The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom

by: Margarita Engle

New Prague Schools discard, hardcover, 158 pages, plus author's note, historical note, chronology, references, and acknowledgements

Published: 2008

Genre: poetry, historical

This has been on my shelf for a long time. I'm glad I read it! Part One - "The Names of the Flowers" - covers 1850-51. Part Two - "The Ten Years' War" - covers 1868-78. Part Three - "The Little War" - covers 1878-80. Part Four - "The War of Independence" - covers 1895-98. Part Five - "The Surrender Tree" - covers 1898-99.

The main "character" is Rosa, an actual historical figure who nursed anyone who needed it during these wars in Cuba. (Some young Spanish soldiers changed sides and became Cuban rebels because of her tender care!) She used herbal remedies and moved her "hospital" to wherever she could keep her patients safe, often in caves. She and her husband worked tirelessly to bandage and cure whoever came their way.

All the fighting and violence and cruelty is so awful - in any age and in any place. These poems tell the story of the people's struggle valiantly. To just want to live and feed your family seems reasonable. It's weird to think that all this fighting was before Castro was in power!

I'm not sure where this book will go next. I have a few people in mind to share it with.

Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction

by: Jarrett J. Krosoczka

NPHS hardcover 316 pages plus extras

Published: 2018

Genre: YA graphic novel, realistic fiction

I was subbing at the high school and helping out in the media center sometime over the last two weeks. Language Arts students were coming in to check out one of four different books for their book clubs. I had heard of (and read) three of the books / authors, but was unfamiliar with Krosoczka. So I grabbed a copy and read it when I had some time during the day.

Wow! Initially, I didn't care for his art style. But by the time I got to the author's note at the end, I was sold. What a story! What an amazing memoir from this man. He didn't shy away from the painful parts of his childhood and adolescence. His grandparents raised him and he gives them tribute. 

It was incredible. The way he shares his experience of home life, school, etc. is so open and honest. I really was drawn into this book quickly. I have a fondness for the power of classes that are not seen as "academic" enough to be central to curricula. This passage in the book made me sad - so many schools see the arts as an "easy" place to make budget cuts. That's so devastating to the kiddos who love the arts!

His author note at the end was especially meaningful. I wonder how many readers actually read this. It's pretty amazing. Too many people get trapped by their past. He's an author I will look for now!

Sunny Makes a Splash

by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

NPMS paperback 218 pages

Published: 2021

Genre: YA graphic novel, realistic fiction

I read this while subbing one day in March. I enjoyed it and would love to read all the "Sunny" books by these two. Jennifer L. Holm is one of my favorite graphic novel creators, along with Doug TenNapel and Raina Telgemeier. 

Sunny is anticipating a boring summer when she is invited to the country club pool. While there, she helps out at the snack bar and ends up with a summer job. Her fear of going off the high dive is overcome by summer's end. 

Sweet, fun story. Loved it.

Finally, Something Mysterious

(The One and Onlys)

by Doug Cornett

Libby audiobook 6 hours

Read by: Maxwell Glick

Published: 2020

Genre: children's mystery

 

This was cute . . . but definitely written for a young reader. There were a few lines that were poignant and clever, but it was mostly along the lines of Encyclopedia Brown or other kid detectives. It's got some funny lines and silly situations, too. I would highly recommend this for an elementary age reader who is curious or a young middle schooler who likes non-violent whodunnits.

 

The "One and Onlys" are Paul Marconi, Alexander "Peephole" Calloway, and Gloria "Shanks" Hill. Three eleven year olds who have a hideout and like to discover and solve mysteries. They live in Bellwood, which actually looks like a bell. The biggest annual event is the "Triple B" - Bellwood Bratwurst Bonanza. Someone has filled Mr. Babbage's yard with rubber duckies - but who? And why?

Officer Portnoy is a farce of a person. The situation with Peephole's premature baby sister Trillium was a more serious aspect of the story. It helped Peephole get over his fears. Pokus' change of heart after a decade of grieving over his wife was also more serious and interesting. The encroaching "Conquistador" superstore and the threat it poses to local businesses was also a heavier theme. But most of all, the rubber duckies and the Triple B seemed silly.

 

 

Takeoffs and Landings

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

PRMS discard hardcover 201 pages

Published: 2001

Genre: YA realistic fiction

 

I picked this book off a discard cart because I really like this author. Just Ella is probably my favorite of hers, but she has a lot of different series out.

 

Chuck (15) and Lori (14) are going on a trip with their mom who is a public speaker. Their dad died when they were seven and six. They and their three younger siblings primarily live with their maternal grandparents in Pickford County. Their mom is a public speaker all over the United States.

Although the story ultimately had a satisfying conclusion, it was almost painful to get there. Chuck is so closed in on himself and Lori is an angry teen lashing out at her mom and her brother. It's only when Chuck starts to speak up that things change. 

 

I like when the three of them finally talk about the day Tom died and what they're each thinking and feeling. I also liked when the mom's chapters started with what she wanted to say in her speech versus what she actually said. I'm okay with this book heading to a little free library.

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart

by Candace Fleming

Libby audiobook 4 hours

Read by: Holly Adams

Published: 2011 (this version 2023)

Genre: Juvenile non-fiction, history

I've always admired Amelia Earhart, but listening to this book changed my mind a bit. She was more arrogant and privileged than I had realized. Yes, she had determination and strength, but she seems to also have been a bit of an entitled jerk.

It didn't help that Adams voiced Amelia in a breathy, girly voice. Why? Did Earhart actually sound like that? It was very off-putting.

But when she ignored the advice of more seasoned fliers, refused to learn how to use her new radio / signaling equipment, and basically made up her own rules as she went along . . . it was hard to feel sorry for her going down in the Pacific. That sounds callous, but it seems as though she could have made better choices to avoid the end of her story.

And I had no idea she had married George Putnam! Reading up on him and his first wife a little . . . oh my. At least Earhart didn't break up a happy marriage.

The story was mostly chronological interspersed with the drama of finding her and what we know about what happened on July 2, 1937, when she and Fred Noonan didn't land on Howland Island for refueling. 

Oh! It also bothers me how much money the U.S. government spent on her! She was a private citizen, but they build a landing strip on Howland Island and launched an extensive search when her plane went down. That's crazy to think about!

 

Basically, the story was well-written and interesting, but it made me lose some respect for Amelia Earhart. She seemed to have been selfish and entitled.

Refugee

by Alan Gratz

Scott County Library hardcover 317 pages plus author's notes, maps, and acknowledgements

Published: 2017

Genre: YA historical fiction

I like this author, but this book was a little too busy for me. We followed three main characters' stories: Josef, a Jewish boy leaving Berlin in 1938 to go to Cuba; Isabel, a girl trying to leave Cuba in 1994; and Mahmoud, an Islamic boy trying to leave Syria in 2015.

The author made each child's story interesting and even connected the threads well. I just didn't "get into" the book for any sustained reading. I usually read a YA book in one or two sittings! This took me a few weeks. 

(Isabel) Page 83: "Lito was giving her piropos, the flirtatious compliments Cuban men said to women on the street. Not everyone did it anymore, but to Lito it was like an art form."

Isabel's grandpa (Lito) is lucky that Amara laughed at his flattery. I think it's interesting that there's a word for this in Cuban!

(Mahmoud) Page 192: "Mahmoud cried in exhaustion and misery. He wanted to do it all over again. He wanted to go back and stand up for the boy in the alley in Aleppo who was getting beaten up for his bread. To scream and yell and wake the sleeping citizens of Izmir so they would see him ad all the other people sleeping in doorways and parks. . . . "

The depth of sorrow that these children face while just trying to stay with their families and live life is unbelievable. A lot of middle school students really like Gratz' books. It would be great if they gained some empathy in reading about kids their age having to deal with civil war and strife.

(Isabel) Page 226: "But as she watched Lito and Papi lift up Ivan's body, the empty place inside got bigger and bigger, until she was more empty than full. She wished she was dead too."

I like that the author doesn't shy away from some of the tougher experiences and emotions of life. This part made me so sad!

(Mahmoud) Page 249: "He'd had a gun pointed right at his face. As long as he lived, Mahmoud would never forget that feeling of paralyzing terror, of powerlessness."

I hate that evil people prey upon weak people. I hate that people all over the world are threatened and sometimes killed by others who just want to take without regard for other humans.

(Isabel) Page 278: "'Don't worry about me, Chabela! If there's one thing I'm good at, it's treading water,' Lito yelled back. 'Now, row! Mañana is yours, my beautiful songbird. Go to Miami and be free!'"

 

I love that her grandpa sacrificed himself to the Coast Guard and a return to Cuba so that the rest of the family could reach the beach. I love that he was the same policeman back in the 1930s who had told Josef's family that they would be able to get off in Cuba "Mañana, Mañana," though they were sent back to Europe. 

 

(Mahmoud) Page 281: "And that was the real truth of it, wasn't it? Whether you were visible or invisible, it was all about how other people reacted to you. Good and bad things happened either way. If you were invisible, the bad people couldn't hurt you, that was true. But the good people couldn't help you, either."

I like some of Mahmoud's choices and observations.

The author's notes had a lot of info about his research and links for donating to Unicef and Save the Children. I love that he has committed to donating a portion of the proceeds on book sales to Unicef. Very cool.

The Hiding Place

by Corrie Ten Boom

with John and Elizabeth Sherrill

Libby audiobook 8 hours

Published: 1971 (this version 2011)

Read by: Nadia May

Genre: nonfiction memoir

 

I can't believe I haven't blogged this book before! It has been a long time since I've read the print book, but I own a copy on my bookshelf. I also have Tramp for the Lord, her sequel. I love these books so much! I'm glad I grabbed my print copies off my bookshelf - there are photographs and a drawing of the house and watch shop. 

One of the first things I noted in listening this time was when Corrie recalls a conversation with her father on a train ride. She had heard someone talking about "sex sin" and she asked her father what that meant. He asked her if she could carry his bag off the train. It was full of heavy parts and too much for her to lift. He told her that it is the same way with knowledge - some knowledge is too heavy for children to carry.

I love this! It's honest, yet the best truth. I dislike it when people lie to children to "protect" them. Lies are not helpful! 

Their home was the "Beje," but in listening it sounded to me like "Bay-yay." Looking it up just now, I don't learn much except that it was the name of where they lived - not their neighborhood, just their house.

Aunt Bep's negative attitude was so frustrating. I like when her mother says, "Happiness isn't something that depends on our surroundings, Corrie. It's something we make inside ourselves.” 

 

(One frustration of listening instead of reading the book is not "getting" some of the words like Beje and this Aunt's name. I thought it was "Beth.")

I'm not sure who said this, but the idea that we must go to eternity with empty hands really struck me. What was done to the Jewish people (and gypsies, handicapped, homosexual, political prisoners, etc.) was so HORRIBLE! Being stripped naked, starved, beaten, ridiculed, and stolen from . . . I don't think most of us can fathom experiencing that (thankfully!). Yet ultimately, we all go to meet God with empty hands. We literally cannot take the stuff from this world into the next.

The train ticket given "just in time" was another nod back to Caspar Ten Boom's teachings to his daughters. God will give you what you need when you need it if you just depend on Him.

I'm not sure why I jotted this, but WWI and Holland being neutral . . . I really need to learn more history.

"How should a Christian act when evil is in power?" That is a great question. I wonder if our book club would ever read and discuss an older book like this. I plan to re-read this often. I love Corrie's honesty about not wanting to praise God for the fleas, then learning that they were able to have secret Bible studies in the barracks because the guards avoided it due to the fleas. I love so many things about this book and Corrie's faith in God.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Libby ebook 

Published: 2017

Genre: realistic fiction

 

This book was highly recommended to me by two very different people. It had a long waiting list and I only read 30% of it before I had to return it and wait again. I finished it over a week ago and had to return it, so I just jotted the quotations from the book here and am now writing about them (4.11.24). 

 

It was a very well-written book that I did not like very much. Louie asked me how that is possible and what makes me say it was "well-written." The best comparison I could make is The Lord of the Flies. It's powerfully written and makes you think, but I don't enjoy it. This book is less disturbing, but I just didn't love it.

 

Evelyn Hugo is a famous, gorgeous movie star. Monique is a young woman trying to make her way as a writer. On staff at a magazine called Vivant, Monique is flattered and confused when Evelyn specifically requests her for an exclusive interview. Once the two women meet, Evelyn shares that she wants a full biography of her life published after her death and she wants Monique to write it. 

Chapter 3: "'So do yourself a favor and learn how to grab life by the balls, dear. Don't be so tied up trying to do the right thing when the smart thing is so painfully clear.'"

 

This is basically Evelyn's attitude toward life. This is part of why I didn't enjoy the book. It is important to "grab life," but I still believe doing the right thing is far better in the long run.

Chapter 6: "'So when he dumped me - because he was bored with me, because he'd found someone else more exciting - I felt both a deep relief and a very real sense of failure.'"

This was actually pretty heart-breaking. Young Evelyn grew up in a place referred to as Hell's Kitchen. Because she developed a chest early, she found that boys would give her special treatment if she let them look at and fondle her breasts. The candy store clerk let her take candy in payment for time with her bosom. How incredibly sad (but absolutely believable).

Chapter 12: "But the truth is, praise is just like an addiction. The more you get it, the more of it you need just to stay even."

 

Interesting notion . . .  for someone who becomes a star, the access to money, drugs, etc. is obvious. I never really thought about an addiction to adulation.

Chapter 14: "He said, 'You have to do that, too, Monique. When you're older. You have to find a job that makes your heart feel big instead of one that makes it feel small.'"

Monique's dad gave her this sage advice when she was only six years old! It's especially meaningful once we know more about Monique's dad! He died when she was eight, but she learns more about him toward the end of this story.

Chapter 15: "'It's on the house,' he said, which I thought was the stupidest thing, because if there is anyone that should be getting free food, it isn't rich people."

 

Yes! I agree with Evelyn on this one. Comping rich people is just silly. 

Chapter 17: "People think that intimacy is about sex. But intimacy is about truth."

 

This also has truth in it. Intimacy is usually thought of in such a narrow way. (And people have sex withOUT intimacy too often.

Chapter 32: "You should know this about the rich: they always want to get richer."

 

In this era of billionaires, I'm sickened that any human should hoard so much wealth and yet be greedy for more. It makes me think of Tolkien's Smaug laying on his pile of treasure.

Chapter 39: "My career was going to take a hit. There was no avoiding it. I'd go from being a woman to being a mother - and somehow those things appeared mutually exclusive in Hollywood. My body would change. I'd have months where I couldn't work."

 

I think this is somewhat true for all women who become mothers. Life changes. Drastically. But for someone whose physical appearance is part of their identity and their actual career, it is so much more.  I imagine it's worse for women who are considered sex symbols.

Chapter 61: "But of course, they got it wrong. They never did care about getting it right. The media are going to tell whatever story they want to tell. They always have. They always will."

 

It makes me sad that this was true in the past and is true now. The media generally seem to be more interested in making headlines and money than in the truth. "Investigative journalism" isn't a whole lot better sometimes.

Chapter 62: "I knew what it was like to realize that the one you love would leave this earth well before you. But nothing could prepare me for the pain of watching my child suffer."

 

I'm so incredibly thankful that I have not had to bury a child! It was hard enough to lose my parents in their old age. This reminds me of the scene in The Two Towers when King Theoden says, "No parent should have to bury their child." Evelyn's daughter died of breast cancer.

Chapter 68: "Her dress is low-cut, revealing her still-ample cleavage, and it occurs to me that it is the very thing that made her that will be the thing to finally take her down."

 

Sorry if this is a spoiler, but as Evelyn is sharing her story, Monique realizes that Evelyn's breasts are a big part of her fame and now the breast cancer that took her daughter will kill her, too.

Chapter 69: "I feel no pressure to stop crying. I feel no need to explain myself. You don't have to make yourself OK for a good mother; a good mother makes herself OK for you. And my mother has always been a good mother, a great mother."

 

This scene with her mother (and Monique's choices leading up to this) made me love her more as a character.  I'm so glad she has someone she can be completely real with.

The teasers about what Evelyn was going to tell Monique and about her end of life didn't hold up for me. It was a little over-dramatic.

The Dogist: Puppies

by Elias Weiss Friedman

Hennepin County Library hardcover 300 pages

Published: 2017

Genre: nonfiction

 

I first discover the Dogist on YouTube shorts. I love that Friedman has created a career out of photographing canines! This book is both lovely and interesting. Puppies! I'm still not a fan of pugs or chihuahuas, but he and his camera share the love of all breeds. (Yes, of course, the German Shepherds are my favorites.) 

Murder at the Mayfair Hotel (A Cleopatra Fox Mystery #1)

 by C.J. Archer

Libby audiobook 8 hours

Read by: Marian Hussey

Published: 2020

Genre: Historical detective fiction

Cleo Fox has gone to live with her aunt and uncle at the Mayfair Hotel in London in 1899. After her parents died when she was ten, her grandparents raised her. Now that they have passed away, she feels alone in the world. Her uncle, aunt, and cousins give her a warmer welcome than she anticipated and she becomes part of the life of the hotel quickly.

A guest is murdered (poisoned) on Christmas Eve and Cleo is determined to find out who did it. As with most amateur detectives, she makes assumptions and jumps to conclusions too quickly. 

I liked most of the story and the characters, but Cleo's habit of jumping to conclusions got maddening. She has good observation skills, but theories are NOT proof! I liked Harmony the maid, both Mr. Hobarts (brothers - the hotel manager and the detective), and of course the lovely Mr. Armitage. 

I'll probably give a listen to book two and see if she becomes a bit more subtle. There's a lovely mix of Enola Holmes and Miss Marple about her. The reader does an excellent job with the vocal work!

Escape from Alcatraz: The Mystery of the Three Men Who Escaped from the Rock

by Eric Braun

NPMS hardcover 112 pages

Published: 2017

Genre: Non-fiction, YA

I was teaching in a sixth grade classroom in March (right before spring break) and the students were reading an article on this topic. I got the book from their library and read it during silent reading time. It was very interesting! I hope their teacher encourages one of the students to check it out and read it.

I'm not sure what the page number was, but I marked this passage:

"They called the San Francisco office of the FBI and informed them of what had happened. The FBI alerted the local police, the California Highway Patrol, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and all the sheriffs' offices in the area. A search was begun by land, air, and sea. It was 7:55 a.m., about 40 minutes after the morning head count, and a federal investigation was underway."

I think this impressed me because the proverbial "wheels of justice" seem to move incredibly slowly to me in our fast-paced world. This response is amazing.

Page 94: "Clarence Carnes, who was serving a life sentence on top of a 203-year sentence, was nevertheless paroled in 1973 at age 46. But he violated his parole and went back to prison . . . "

I don't know why he was in jail in the first place, but I can't imagine how his parole would seem appalling to whomever was impacted by his initial crimes. Life PLUS 203 years . . . and he's out by age 46? Bizarre.

There were some really great photos in the back of this book. Fascinating! I'm so glad my mom and I got to tour Alcatraz when we went to San Francisco in the 1970s. I have fond memories of that trip!

The Glass Ocean

by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White

Scott County Library hardcover 403 pages

Published: 2018

Genre: historical fiction

 

This book was recommended by a friend. I didn't love it. The three authors focused on three different main characters: Sarah (a modern day author and historian), Caroline (a wealthy society woman), and Tess (a working class con artist forger). The main body of the story surrounds the sinking of the Lusitania. 

Caroline and Gilbert Hochstetter are "new money" people. She has long been attracted to Robert Langford, a British man.

Tess (Tennessee) Fairweather looks up to her sister Ginny who is ten years older and has long looked out for her baby sister. Their dad raised them in the art of con games.

Sarah's great-grandfather Patrick was an Irish steward on the Lusitania. In doing research for a new book, she connects with John Langford whose great-grandfather Robert was also on the Lusitania. Sarah has found a connection between the two men and wants to know what it means. Were either or both of their forebears spies?

In toting this book around, one of my post-it notes got dislodged. I have no idea what it tagged and I'm not going to try to figure it out! Warning: there are ***spoilers*** in this review!

Page 57: "Despite her reassurance that it wasn't necessary for the trip, and that Alfred Vanderbilt had reserved a smaller, one-bedroom Parlor Suite, Gilbert had pressed his point and, as usual, Caroline had capitulated."

I realize that I live in a different era and in a much lower socioeconomic class, but the number of times Caroline's thoughts and opinions were completely blown away by her husband left me frustrated. This theme (and her cheating on him with her Robert romance) made it difficult to believe their lovey-dovey routine toward the end of the book. Yeah, right. Someone who is constantly "capitulating" to her husband's will doesn't just switch to undying devotion.

Page 85: 

"'Salt!' I gasped.

'Salt?'

'In the sugar bowl.'"

This was funny. Sarah and John are having tea. Mrs. Finch, his housekeeper, is described as deaf and blind, but in a goofy way. I love that she mistakes Sarah for John's ex-wife at first and is trying to protect him.

Page 149: ". . . was the R2-D2 clock lamp on the bedside table, and that only because I had to hunt for the off switch for a minute or two before finding it inside R2's shiny Cyclops eye."

As Sarah goes on to describe the room that Mrs. Finch has put her in (John's childhood bedroom), it just got funnier and funnier. ". . . the soft, worn sheets, which were chillingly festooned with Darth Vader masks . . . "

***spoiler***

Page 301: "'Taking my wages.' Ginny's' face twisted into a simper, her voice taking on an exaggerated drawl. 'Oh Jones, what a treasure you are. . . . '"

 

I didn't figure this out in advance! I had suspicions about Jones (she seemed too perfect), but had no idea it was Ginny! 

Page 314: "'Trust me, there was no happy ending there. Trust me. You absolutely cannot redeem another human being. You just can't. Only God can do that, I suppose, God or whatever it is you believe in. The only person whose behavior - whose goodness - you can control is yourself. You just get up every day and do the best you can."

 

I know John Langford is speaking from the experience he had with his ex-wife's addiction, but this little speech is applicable to all of us! (Except that it has a deeper meaning when you know that God is the only one who can redeem another human being.)

 

 Page 368: "Tess squared her shoulders. 'We hang on. We wait. And if you think God will listen to you, then pray. I'm afraid He's all but given up on me by now.' 

Caroline regarded Tess for a long moment, wishing she could believe in mercy enough to convince Tess that it existed."

So close! This exchange caught my attention. Adrift on the sea, clinging to life, wondering about their loved ones . . . Tess and Caroline are bonding.

Page 369: "The heart never seemed to recognize the imperfections in others, nor was one given the chance to choose one's family."

Interesting how easy it is to make allowances for those we love.

I did like that the authors made connections to help chapters flow from one to the next. They used specific words to make the connection (moonlight, a loud noise, a man and his dog, . . . I also like the fact that the story made me curious about the actual facts of the Lusitania sinking. I don't know that I'll pursue my curiosity, but it's fascinating to look at the historical implications of this event.

Oh, and I knew early on that Tess ended up with Robert, but didn't foresee Gilbert surviving the sinking only to die the next day. I also didn't "get" that Caroline had Robert's baby nine months later. I knew that Sarah and John would end up together but was a bit surprised at how their story concluded. I didn't think it would take two years!

Short Tails: Chet & Bernie Short Stories

by Spencer Quinn

Libby audiobook 2 hours

Read by Jim Frangione

Published: 2022

Genre: detective stories

 

This book had three stories: Upper Story, The Iggy Papers, and The Numbers After Two. I love Chet's (the dog) POV but remembered what I DON'T like about Quinn's character of Bernie. 

 

Upper Story was fairly short. Chet is working a case with Rick Torres because Bernie's in the hospital. The police work is great, but the good part of the story is when they visit Bernie in the hospital and the nurse shares that the prognosis isn't good. Rick and Chet should say goodbye. But Chet's nose tells him a different story. With one doggy kiss, Bernie wakes up.

The Iggy Papers was a longer story with the sweet old neighbors the Parsons looking for palliative care with a new invention - the Galaxatron. Bernie and Chet do some investigating and send Nixon to act as a potential patient. I loved this story!!! Great detective work and a great outcome.

The Numbers After Two made me crazy! I had to keep pausing it as I drove because it was so stupid! The first part, with Chet and Bernie finding two crying kids in the canyon and getting them back to their parents was good. The parents giving Bernie thousands of dollars cash reward was fine . . . and having it be $10,000 instead of $5,000 was amazing.

But then Bernie falls victim to a scammer. The stupidest, most gullible crap I've ever heard / read. . . His intelligence and detective abilities didn't let him see a con artist right in front of his face? The ongoing joke about their finances being a mess - the Hawaiian pants in a storage unit, the tin futures that were wrecked by an earthquake, . . . it's so frustrating! He basically gives the scammer $5,000 and gets NOTHING (not even a phone number) in return. Then he donates the other $5,000 to a random homeless man. Ugh! Bernie is too stupid to be a protagonist in these stories!

The Last Exchange

by Charles Martin

Dakota County Library hardcover 353 pages

Published: 2023

Genre: realistic action, mystery

I didn't tag this as Christian fiction, because that seemed a bit tenuous in this novel. Our book club has read a lot of Charles Martin books and I know he's a believer, but God didn't seem to feature very prominently in this book.

The main characters include Maybe Joe Sue, a frog-turned-princess character whose early life cycling through foster homes brought her into connection with a movie producer who helped her become a superstar; Kelly MacThomas Pockets, an ex-Scottish forces soldier and protector of the Queen; Syd, a skanky superstar married to Joe; and Amber, a high school dropout turned makeup artist turned Joe's best friend and surrogate.

Fertility issues were one main theme of this book, as well as selflessness, drug addiction, hope, and integrity. One of the discussion questions was about allegory . . . but none of us really saw that. (Discussion was last night. We had a delightful conversation.)

Page 149: "'If someone intends you harm, then they're saying by their actions, "I value me more than you." Or "I want what you have and I intend to take it." For whatever reason, they've come to the selfish conclusion that they matter more. That in their sick and twisted mind, they have more right to be here. To take something from you, whether your body or your possessions, simply because they want it.'"

Pockets is definitely my favorite character. He is a wise protector and counselor to Joe.

Page 161: "'One thing is true of all of us: nobody has their stuff together. Not presidents. Not paupers. Not soldiers. Not actors.' He glanced at her. 'We are all a mess. And no amount of money, and no amount of drugs, changes that. When you're broken, life is about finding the beauty in the mess.'"

The "beauty in the mess" theme came up quite a lot. It's interesting in a time period where "social influencers" make their lives look so effortlessly perfect that this message would have so much impact.

Page 170: "She smirked. 'Are all you Brits like this?'

'I'm Scottish, mum.'

She tested him. 'Same thing.'

He shook his head. 'No mum. Not by a long shot.'"

This type of repartee came up a few times. Pockets made me laugh!

Page 171 had some funny alliteration, again courtesy of Pockets: "I pray for the grace to remain armed with righteous restraint and not regress into retrograde reciprocity, or responsive revulsion rising out of an unrighteous rescue."

Page 261: "But if you press me, love is what makes us who we are. Hope is how we express us. Hope is love with legs."

This language (and the idea of love and hope being such an integral part of who we are) made me happy. This is my favorite quote from the book.

Page 320 - the letter from Joe read in court. This had less impact on me because I learned about it at our discussion and then finished reading the last fifty pages after I got home from book club. Bad time management on my part!

Page 329: "He said he wanted the viewers to know that 'husbands who love their wives do what is required because that's what love does.' Then he clasped a cross hanging around his neck, something he'd taken to lately for its strength, and talked about how 'greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.'"

Syd is such an awful character! ***Spoiler alert!*** Not only are his words and actions orchestrated to gain sympathy, he was actively working to prevent Joe holding on to her pregnancies. The trauma of her miscarriages was entirely his fault! What a complete jerk. Pockets, on the other hand, really did have the attitude of laying his life down for his friends.

Page 339: "'How far would any of you go for someone you love? Really? How far? If someone took your wife, daughter, husband, or son, how far is too far? Where's your limit? Where does love stop you?' I looked at Joe then back at all of them. 'Is there anything you wouldn't do?'"

The courtroom scene did get a little over-the-top, but I really like Pockets anyhow! Even replacing Syd's "sample" with his own was fine with me because Syd was so awful.

 

Page 341: "There's only one thing in this universe or any other that cuts through prison bars and sets us free from the prisons in which we live. And that thing is the truth. Without it, there is no freedom."

 

 Pockets rocked this book. And yes, the truth shall set you free. But Martin doesn't name the Truth. He avoids swearing, shares that Pockets' dad was a preacher, and hints at faith in Christ, but this is basically a clean action story with a hint of suspense.

The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline (Enola Holmes #5)

by: Nancy Springer

Libby audiobook 3 hours

Read by: Katherine Kellgren

Published: 2011

Genre: YA historical detective fiction

I wish I'd read these books in order! This one started us in Scutari, Turkey during the Crimean War. Interesting - the screen on my car said "1885" but the voice said "1855." I'm guessing the first was Enola's time and the latter was the opening scene during the war.

I immediately knew Florence Nightingale was in this scene, even before she was referred to as "the lady with the lamp." It took Enola a long, long time to figure this out!

Mrs. Tupper has been kidnapped and the house ransacked. Enola goes to find a relative of the famous nurse, assuming she's long dead. (The comments about the elderly - past the age of 50! - made me laugh so hard.) Enola's interactions with Nightingale are delightful. This may be my favorite book in the series and does a great job of bridging the gap between lodging at Mrs. Tupper's and staying at the women's professional building.

All in all, an enjoyable book. Flory was a hoot, too!

Killing Floor

by Lee Child

Libby audiobook 18 hours

Published: 1997 (this version 2015)

Read by: Dick Hill

Genre: realistic action, thriller

I have seen many "Reacher" clips on YouTube - both from the Tom Cruise movies and the Alan Ritchson TV series on Amazon Prime. It made me curious, so I got this audiobook in anticipation of a few long car trips. Interesting . . . and horrible. 

The British author sets the story in the United States, presumably because of our gun culture and lawless attitude. I had already formed an opinion about the character of Jack Reacher based on clips I'd seen (and definitely prefer Ritchson to Cruise in this role!) but I didn't anticipate making my brain work this hard.

As I was listening, I was trying to calculate Jack's age . . . he was born in the 1960s and his brother Joe was born in the 1950s, but they were 36 and 38 years old in this book. So . . . 1959 and 1961? This would set the story in 1997, which fits with when Child published this book. I'm not sure, but the video versions may have changed this a bit. 

The only line that really caught my attention (and made me laugh) was one about someone "sleeping like a baby." Reacher's thought (paraphrased) is wondering if that meant they slept well or woke up screaming every ten minutes. Funny! And true.

The clues, mystery, and some details (like the barbershop guys) were delightful. The more violent and gory details (like how the Morrisons were tortured and murdered) were horrific. Warning: spoiler ahead!

 

Spoiler: I was worried briefly that Finlay would be the "tenth" person in the evil ring. Some of the bad guys were super easy to spot, but Finlay's FBI buddy was a surprise. 

My curiosity is appeased. I don't feel a need to read more of these books or watch the versions. There's plenty of darkness in the world . . . and if someone loves Jason Bourne, John Wick, etc., they will probably love Jack Reacher. I'm moving on!

 

The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan (Enola Holmes #4)

by Nancy Springer

Libby audiobook 4 hours

Published: 2008 (this version 2009)

Read by: Katherine Kellgren

Genre: YA historical fiction, detective story

 

This book is #4 in the series and brings us into contact with Lady Cecily again. This time, she is being married off to an odious young man (also her cousin) against her mother's wishes. Enola ends up being the hero, of course, and makes a tentative truce with Sherlock.

 

The orphans, the "Ha ha" man, the awful women trying to force the marriage, and all of Enola's disguises and attempts to avoid her brothers . . . the pink fan was an interesting detail. A cheap party favor with a plea for help written in invisible ink. Nice.

 

I don't like reading books out of order, but I do like this series pretty well. I like the language choices. I like this reader. 

Hardscrabble

By Sandra Dallas

Libby ebook  

Published: 2018

Genre: historical fiction, early 1900s

I really like this author! In this story, a family is heading west to join the father who is homesteading in Colorado. Mom is bringing the oldest daughter Carrie, 12 year old Belle (our protagonist), three younger children, and the baby. They are not quite ready for living in a sod house with neighbors few and far between.

Chapter Two: The Girl Homesteader 

"'So we're not poor?'

'Not poor at all,' Carrie insisted, turning to look at the family. 'How could we be when we have each other? It's just that we don't have money.'"

I love the idea of this! I liked saying to my young children that we were rich! We had a home to live in, we had a loving family, we had enough food to eat . . . that's wealth.

Chapter Two

"It's a hardscrabble life, but I love it."

The speaker is neighbor Lizzie, a young woman who is farming her own homestead. I like to see where a book's title originates. This is it. Lizzie is a fantastic character and a huge blessing to Belle's family.

Chapter Eight: A Homesteader Party

"A man stood beside the car, looking embarrassed. Frank called out, 'Get a horse!' as they passed. That was what people always yelled to a man whose motorcar had broken down."

Heckling isn't the nicest thing to do, but this hit my funny bone anyway.

Chapter Eleven: Staying with Lizzie

". . . she'd had (sic) dug behind her house."

Pet peeve alert: typos in action. "She'd had" is redundant . . . she had had . . . ugh. I should get over this, though. More and more with texting and using finger swipe to spell, I find typos in my own writing and even in my blog entries! I should edit my own work more carefully instead of just hitting "send" or "publish."

Chapter Thirteen: Becky

"'It means difficult,' Lizzie explained. 'You have to work hard to make it out here. Life isn't easy. You've already learned that. The land itself is hardscrabble - tough and dry as a board. And it has no mercy. Sometimes things are so rough that you want to give up, but you don't. You keep going, and you know what, Belle? It's worth it. I've learned that. So has your father. And maybe you have, too."

 

A further explanation of the title. Belle asks Lizzie about the word. Lizzie says more great stuff, but I'm moving on. Read the book! It's good.

Chapter Fifteen: The Rescue

"Bell (sic) studied the bed coverings. They were pretty, with bright designs, and the stitches were as fine as Mama's."

 

Okay, again with the pet peeve. A main character's name is misspelled. How does this happen? I also loved the quilts in this story. They weren't as prominent as in Persian Pickle Club, but the details make me happy!

 

Chapter Nineteen: Hank Comes to Mingo

 "Maybe she could be a cowboy - a cowgirl. Belle laughed to herself. There was no such thing. Girls didn't work cattle."

This whole thought process goes on but raises some great questions about gender roles, skills, etc. I love Belle's observation that Lizzie is "as good a farmer as Papa" and "Mrs. Spenser seemed to know as much about ranching as her husband."

Chapter Nineteen: Hank Comes to Mingo

"'Women out here sure are independent.' He turned to Lizzie. 'I guess we can fix that.' He grinned at Lizzie, and she smiled back."

This made me think, "Oh no! Don't marry him, Lizzie!" I won't put any spoilers here, but I do like this book a lot . . . I'll definitely read more of her books, but I'm playing catch-up right now.

 

Long Lost

By Jacqueline West

Libby audiobook 6 hours

Read by: Jesse Vilinsky

Published: 2021

Genre: YA mystery, paranormal

 

Most of this story was very interesting, but it's definitely written for an older elementary or middle school student. Fiona is our protagonist. The eleven-year-old is incredibly upset that her family has moved to a new town 100 miles from her friends. Her older sister Arden is a figure skater with Olympics aspirations and so Fiona feels as though she is being punished and her sister is being favored.

 

In parts of the book, Fiona's "poor me" attitude was just too much. At other points, I couldn't believe her parents weren't more tuned in to what she was experiencing. (Missing the long-awaited friend's birthday party, for example. They don't have ANY other options than not letting her go? No friends, co-workers, Ubers?)

 

The Library in the new town becomes her refuge. She finds an odd book in the mystery room of the converted mansion and starts reading. The book tells the story of sisters Hazel (13) and Pearl (11). The Searcher is a legendary child stealer in a black cloak.  

My favorites in this book were: the description of the library, the dog Pixie, and the resolution. I didn't care for the ghost story aspect.

Love Without Limits: Jesus' Radical Vision for Love with No Exceptions

By: Jacqueline A. Bussie

Hennepin County Library hardcover 190 pages plus notes

Published: 2018

Genre: non-fiction Christianity

 

My daughter-in-law's church was doing a book club / study with this title (as I learned on Christmas Eve from reading the bulletin). I was curious and requested it from the library, knowing I wouldn't make it to NE Minneapolis for any of the discussion component. This was not a book that spoke deeply to my soul, but it did make me think. A lot. About faith and theology and God's will. I put many post-it notes in this book!

 

Page 24: "Let's just say that after the loss of my mother in my twenties, I became Smokey, but with a major difference. Nothing I did earned me a 'good kitty!' from the people inside my house. Nobody intended me harm, as far as I can tell. Perhaps they were too busy to answer the door, or perhaps, like me when I was younger, they simply didn't understand that that was what I needed."

 

Her analogy of people praising the cat when it did the right thing, but not her when she needed affirmation . . . made me sad. She tells many personal stories in such a way that both emotion and logic are referenced.

Page 24-25: "Though I still wish things were different, at least I've come to see those early years living with my bio-family as something else: a top-notch training ground for love across difference. A gym for strengthening love's hamstrings to the level where they can leap beyond bloodlines or biology."

 

It's interesting that she has a perspective of learning from challenges and that she expresses it this way.

Page 39: "Of course, we are a broken people who like to jigsaw apart this wholeness. This is why God insists that we share the bread and wine not once but over and over again."

 

The idea that we need to continually return to the Lord; to have communion with Him makes a lot of sense. Some people think that baptism or repentance is a "one and done" situation and they can do whatever they want until they die. That's not what God's Word says.

Page 40: "In order to live into the call to radical agape, Christians today need to reimagine and redefine family."

 

This specific language made me uneasy. It was reminiscent of the "Reimagining" conference in 1993. Radical agape love that Jesus preaches doesn't change based on our modern era.

Page 42: "When your biological family hurts you, remember their hunger. When you're ready, open the door. In a world starved for love, forgiveness is food."

 

I love that last line! Yes! In a world starved for love, forgiveness IS food.

Page 46: "My grandma, whose name was Alice, wanted all of her grandchildren to have names that started with A. That was the actual answer my mother gave. Alliteration. Alice preferred alliteration to acknowledgment. Alice adored awkwardness and alienation in place of accuracy and attentiveness. This appalling answer failed to satisfy even my nine-year-old self."

 

Okay, names are important and I completely understood what the author was saying in this section of the book . . . but oh my word! I love how she used alliteration to get her point across in this paragraph. I was supremely entertained by her word choices! 

Page 47: "I regret that I never did this. My grandma was dead by the time I was sixteen, and in that short amount of time, I never mustered up the adolescent courage for such an adult confrontation."

 

The beauty and frustration of maturing is that you can let go of some past hurts. She can intellectually have a conversation with her dead grandma and communicate how hurtful it was to not be called by her name. But she cannot actually have that conversation when it would have been meaningful. Now she has to let go of the regret and move on.

Page 68: "One night, Jim told me that he believed coincidences are not coincidences at all, but God winking at the world."

 

This made me think of the GodWinks books! Corny books, but there's a lot to be said about God moving and interacting in our lives.

Page 70: "When Americans were asked cold turkey to say what words pop into their head when they hear the word Christian, the top three answers were: (1) judgmental, (2) hypocritical, and (3) antigay."

 

Oh, this makes me sad! I don't know what survey this was or how scientifically valid this is, but it sounds about right. Too many people today see Christians in such a negative light and it's often because of their interactions with "Christians" who are not living as Christ followers. We are to be people of love, truth, and kindness.

Chapter 5 Adoption (Elijah) - This whole chapter. So much to discuss here!

Page 73: "Let's get one thing straight: if our sins make us people who aren't 'real Christians,' then no one in this world is a Christian. 'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23)."

 

I completely agree with her here.

Page 75: "How ironic, then, that Christians have for centuries used Romans 1 to condemn only LGBTQ people to hell and never envious people, braggarts, gossips, or rebellious teens. Maybe it's because gay people are an easy target, a cheap shot. Most Christians are straight, but all Christians envy, brag, gossip, and rebel."

 

This is also something I've struggled with. Sin is sin. Greed, gossip, etc. are sin. Why don't we rail against those sins the way many Christians are actively concerned about homosexuality? I honestly don't understand this.

Page 77: "I don't deny it. I don't take all of the Bible literally, nor do I follow all of its 600+ commandments. I am a self-confessed selective literalist. There's no pride in this statement, just honesty."

 

This again concerns me. I know that many people "cherry pick" their favorite Scriptures, but it feels as though she's actively selecting what to believe and then twisting some of that. I do not literally follow all of the "commandments" in the Old Testament. I don't cover my hair in church. I do speak out in church. But I feel as though she is pushing her perceptions onto God's Word. I'm not wise enough to give a strong rebuttal, but I'd love to discuss this with another Christian.

Chapter 6 Stop the Single Story (Khadijah, Rasheed, and Jamila) - Another great chapter (and the other one that her initial publisher rejected. Note to self: watch the TED talk "The Danger of the Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Page 95: "Can those who claim to be followers of Jesus seriously prefer that folks of other religions have no relationship with him, unless it is on our terms? I can't in good conscience prefer this. I want everyone to know Jesus because he is wondrous and his love takes my breath away."

 

It was interesting to read her perspective on friendships with people of other faiths.

Page 105: "But on the third morning, as I lay awake at 5:00 a.m. listening to the adhan, my spirit awakened to a humbling realization. My Muslim brothers and sisters prioritized remembering God over everything, even sleep. Would I be willing to do the same? Suddenly, I felt not irritation but admiration. I structure my prayers around my life, while my Muslim friends do the exact opposite. They structure their entire lives around prayer."

 

How striking to realized that as an American Christian, I am like her - tired and crabby in the morning and praying when it works for me rather than prioritizing it for God.

Page 112: "'Comparison is the thief of joy,' she'd said, quoting Teddy Roosevelt."

 

I love Teddy Roosevelt and I love this quote! Comparing yourself against others is generally unproductive and discouraging.

Page 116: "All I can conclude for now is that nothing as petty and silly as the weather should hold us back from going where we are needed most. When God calls us, we need to go. I mean, imagine if when God invited Abraham and Sarah to the promised land, they'd RSVP'ed, 'Nahhh, God, we're not really into the whole desert thing. . . . '"

 

My favorite line is "when God calls, we need to go." Yes and amen!

Page 122: "The truth is: a positive attitude may annoy and cloy, but it also rubs off. Positivity is like patchouli. It clings to your clothes all day long, whether you want it to or not. You - and everyone around you - can't help but breathe it in."

 

Again, I really like her language choices here and the analogy of patchouli to positivity. Though to be honest, I really dislike the smell of patchouli! I've been thinking about the phrase "toxic positivity" lately. I don't want my positive attitude to be off-putting to people. I want to be prayerfully sensitive to where others are at emotionally and mentally (and spiritually!).

Page 125: "Take, for example, these essential paradoxes, without which our faith freezes. We are all saints and sinners, simultaneously (Martin Luther). We are God's enemies, as well as God's BFFs (Romans 5:10). Jesus is both human and divine. The kingdom of God is both already and not yet. The world is both wrecked and redeemed. People are both beautiful and broken, cruel and compassionate. Life is both hellish and hopeful, sublime and shitty. Our souls are filled with angels and angst, wonder and worry. God loves both the poor and the rich, the Christian and the Muslim, the Democrat and the Republican, the gay and the straight, the member of the NRA and the member of Greenpeace."

 

Some people reject Christianity because of these paradoxes. I love that she embraces them. I think sometimes we need this reminder.

Chapter 7 Can Anything Good Come Out of Nazareth? (Fargo)

Fargo Lessons

1 - Comparison is the root of unhappiness. Love yourself enough to stop already.

2 - Home is where love (not the weather) keeps you warm.

3 - Something good can come out of Nazareth.

4 - Survivors love the small things.

5 - Life is Both / And, Not Either / Or

 

She shares some really heartfelt stories about her journey of faith.

Page 144: "20 Things I've Learned About Self-Love" "Self-love is a reflection of your face in the ocean of God's love for you. . . . "

 

I want to get this blog entry done, but her entire chapter on self-love seems to be intended to counterbalance the idea that selflessness (my word for this year) can be destructive to people who already think little of themselves. I understand what she's saying, but I love the lesson I learned elsewhere. "Humility isn't thinking less of yourself; it's thinking of yourself less." People who don't know the immense love that God has for them NEED to learn that before they can truly die to self and live for Christ.

Page 157: "Church should be less like a palace and more like a dog park: a place where the truth bounds wildly about, off the leash at last."

 

This made me smile! I love dog parks!

Page 159: "Does Jesus misjudge the woman? Does Jesus change his mind? It sure seems like it. In this story, I believe Jesus models for us the moral courage it takes to admit when we've been suckered into buying a stereotype."

Matthew 15:24-28

This is one of those places where I think she's on dangerous ground. It sounds as though she's coming up with a completely different interpretation of this passage; one where Jesus messed up and admits his mistake. I couldn't possibly disagree more. She's putting her own twist on Jesus' words and intentions.

Page 163: "Blue Christmas - yes, it's actually a thing! - is a special service at Christmastime for those who are mourning the loss of a loved one. It acknowledges the sadness, fear, and longing that surrounds the holiday for many people."

 

I love when I learn something new. I'd never heard of this before.

Page 177: "That memory whispers in my ear: Sometimes Love picks the lock to your heart and takes over the space Fear used to rent. Please, please, please don't evict her."

 

Once again, I love her language choices! Don't evict love from your heart.

Page 177: "Only Jesus is a savior; we are merely wannabe Samaritans. As Shane Claiborne once said while speaking on my campus, 'I'm not Jesus; I'm just he ass he rode in on.'" 

This caught my attention. I'm most definitely NOT Jesus. But I do want to emulate Him and live to glorify Him.

Page 182: "One day during my prayers, a revelation struck me: the reason God made love a commandment and not a fun intramural option like flag football was because of the Darren Rodeos in our lives. If love for people-who-make-our-lives-less-than-wonderful was a choice, well, God knew, no one would ever sign up. Love's not extracurricular; it's the curriculum."

 

Darren Rodeo is a student who vexed her. I also love the idea that love is THE curriculum for life.

Page 183: "I don't know if prayers change the world, but I do know they change the person who says them. I know, because that day in the hallway, my heart nearly broke out of love for Darren Rodeo."

 

Yes! Prayer changes your own heart AND God loves when we pour out our praise, thanksgiving, petitions, etc. to Him! I love learning how prayer has changed situations and people's lives! 

I'm glad I read this book even though I didn't love it. I like to push myself in thought and prayer. Ultimately, The Bible is the place to go for answers. I'm glad that God provided us with directions for life!

Premeditated Myrtle

by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Libby audiobook 8 hours

Read by Bethan Rose Young

Published: 2020

Genre: YA historical mystery

 

There was a lot to like about this book! Interesting characters, lots of clues, intelligent vocabulary, . . . but main character Myrtle irritated me. It wasn't the vocal work, which was great! It was the clueless lack of awareness of other people (age-appropriate, but still irritating).

 

My quickly jotted notes in the car include "Myrtle - clueless, irritating, precocious . . . NO BOUNDARIES!"

 

The footnotes throughout the story were fine. I thought this would be an excellent book for advanced readers who are ready for a more intellectual challenge without the more mature content that often comes in middle school books.

 

The "Morbid Myrtle" nickname and the "mean girls" phenomenon were applicable to today's social dynamics. Set in the 1890s, I like Miss Judson's observation that "there are Aunt Helenas and LaRue (last name) everywhere." Yes, there are mean people everywhere and in every time.

 

I liked Miss Judson quite a bit. She's so much more than a governess! I like her sketchbooks, her calm, her curiosity, and her Socratic questions. The book definitely should have had more happen between her and Mr. Hardcastle (Myrtle's father).

 

The actual mystery of how their neighbor Mrs. Wodehouse died is at the heart of the story. I guessed the real culprit early on but enjoyed the development of the story. It just bothered me how often Myrtle was impulsive or rude. It was cool that she was observant, curious, and wanting to be an investigator rather than just a silly Victorian girl. It took me a few chapters to realize that the quotes at the start of each chapter were from her! "The Principles of Detection by H.M. Hardcastle" - SHE was Helen Myrtle (named after the awful aunt Helena) Hardcastle and she aspired to be a Sherlock Holmes.

 

I enjoyed it but don't plan to read others in the series. Myrtle is just not my kind of detective, though she is clever and the clues in this book were delightful. I think the law clerk was my favorite character after Miss Judson. And Cook.

Logan's Run

by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson

Hennepin County Library hardcover 148 pages

Published: 1967

Genre: Science Fiction

I had a vague notion of what this story was about since the movie premiered in 1976 and I remember seeing trailers for it. (I didn't go see it - I was only ten years old!) But my curiosity about it was piqued recently and I don't remember why, but I requested it from the library and read it.

I was not impressed. Some SciFi / dystopian fiction has a point to make and / or raises some deep questions. I remember the impending overpopulation crisis in my childhood, but this book just seemed like cheap thrills - sex and violence. Maybe I'm missing the point, but I watched a few YouTube clips last night and I definitely don't want to watch the movie. It looks worse than the book and most of the actors were over the age of 30!

In the book, you get a crystal implanted in your palm at birth. As it decays, it changes color. When you turn 21, it goes black and you need to "Sleep" (i.e. be put to death). If someone tries to avoid the mandated end of their life, they are called a "runner" and the DS tracks them and kills them. In the movie, the age limit is thirty, which is why I found it interesting that most of the principle actors (and mostly the men at that) were over that age.

The book caught my attention on page 70 with this description of Crazy Horse:

"And, with infinite slowness, the mammoth figure took its place against the Dakota sky: Tashunca-uitco. Crazy Horse. The ruthless Indian genius who directed the annihilation of Custer's Seventh on the Little Big Horn."

If I weren't so underwhelmed by this book, I'd include a picture of the entire page. I like the description of how Crazy Horse became a monument . . . started in 1948, it's still not done. The description of him as a "ruthless" genius who "directed the annihilation" of Custer is a far cry from Custer's Last Stand and what I've learned of Crazy Horse. Words have power . . .

 

This book was written in 1967 projecting the year 2116. From Wikipedia: "In the world of 2116, a person's maximum age is strictly legislated: 21 years, to the day. When people reach this Lastday they report to a Sleepshop in which they are willingly executed via a pleasure-inducing toxic gas."

 

The focus on pleasure and getting whatever you want until the end of your life at 21 just feels so incredibly empty and sad. My 2024 adult self kept saying, "the human brain isn't even fully developed until the mid-20s!" I also think it's interesting that the focus was pretty much just on America. Other cultures revere their elderly. You'd have a tough time trying to mandate killing everyone over the age of 21 across the entire globe.

 

I marked one other spot in the book. On pages 120-1, the authors write about the thirty-ninth amendment to the Constitution (Compulsory Birth Control Act). They also reference the year 2000 "as world population spiraled toward six billion" and "the Little War" which brought about this 21-year-old age restriction. SciFi is predicated upon what the author(s) think the future might bring. I understand that. But these specific pieces of info made me curious.

 

It's currently 2024. The Constitution has 27 amendments with the last being added in 1989. World population in 2000 was estimated at 6.1 billion (surpassing the authors' prediction a bit) and is currently estimated to be over eight billion.  

All in all, I just didn't like this book but now my curiosity is appeased!

Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose (Enola Holmes #10)

by Nancy Springer

Libby audiobook 5 hours

Read by Tamaryn Payne

Published: 2023

Genre: YA historical fiction, detective mystery

 

I really do like these Enola Holmes mysteries. In this one, we encounter Rudyard Kipling, a rabid dog, and learn about rabies and the work Joseph Lister was doing in 1890 to find an inoculation for people who were bitten by rabid animals.  

Enola is lovely, smart, and action-oriented. I love her relationship to Sherlock and their bantering. I also like how Harold the driver is looking out for her. And Maude! What a kick-butt, no nonsense gal. 

 

I may need to figure out which ones I haven't read yet . . . Pink Fan? Cryptic Crinoline? (Below from Wikipedia.)

• Enola Holmes and the Case of the Missing Marquess (2006)
• Enola Holmes and the Case of the Left-Handed Lady (2007)
• Enola Holmes and the Case of the Bizarre Bouquets (2008)
• Enola Holmes and the Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan (2008)
• Enola Holmes and the Case of the Cryptic Crinoline (2009)
• Enola Holmes and the Case of the Gypsy Goodbye (2010) - Also known as Enola Holmes and the Case of the Disappearing Duchess
• Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche (2021)
• Enola Holmes and the Boy in Buttons (2021)
• Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade (2022)
• Enola Holmes and the Mark of The Mongoose (2023)

Acting Can Be Murder

Como Lake Players Mystery book 1

by John Gaspard

Libby audiobook 5 hours

Read by Margaret Mikkelsen

Published: 2022

Genre: murder mystery

 

This was quirky and mostly enjoyable. I didn't love the reader's voice; she almost sounded bored. But I loved all the local references! Set in the Twin Cities, Leah Sexton has taken on management of a community theatre housed in an old church. She left NYC and her unfaithful (but gorgeous) boyfriend Dylan. While interviewing directors, an actual dead body is found in the window seat on the set of Arsenic and Old Lace.

 

Well. I played one of the old aunts in a production of Arsenic back in the 1980s! I love that show and my attention was grabbed. I did NOT figure out the murderer, though (until the murderer was actually unveiled). 

 

The dead body belonged to a very critical theatre critic. Then the actresses portraying Aunt Abby was pushed (or fell?) down the stairs, breaking several bones. Then Leah got death threats. 

 

The part that bugged me most was the notion of undercover police officers showing up to protect Leah due to the death threats. I wrote on a scratch pad in my car (where I listen to most of my audiobooks while I'm driving) "not likely."  Police officers are too busy to "cover" everyone who's been threatened and may be in trouble.

Ultimately, I found the story very interesting and plan to recommend it to my daughter-in-law who stage manages and directs local shows. I think she'll like it.

When in French: Love in a Second Language

by Lauren Collins

Libby eBook 

Published: 2016

Genre: nonfiction memoir

I borrowed this when I was contemplating refreshing my acquaintance with French. It has taken me a long time and a lot of renewals to finish, but it's a pretty incredible book for language lovers.

 

The author fell in love with Olivier in her early thirties while in London. The two end up married and living in Switzerland. She chronicles her journey of learning French culture as well as language with honesty, information, and a good sense of humor.

Part One / The Past Perfect: Le Plue-Que-Parfait

Olivier was careful of what he said to the point of parsimony; I spent my words like an oligarch with a terminal disease. My memory was all moods and tones, while he had a transcriptionist's recall for the details of our exchanges. Our household spats degenerated into linguistic warfare.

 

She is such a wonderful writer! I love how she expresses herself.

Part One / The Past Perfect: Le Plue-Que-Parfait

A flank steak, I would have assumed, is a flank steak, no matter how you say it. We think of words as having one-to-one correspondences to objects, as though they were mere labels transposed onto irreducible phenomena.

 

Some of her stories are hilarious but also sad. I can so relate to her frustration in asking for something in French and not being understood. The idea that all things have a single word to describe them is an easy fallacy to believe!

 

Two / The Imperfect: L'Imparfait 

"Sonny LaMatina"

 

When she shared the "words" to Frére Jacques as her five year old self sang them, I laughed! I often mis-hear song lyrics and "Sonnez les matines" (ring the bells) does sound like a guy's name. Funny! I especially loved singing this song when I was little because I had a French uncle named John who was a Catholic priest! Father John . . .

Two / The Imperfect: L'Imparfait

While my bunkmates jotted cheery letters to their families, I whimpered into my pillow, an incipient hodophobe racked by some impossible mix of homesickness and wanderlust.

 

I noted this for two reasons. First of all, I had to look up "hodophobe" (dislike or fear of traveling) and I love books that push me intellectually. Secondly, I empathized with this little girl who wanted to travel and also wanted to be home. Collins is brutally honest about chronicling her weaknesses and mistakes.

 

Two / The Imperfect: L'Imparfait

He directed the ROTC, which was supposed to stand for Result of Torn Condom.

 

I know this is a crude joke, but it's a joke I've never heard before and it made me laugh. I have heard the organization called "rotsy" but forgot that it stood for Reserve Officers Training Corps.

 

Two / The Imperfect: L'Imparfait

In 1979 a presidential commission declared that "Americans' incompetence in foreign languages is nothing short of scandalous, and it is becoming worse." 

 

The history lesson here was so interesting. After Sputnik, the U.S. government wanted to fund more foreign language programs to help us be more globally competitive. The funding was short-lived, though, and we're back to being English only speakers for the most part.

 

Two / The Imperfect: L'Imparfait

" . . . And then we go over to Europe and all we can say is 'Merci beaucoup,' right?" President Obama said on the campaign trail in 2008, confessing his monolingualism as a source of personal shame (even if, for electoral purposes, it was likely an asset).

 

I think this is true of most Americans. It's kind of sad. I wish I had become bilingual and used two languages regularly! At this point, I don't think it's going to happen.

Three / The Past: Le Passé Composé

In college I fell in love with a tall Tennessean who directed his considerable intellectual gifts largely toward gambling on sports. The son of a southern lawyer and a serious-minded northern mother, he was so much like me: a partier and a reader, as introverted as he was sociable, stuck between two parts of himself whose ambitions and desires often seemed to be in direct opposition.

 

I just like her words and the juxtapositions of concepts.

Three / The Past: Le Passé Composé

The problem of translation is perhaps most acute in literature, to which renderings must be true in spirit as well as letter. Even the most diligent and creative translators find themselves hard-pressed to replicate such techniques as rhythm, assonance, alliteration, idiom, onomatopoeia, and double meaning. (Dr. Seuss books, with their oddball rhymes and invented words, are said to be the Nikita Khrushchevs of the written word.)

 

This tickled my funny bone, but also made me think about the challenges inherent in translating a work of literature.

 

Four / The Present: Le Présent

The Académie Française - the world's first national body dedicated to the stewardship of a language - was established in 1635, "to give certain rules to our language and to render it pure, eloquent, and capable of treating the arts and sciences."

 

Wow! I was vaguely aware of this organization, but hearing about it in the other French language audiobook I read and then in "print" in this book made me do some online reading. The French are incredibly serious about their language!

Four / The Present: Le Présent

 Despite its pretensions to clarity, French can be trying. Vert (green), verre (glass), ver (worm) vers (toward), and vair (squirrel fur) constitute a quintuple homonym, not even counting verts, verres, and vers (you don't pronounce the final s in French). 

We often hear about how difficult English is to learn, but this example is one of the reasons that I prefer to read and write French rather than listen and speak it! She goes on to talk about Cinderella's "pantoufle en verre" (glass slipper) which might have been a misheard "pantoufle en vair" (fur shoe).

 

Four / The Present: Le Présent

I often tease Olivier about the way he says "can't remember" - "can tree member," as though he were describing a still life of soup, oak, and penis.

 

This made me think of my mom and dad and language pronunciations! My dad used to say that my mother taught "turd" grade because he couldn't pronounce "third" correctly. Oh, we were not nice about that.

Five / The Conditional: Le Conditionnel

One French newspaper had a column that recapitulated the best tweets of the week in more characters than they took to write. 

 

 

Again, this just tickled my funny bone! All that verbiage to express "turducken." Too funny! (And yes, I was too lazy to type all that AND add in the correct accents.)

Six / The Subjunctive: Le Subjonctif

"They're going to go bananas over you, go berserk," she said, overlooking the fact that her paraphrase would probably have been incomprehensible to anyone under twenty-five, regardless of his native language.

This is Lauren's mom "explaining" what she meant by calling Olivier's brother(?) a "huge ladies' man." His confusion over that expression was NOT clarified by the bananas and berserk explanation. Language can be so tricky without idioms, slang, etc. And then the age differences. I still remember my dad trying to use "hip" phrases in the 70s and we disdained his lack of understanding. I often don't understand youngsters' words nowadays!

Seven / The Future: Le Futur

Besides, I was a fiend for birth announcements, wedding announcements, and obituaries, the "hatch, match, and dispatch" trinity that once comprised the only three times a respectable woman's name should appear in print."

I'd not heard that expression "hatch, match, and dispatch" for those announcements, though I have heard about respectable women not being in the paper other than those occasions. That's pretty antiquated, though! 

Seven / The Future: Le Futur

Our insurance policy provided for five days at the clinic, a standard stay in Switzerland.

 

She did indeed have the right room, she explained, and I did have an appointment - each new mother was entitled to a soin postnatal, just a little pick-me-up to help her feel more like herself. 

 

As she describes her experience of giving birth, with the five day stay, the food options, the offer to have a manicure, pedicure, massage, or having her hair done, . . . I wished I were European. American health care is incredibly expensive and minimalistic. It makes me both sad and mad.

 

This book took me a long time to read and a long time to blog! I finished it at least two weeks ago. I have three others that I've finished and need to blog!

 

 

 

The Persian Pickle Club

by Sandra Dallas

Hennepin County Library paperback 196 pages

Published: 1995

Genre: realistic fiction, historical (1930s)

I don't remember where I heard about this book, but I really enjoyed it. I liked it enough to look up the author - she's written a lot of books! The quilting in this story is probably how it came to my attention.

Queenie Bean is a young farm wife in 1930s Harveyville, Kansas. The Dust Bowl following the Great Depression is making life hard for everyone. But getting together with the other women of the Persian Pickle Club helps her stay positive.

Page 4: "I'd never met a woman who didn't sew. None of us had, and we stared at her again, until Ceres Root said with a nice smile, 'You modern women have so many interesting things to do. In this day and age, there's no good reason to make thirteen quilt tops before you marry, like I had to when I was a girl.'"

I love that it's one of the elderly women who breaks the silence when Rita, Tom's wife, admits that she didn't sew.

Page 4: "There wasn't a quilt top turned out by a member of the Persian Pickle Club that didn't have fabrics from all of us in it. That made us all a part of one another's quilts, just like we were part of one another's lives."

I love that they share fabric scraps the way they share their lives as they sew. Camaraderie!

 

Page 13: "She'd start coming to club after she found a husband. It was marrying that made women appreciate other women."

 

That made me laugh. Not every woman wants to get married or have friendships with other women.

 

Page 31: "I'm the same. I look across the land, and all I see are quilts. I carry my scrap bag in the car so's I can go to patching while Blue drives. If I didn't have my quilting, I'd have gone crazy with all this moving around."

I loved the scene where Queenie and her husband Grover meet with Blue and Zepha and little Sonny. This was one of my favorite aspects of the story!

Page 42: "When he went to town one day, she asked him to bring her back a piece of fabric she'd admired. Instead of a length, he brought her the whole bolt of cloth. It was Persian pickle, what some call paisley."

It's fun to find out where the title of the book originates. In this case, Ceres' husband made a purchase that gave the group their title.

Page 132: "When there's trouble, women just naturally think of food, although there was no need for it this time."

Food is one of my love languages! I love offering nourishment to people. It was wonderful how the women reached out to one another in times of trouble.

Page 141: "You can stay locked up here feeling sorry for yourself like Lizzy Olive would have done, or you can put the bad time behind you like Ella did and thing about all the good things the Lord gave you. And He'll keep on giving them to you if you'll let Him. But how can you take advantage of His opportunities if you're sitting behind the kitchen door with the hook on?"

Mrs. Judd was so bossy, but she made things happen!

Page 150: "'Oh,' I said, wondering why women like Velma and Rita, who didn't want children, got pregnant, while God denied me a baby even though I wanted one more than anything in the world. He even gave five at one time to that Dionne family in Canada. Was that fair?"

Those are the kinds of questions to turn over in prayer! It is painful to see people who do not value children at all having them and neglecting or abusing them, while also being aware of people who struggle with infertility.

Page 168: "I took the bundle from Grover and untied the string, putting it into my apron pocket to save."

This caught my attention because those frugal 1930s habits (like saving a piece of string) is what I grew up with! It's hard to not save every little thing when that's what you've known.

I am definitely interested in reading more of this author's work!