Book review: "King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa" by Adam Hochschild

So I try to make it a habit to write a review quickly after finishing the book. Reviews are more cohesive, more thoughtful and make considerably more sense.

I did not do this with this (excellent) book so it's not getting as good of a review as it deserves. I'm going strictly off of some notes I jotted off, so there's your disclaimer.Hopefully it's enough for you to be intrigued by the book to pick it up.

King Leopold desperately wanted to expand Belgium's territories. The thing is, there isn't any land to be had in Europe or in a lot of other places, and people were starting to frown on Colonialism in some spots. Leopold decided on Congo. (I can't remember exactly why, something about Stanley who we will get to later). The area of the Congo that he claimed was bigger than England, France, Germany, Spain and Italy combined. It was 76 times the size of Belgium!!!

As you'd imagine, King Leopold wasn't a sweetie pie. I thought the story of his oldest daughter was particularly sad. She was forced to marry a much older man, and on their wedding night ran screaming into the garden to avoid what she knew was coming. She was miserable and sad in her marriage and began having an affair with a cavalry officer much closer to her own age. She was eventually found out. She was given a choice: remain in the life of privilege with a husband she hated or to be committed to an insane asylum for the rest of her life. She chose the asylum. (So, that's horrifying to think about what her life must have been). Her cavalry officer was eventually able to rescue her from the asylum, and they lived together happily for a short time before he died. Most depressing story eveeeeeeer. I try to focus on the fact they were at least happy for a time.

So Stanley (Henry Morton Stanley) of "Dr Livingstone I presume?" fame was a big old liar. He lied about almost everything. His background, his family life, and lot of his exploring experiences. (He had a pretty terrible childhood so I can understand why he made up some of the stuff. Just saying).

After the notoriety that he gained after the Livingstone incident he was asked to go find a man named Emin Pasha who was in Africa and hadn't been heard from in some time. He had been studying bugs in Africa, and when Stanley found him and insisted that he returned to Europe with him Emin was dismayed. (But if Stanley didn't bring him back he'd look like a failure, so he kind of strong armed the return). Emin was at a reception welcoming him back to "civilization" when he stepped out of a second story window. (His eyesight was terrible, and he thought it was a veranda or an outside door or something. It sounds like something from Looney Tunes. It's ok, he lived!)

This book was full of stories: sad, compelling, interesting. I learned so much from this book, it was embarrassing how little I knew about this area during this time. Absolutely recommended! 4 out of 5 stars!

Review: "Trapped Under the Sea: One Engineering Marvel, 5 Men, and a Disaster Ten Miles into the Darkness" by Neil Swidey

Do NOT read this book if you are claustrophobic, don't like being damp, being underwater, or anything like that. This book will probably make you very anxious! It made me kind of anxious and I'm not any of those things.

Boston's harbor was disgusting, dirty and stomach churning just to look at. The city government decided that this had to change. They designed a tunnel, miles underground and incredibly long to funnel all of the grossness out of the harbor and farther out into the ocean.(Not better for anything involved, but less visually disgusting for the fine people of Boston).

This project is unlike anything else ever attempted. And the commercial welders who work on the project now that there are some risks involved because so much of the technology is new and untested. (They were joking that they could be on the Discovery Channel because of all of the new things happening). Things go well for awhile, but then there is a horrifying accident leaving some divers dead, some traumatized and fingers pointing at who exactly is to blame.

Also commercial diving is super scary and I don't know how any of these wives/girlfriends/parents/kids could function knowing how much danger they could be in at any random job.

I  found the book incredibly technical, which I understand why that is. I however, was more interested in the relationship between the men, the accident and the aftermath.It's also a lot of names to keep straight I'd have to re-read a lot to make sure that I was thinking of the right person.

I recieved this book for free in exchange for an honest review from Blogging for Books

Vacation Post and Mini-Reviews of Vacation Reads...and Manatees!

As mentioned, I just got back from a lovely vacation. My friend Corrie, my sister Quinn and I stayed at Moon Palace in Cancun. Just a short little 3.5 hour plane ride to get us from cornfields and beer to palm trees and margs. We sat on the beach, we ate, we drank, I scratched something huge off my bucket list, I embarrassed myself with my terrible high school Spanish skills, and a great time was had by all. The hotel was big, and almost at full capacity but it didn't diminish our experience at all. Service was always friendly and polite and full of smiles. 

I'm not always good about remembering to take pictures on vacation but here's a few:

Infinity pool

Happy Birthday!

So with all this time sitting on the beach (or in the airport, womp womp) what does one do? One reads. Or if you are Quinn, the nonreader in the group, you play on your phone.

Here's the books that I read:

"Divergent": I liked it. I had pretty tempered expectations of it so I wasn't super bought into the hype but I thought it was an entertaining read. A note for the people who have seen the book and read the movie: I like movie Four better than book Four. He's more of a badass in the movie and I like that (grrrr, haha). Due to pure coincidence, friend Corrie also brought Divergent to read, so we were having a little beach book club. 

Then, one morning Corrie looked in her suitcase and started laughing because she found the next book in the series "Insurgent" in her suitcase (she had forgotten that she has bought, and then packed it). And because Corrie is the sweetest she let me read it, even though it was brand new and a hardcover, while she was finishing up "Divergent". She started it on the plane ride home so we will have to do an over the phone beach book club when she is done, haha. I liked the second book a lot, I know some people were angry that it was more emotional than action packed but I think that's fine. The third one is waiting for me at the library, and I'm excited to finish it up! (Even though a few months ago when I had no intention of reading the series I looked at the spoilers so I know how it ends, still reading it).

Update: Finished.I feel like I want to talk these books some, so look for a stream of consciousness/discussion post about these coming up.

"The Long Walk": Read this on the airplane on the way down. Interesting, not as gory or violent as some of King's works. The concept is just so unusual I kept thinking "how did he even think this up in the first place?" (But I think that a lot with King). I liked that there was nothing supernaturally weird about it, which isn't to say it wasn't completely messed up.

"The Master and Margarita": Truth be told I hadn't finished it by the time I came back but have finished it since. It was funny, and kind of weird, and absurd and strange. Like, it's over and I still don't know what for sure I read and what it was entirely about. But it made me feel/look smart reading it, so that's nice!

"How to be a Heroine": The best thing about this book, is that the author mentions a bunch of books that sounded really interesting, so it made my feminist/women centered TBR list grow exponentially.

"Beyond the Pasta": I would never attempt the recipes in this book, but I loved the story about this Italian family who took him in so wholeheartedly.

"Without You There is No Us": A super fascinating look inside North Korea. If you have any inclination to learn about that part of the world at all I highly recommend it.

So 7 in book in 8 days! Which I think is a record for me, but I had to do something to fill the space between sipping drinks and eating tons of chips and guac :)

My "bucket list" item that I was able to accomplish was swimming with manatees. They are my favorite animal, and they are just the sweetest things ever. Except they are kind of huge. When you are in the water with them you kind of realize how big they are, and it's big. But they were sweetie pies and I enjoyed feeding them lettuce and giving them back scritches and fake kisses. Because even if you're very sweet and have no teeth I'm not putting my face that close to something that is essentially still a wild animal.

So I have to survive the harsh Wisconsin winter on these memories. It hopefully will be enough to get me through :)

Book Review: "The Duel for Consuelo" by Claudia H Long (HF Virtual Book Tours)

Consuelo tries to be a dutiful daughter but her family makes it hard. Her dad is kind of a blowhard, always monopolizing important people and talking their ear off, and then her mother is slowly slipping into (what I assume is something like) dementia. While she slips in and out of lucidity Consuelo cares for her. The problem is that Consuelo's mom is a Jew. She doesn't practice in the open because the Inquisition is a strong force even in Mexico, and that would mean death for her and possibly the whole family. Sometimes she mutters about candles and prayers which puts Consuelo and her father on edge sometimes. When an invitation comes for a wedding of a local noble family there are old feelings stirred up and kind of sets the wheels in motion for most of the action in the book.

This story has all the universal themes that are so popular for a reason: love, misunderstandings that lead to a huge feud, loyalty to family, loyalty to oneself, and of course really bad guys to root against. This story isn't exactly reinventing the wheel, though I had never thought about the Inquisition makes it's way all the way over to the new world.

I'm never not going to not think of this when I hear about the Inquisition so here it is.

At first I had trouble with the super short chapters, especially the first few. It's like you barely knew these people and their story and then you get bounced around kind of quickly between them. It got easier the farther along in the book I went, maybe it just took some getting used to!

Praise for Novels of Claudia H. Long

The Duel for Consuelo: “A fascinating, terrifying window into early 18th–century Mexico and the final throes of the Inquisition. Courage and daring fill every page. The conclusion of The Duel for Consuelo is as heart rending as it is pulse pounding.” -David Perlstein, author of Slick! and The Boy Walker

Josefina’s Sin: “Superb debut. A moving tale of women seeking to balance competing passions of the heart, body, and mind in the lavish setting of a seventeenth-century Mexican court.” -Publishers Weekly

The Harlot’s Pen: “I was in awe of Claudia’s skill with threading such a compelling and captivating story through such a troubled time. She is beyond talented. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this inspiring book. You won’t regret it!” -Kristen @ Pretty Little Pages

Book Review: "Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Kreuger

It's the Monday after vacation, and I'm bumming. Ill have a wrap up, a few pictures, and some mini book reviews later this week.

I don't remember how this book got on my TBR but I'm glad that it did!

Our narrator is Frank Drum, 13 years old. He lives in New Bremen Minnesota with his father (Nathan) a pastor, his mom (Ruth) who apparently had quite the wild streak as a teen living in New Bremen but is still struggling to fit into the "pastor's wife" mould, older sister (Ariel) who is musically gifted and going to Juilliard, and younger brother Jake, who is quiet and serious, sometimes due to his stutter.

It's summer of 1961 and livin is mostly easy. Then there is an unexpected death...and then another...and then another, this one the most shocking, the body of a young woman is found in a river. This lends an air of suspicion to the residents of this small Minnesota town. The suspects are numerous. Is it the girls boyfriend? Is it the town's resident hot head teenage idiot who was a drinker with a temper? Is it the older Native American man who was found with the dead girl's jewelry? And then there there's a big unexpected twist!

I liked this book because it had good passing, relatable characters, and wasn't a really intense murder mystery. I don't generally read big complicated murder mysteries (or spy novels) because I generally can't keep all the characters and intrigue straight and then I get annoyed. This book was not like that. It was very readable.My one qualm with this book is that I guessed the "whodunnit" kind of early so I was waiting for the characters to catch up. But that's ok. I gave it a 3.5 out of 5 stars!

Great Ray Bradbury Quotes in Celebration of his Birthday!

Ray Bradbury is an infinitely quotable guy. Here are a few of my favorites all done up fancy on picmonkey for you!

A-Z Bookish Questions

A-Z of Bookish Question

The awesome and delightful Jamie posted her answers to these questions and I was like, that looks like fun, I'm going to steal it. So I did.

Author you've read the most books from: I have to think it's Ray Bradbury,CS Lewis and Neil Gaiman. So there's quite a threesome.

Best sequel ever: Does "Rose Under Fire" count as a sequel? If it does, definitely that one.

Currently reading: At time of writing: "The Pilgrim's Regress" by CS Lewis and "Sophie Scholl and the White Rose" by Annette Dumbach.

Drink of choice while reading: I don't really drink while I'm reading, I guess.

E-reader or physical book: Almost always a physical book. I appreciate what an e-reader brings to the table and sometimes it's just convenient but I will almost always take a tree book.

Fictional character you probably would have dated in high school: Not the guy from Catcher in the Rye.

Glad you gave this book a chance: "The String Diaries". Holy crap. That book was awesome. It sounded a little confusing but I was like whatever I'll try it. It was such a great read and I chatted with the author on Twitter some.

Hidden gem book: "Bone Church" by Victoria Dougherty. It was on a HFVB tour and I got contacted to review it and I'm so glad I did. Great setting, wonderful characters. Worth the read for suuuuure. Highly recommended.

Irritated by: Instalove. You have a whole book to develop a relationship between people, why do things need to be instant? It makes it feel not real. Or books that are not really about a love triangle but people make it so, a la Hunger Games.

Just finished: "A Year in the Merde". About a man living in Paris and his struggles to get stuff done and not get ripped off. Review forthcoming.

Kind of books you won’t read: Ridiculous bodice ripper romance novels. Though I jokingly started writing one in high school just to show how easy it would be to write one. Spoiler alert: not hard at all. (Phrasing.)

Longest book you’ve read: I honestly don't remember. Though with all of the talk about Outlander I was like oh I should read that and then it's like 800 pages. Not happening. At least not this year. Or anytime while I'm running the blog.

Major book hangover because of: The Daughters of Smoke and Bone trilogy. I gobbled up all three in like a week and a half and I want mooooooore.I was surprised by how much I loved that one.

Number of bookcases you own: Only 1! Being a big library user I'm not overwhelmed by books.

One book you read multiple times: "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis. Something new every time I read it.

Preferred place to read: One of the recliners. Or really any chair with fluffy arms that I can toss my legs over without them losing feeling and then giving me tingly toes so I fall down when I have to get up for something.

Quote you like from a book you read: "Obedience isn't a lack of fear, it's just doing it scared". Jen Hatmaker's "7".

Reading regret: My only reading regret is that I can't just read for 10 hours everyday, that I must be a productive member of society,and the spouse who provides health insurance.

Series you started and need to finish: The Monument 14 series. If I'm completely honest, I found the writing a little subpar and the plot kind of meh but I read the first two so I need to finish it off.

Three of your all time favorite books: Really? Really? Fine. "Gargoyle" by Andrew Davidson, "Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury, "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis

Unapologetic fangirl for: Ray Bradbury. That freak flag flies with no shame.He's the man. 

Very excited for this release more than all the others: Hmmmm, all the books I was really gunning for this year have already came out. I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting. How about the Giver movie, that kind of counts, yes?

Worst bookish habit: Being a little bit psychotic about pacing my books that I order from the library so that I'm never without a book when I need it. Like it stresses me out like a crazy person sometimes.

X marks the spot: I have a set of free Frontier Airlines that have smiling animals on them, and also a set of bookmarks that were a birthday present that I like. I even left one in a library book and the librarians knew it was mine and made sure I got it back. Love those librarians.

Your latest book purchase: "World of Trouble" by Ben Winters, which I talked about in my author signing post here. I'm not a big book buyer so this was kind of a rarity.

Zzzz snatcher book: If a book is really boring me I just set it free.