa Fe area of New Mexico, working for a private investigation firm that is wonderful.

 

In the first book, we met her new boyfriend, Miguel, a recovering addict and nephew to her boss. In this book, we discover he’s not the hero we would want for Molly. Or is he? We also meet Ray Yazee, a newly arrived FBI agent who is half Navajo and has never met his native family. He, too, has issues. 

 

They work together as a team looking for the kidnap victim, an elderly grandma who needs dialysis or she’ll die. I thoroughly love the characters of this series and can hardly wait for the next book. I hope Ray and Miguel both show up again, but especially Ray. I have a softer spot for him than Miguel, but who knows what Molly thinks.

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life —by Ed Yong

 Nonfiction / Science / Microbiology

368 pages 

5 Stars

 

From a purely non-scientific viewpoint, which is really the only one I have, unless you count high-school biology enough science for a background, I found this book to be a relative page burner. It appeared to be written for the lay person to read and gain some knowledge of a complex topic. I have seen Mr. Yong being interviewed on his book and found them highly interesting.

 

If you are looking for mathematics, equations, formulas, and or proofs, I fear you’ll be disappointed. If you’re looking for an easily read and understood book about microbes from the deepest trenches of the ocean to your very own gut, then this is the book for you. 

 

Microbes, like the rest of nature, just are. They are neither as a whole good or bad. Many are symbionts and provide goodness to their host. If the host becomes unbalanced, they may no longer be beneficial. Like life itself, it’s all a dance. Some partners do well together, others no so much.

 

If you want something to read this summer that offers more than fluffy brain-candy, get a copy of this book and read it.