Book Review: "Last Christmas in Paris" by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb (HFVBT)

I'm always a little leery of a romance, but with this books unique format and interesting setting I gave it a go, and I'm glad that I did! It's about Evie Elliot, who is "left behind" as her brother Will and his best friend Thomas leave their upper class lives in England for dirty, awful, hellish trench warfare on the continent. (The story is told mostly through letters back and forth between a few key people, but occasionally there is a chapter that is just a normal chapter.) They (like a lot of people) assume that this war will just be a small skirmish and that it will be wrapped up by Christmas where they will meet in Paris and celebrate. It is not wrapped up by Christmas. They do not celebrate. Evie is spunky and bright and refuses to let the fact that she was left behind mean that she isn't doing "her part" for the war back at home. She even rides a bicycle for a job she gets. Scandal upon scandal!

The letters back and forth between these three showcase the worry and uncertainty of the people who are waiting at home, the terror and the boredom of trench warfare, love lost, love gained, grief, how life goes on at home while people are away at war and on and on. It's all very human and realistic feeling. 

A small thing that kind of poked at me was how fast the mail supposedly worked. And maybe the author did the research and found out that if the different battalions were ensconced somewhere for awhile that mail delivery was pretty regular. (The letters are dated, which is why I noticed). But considering it was 1915-ish and it had to cross the English Channel AND government services were stretched pretty thing AND it's a war it seemed like those letters were zipping fast and furious like Amazon prime orders! Probably not a soul other then me would give that a second thought. I might just be insane.


A great romantic read, especially in fall or winter!

Praise for Last Christmas in Paris

“Beautifully told…the authors fully capture the characters’ voices as each person is dramatically shaped by the war to end all wars.”—Booklist

“For fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society comes another terrific epistolary historical novel that is simply unputdownable […] this remarkable novel will undoubtedly go on my keeper shelf.” —Karen White, New York Times bestselling author of The Night the Lights Went Out

“Humor, love, tragedy, and hope make for a moving, uplifting read. A winner!” —Kate Quinn, author of The Alice Network

“An extraordinary epistolary novel that explores the history and aftermath of the Great War in a sensitive, memorable and profoundly moving fashion. A book to savor, to share and discuss with friends, and above all to cherish.” —Jennifer Robson, international bestselling author of Goodnight from London

“There is a special talent to writing the epistolary novel and Gaynor and Webb have mastered it. Letter by letter, the complex lives of Evie and Thomas unfold as WWI wages on, bringing with it the heartbreaking news of physical and emotional casualties. And yet, in the midst of such sacrifices, an ever-deepening love surfaces, finding a unique way to live on in this devastatingly beautiful work of historical fiction.”—Renee Rosen, author of Windy City Blues

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | Chapters | IndieBound | Kobo

About the Authors

HEATHER WEBB is the author of historical novels Becoming Josephine and Rodin’s Lover, and the anthology Fall of Poppies, which have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Elle, France Magazine, and more, as well as received national starred reviews. RODIN’S LOVER was a Goodreads Top Pick in 2015. Up and coming, Last Christmas in Paris, an epistolary love story set during WWI will release October 3, 2017, and The Phantom’s Apprentice, a re-imagining of the Gothic classic Phantom of the Opera from Christine Daae’s point of view releases February 6, 2018. To date, her novels have sold in ten countries. Heather is also a professional freelance editor, foodie, and travel fiend.

HAZEL GAYNOR is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of A Memory of Violets and The Girl Who Came Home, for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award. Her third novel The Girl from the Savoy was an Irish Times and Globe & Mail Canada bestseller, and was shortlisted for the BGE Irish Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year. The Cottingley Secret and Last Christmas in Paris will be published in 2017.

Hazel was selected by US Library Journal as one of ‘Ten Big Breakout Authors’ for 2015 and her work has been translated into several languages. Originally from Yorkshire, England, Hazel now lives in Ireland.

Book review: "Mexico:Stories" by Josh Barkan

I read this book over a month ago and hadn't gotten around to reviewing it, which maaaaybe says something about the book. (And maybe a little about me...I'm going to say 75% book, 25% me)

It's a short story collection, and each of the stories are centered around people who are not involved in the incredibly scary drug cartels but somehow get pulled into that world.

-There's a Romeo and Juliet story between two kids from different drug cartels families which is by far the least creative or original story in the bunch.

-There's a strange story that involves a mime and a circus and a little person...

The story that I thought was most interesting was about a man who was a kind of mid line plastic surgeon in Mexico. Suddenly a famous narco bursts into his office and demands a makeover. Not just a nip and a tuck but a "I'm going on the lam and I need to be unrecognizable" kind of makeover. The doctor protests ("yeah, usually there's a consultation or two and usually I don't do surgery at gun point soooo can we talk?") Things go south and the doctor fears for his life...

I keep trying to think of things to say about this book and I just keep shrugging my shoulders and thinking "I dunno, it's fine." If you've got a hankering for a REALLY GOOD book about people being dragged into the cartel's sphere I'd much more highly recommend "Prayers for the Stolen". That's a good book. And the cover is great. This cover is ok. It's fine. Everything about this book is just fine. It's like....if Train were a book. Not special, just fine.

I received this book for free in exchange for a fair review from Blogging for Books

Book review: "The Bear and the Nightingale" by Katherine Arden

A book set in dark, cold Russia set in a world where the line between everyday life and the folkloric tales is smudged away. 

The setting of this book is truly one of the main characters. I'm so glad that I read this book in winter, the impact of this book would not be the same if you read this on a beach somewhere I think. The Russia of this book is cold and dark, with dark foreboding forests and squat, small villages.

The story centers around Vasilisa; the youngest girl of her land holding noble family. There is something different about her, maybe having something to do with the fact that her mother and her grandmother were always accused of having some magical or at least strange tendencies.  There's no denying that Vasilisa is different. The spirits that live in the forest, in their home, in their stables and even in the village bathhouse are all obvious to her. She talks to them and brings them food.

Upheaval comes twice in short order to Vasilia's life. Her mother died minutes after giving birth, so her father after a few years decides to go to Moscow to find a new bride. The czar basically forces him to marry a certain woman with noble blood...but who also sees the same things that Vasilia sees but instead of "oh these are just little magical beings who have been a part of this already old place for a very long time" she sees "DEMONS!". This gets even worse when she leaves the city for the country.  She's a very pious woman, and so she makes sure that a new priest follows her shortly after she leaves for the countryside. This new priest immediately feels that Vasilia is (somehow, simultaneously) alluring, frightening and  repulsive to him. Lots of mixed feelings there.

With the new priest comes big changes to the townspeople who are encouraged to disregard their superstitious ways. This means the little spirits that protect that village and it's occupants are weakened enough that something evil is able to find it's way in........

I liked this book. I like folklore stuff, I like magical realism stuff, I have a well documented weird obsession with Russia here on this blog. I feel like it maybe went a little of the rails at the end, but overall a very good book with interesting characters. Snuggle under a blanket and read this book!

Book Review: "Brilliance" by Marcus Sakey

My coworker Megan and I often talk about books, and she was telling me about this series that she had gotten for a really good deal for her Kindle. The more she talked about it the more I'm like yeaaaah, that sounds like a book I need to read. And my TBR grew three books that day.

So in the world of this book there are a small minority of people who are born with special abilities. Some of them are kind of the savant variety (I'm going to name a place and you will automatically know the address because you memorized the phone book) and some are more intuitive. Our main character, Nick, is able to really read people's body language and anticipate what they are going to do. Helpful in a fight, which he gets into a lot. So, since the government is always scared of what's different, all of these people with abilities are closely monitored and if you are "tier one" (especially gifted, or in the perspective of the government really potentially dangerous) you are placed into "academys" where you are basically brainwashed and then the government uses your unique ability to work for them. Everyone take a moment here to be shocked that that's how the government would work. No one shocked? Yeah, me either.

So Nick is an interesting main character because he is one of the gifted ones AND he works for one of the government organizations. He hunts down dangerous people who are affiliated with radical organizations and neutralizes them.
As is so often the case, not everything is as it seems and Nick finds himself seeing things from a different perspective and it's all manhunts and gun fights and all of the other things that come with a great thriller.

Two things that caught my interest in this book:

-After reading so many more YA geared dystopia/sci fi stuff this one has a couple decidedly more R rated moments. Which is not to say that there's like, big graphic sex scenes but it's written for a little older crowd and it's kinda nice. Someone gets thrown from a car and it's kinda badass.

-I want a WHOLE other book about a character named Samantha who is really only in one short piece of the book but I'm like THIS CHICK. I WANT MORE ABOUT THIS CHICK. She sounds like an interesting, sad lady.

So, since it's a trilogy I will be heading to the library to find the next installment! I give it a 3.5 of of 5. Excited to see what comes next!

 

Book Review: "The Age of Miracles" by Karen Thompson Walker

My library didn't have this categorized as a YA book, and it really should have been. Nothing against YA books, I know several adults read them and think they are great, but with a few exceptions they aren't something that I find myself reading regularly. The main character is a 12 year old and I couldn't help thinking that I would like this storyline better if the character was a little bit older. Anyway, probably not great book blogger form to start with a criticism so let's back it up and talk about the plot.

Something has happened (no one knows what exactly) and now the earth is spinning slower and it's having a lot of repercussions. Like time is added on in an inconsistent way so there's sometimes where the sun doesn't go down for 36 hours or longer. There's weird magnetic field stuff. Gravity is effected, like birds can barely fly; everything becomes heavier (if that makes sense). In the middle of all of the end of the world feeling type of stuff Julia is a 12 year old only child with parents who have a strained marriage and is going through all of that awful stuff that 12 year olds go through.

I would have like this book more if it did a little more world building. I know that Julia is the main character and we're supposed to be the most interested in her; but I would have been more interested in hearing what was happening around the world and how people were dealing with the changes as opposed to her interactions at the bus stop with her crush.I wanted a wider lens.

If you have a yound reader in your life who might have an interest in a book that's a little more dystopian but not as dark as an Divergent or Hunger Games this might be a good place to start. There's not much violence, no sex, (I think) no swearing. So all in all, not a book for me, but not a bad book per se. 

2.8 stars out of 5!

Book review: "Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People" by Nadia Bolz-Weber

Before we start, this author had a previous book named "Pastrix" which probably would have been a little helpful to have read before this book but is by no means a prerequisite. She kind of recounts enough that you get the idea that she had a really conservative upbringing, took a hard hard hard turn into drugs and alcohol and then found her way out and into the ministry. So she pastors a church in Denver full of "accidental saints". People who society would kind of shun or think are weird or look down on or exclude or who have had a lot of issues with organized religion in the past and are just looking to have a toe dipping in kind of experience to see if there's room for them.

I selected this book from Blogging for Books because I had heard vaguely about it and the selection from which to pick from for Blogging for Books is getting a little bit stale. I was a little weary going into it because being a religious person I'm always side eyeing a lot of the hot, trendy religious books for several reasons but in the spirit of being less of a snob and being open to new things I found myself with this book. While I don't agree with all of her views I really appreciate her dedication to her people and prayer and being a good pastor for her flock.

Ready for some out of context quotes? Becuase that's a-comin your way:

She has a parishoner who says she's having a crisis of faith. She goes and talks to her and help her out. Turns out the parishoner is in a crisis because "she thinks she believes in Jesus". Nadia laughs and says "So sorry, but sometimes Jesus just hunts your ass down and there's nothing you can do about it". Which made me laugh because CS Lewis said something (kinda) similiar when he came to Christianity, saying that he was "the most dejected, reluctant convert in all of England". 

Some of the people in Nadia's flock have substance abuse problems. She talks about one named Candy. And how God loves Candy NOW. Even as she is dirty and sick and confused. He doesn't start loving us once we start making good choices, or a hold a job for 3 months or make sure all the bills get paif on time. He loves us NOW. Even if we are the conducter of the Hot Mess Express.

Here's another quote I thought was intersting: "It's weird, but all of the characters in the Gospels who encounter Jesus, the ones who most reliably know who he is are not the religious authorities or even Jesus' own disciples. They are the demons. The demons always recognize Jesus' authority. And the demons are afraid". Which, when you think about the biblical stories of Jesus interacting with demons this is TOTALLY true. And I just think that's fascinating for some reason.

That's probably enough out of context quotes. But I'll end with saying my favorite thing about this book was her honesty, and I love the very sacred feeling that a lot of her church's rituals had. What I didn't like - why does everyone who does Crossfit have to talk about it SO MUCH ALL THE TIME? Why?

Anyway, 4 stars out of 5.

This book was provided for me in exchange for a fair review from Blogging for Books

Book Review: "Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art" by Magelin L'Engle

I remember making a New Year's Reading Resolution recently that I was going to read more of Miss L'Engle's writings. I had recently reread "A Wrinkle in Time" which I think is one of those books that you read as a kid, and then re-read as an adult and you appreciate a lot more about it. Or at least different things.

This is a hard book to categorize. Though really it says it all in the subtitle "reflection on faith and art". She talks about both of those things both separate and together.

I think it's interesting that she found herself chaffing when she was referred to as a "Christian" author. It's not that it wasn't untrue (she is a Christian, and she is an author) but it pigeon holes you. Like how people would be shocked to know that Roald Dahl also wrote books for adults. I think there are plenty of people who were not Christians who read WIT and enjoyed it.

Kind of attached to that she talks a lot about choice. 

She talks a lot about how being open to things is great for art.

 Honestly, I'm having a hard time reviewing this book and there were so many great quotes but they will make no sense out of context. So I will just say this.


 I found this book thoughtful and lovely, with a great flow to the chapters. It was just a nice, reassuring, interesting, calming read and I'm so glad that I picked it up. I think that she has a lot to offer people (artists, authors, or noncreative folks alike) and that many people will find this book to be just a cozy kind of soothing read.

4 out of 5 stars!

This book was sent to me free of charge from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review

Bookish ranT: "California" by Edan Lepucki - Spoilery

California is about a couple who realize that living in LA while the world goes to pieces is not a great idea, so they move to the wilderness and live there. I was thinking "Oh this sounds kind of like "Dog Stars" and I liked that book, I will give it a shot.I was excited to start read this book, but eventually the unbelieavability of parts of it lead to me liking it less and less.


Spoilers

-She doesn't get her period and assumes she's pregnant. Really? You're sure it's because you're pregnant and not because, like, you haven't gotten all of the calories and vitamins and whatever you've needed in the time you've lived in the wilderness and maybe your period is just peacing out? Really?

- Then she's like "oh I really hope I'm pregnant" but then takes a Valium that August offers her. I'm no medical expert but taking a powerful drug while pregnant can't be great for that  baby. And you know where a sucky place to live and have a hard labor or a baby that needs extra medical attention would be? The wilderness. (This part isn't unbelievable as much as like woooooow, no.)

-No people show up to try to acost them and take their supplies? You really only run into friendly folks? Because it's not like the same apocilyptic happenings that drove you out of the city wouldn't drive others and they might not be morally superior as these two decide they are? They try to kind of explain this one away but I'm not buying it.


- I would have been insanely angry with Micah. Like I'd eventually just be happy that he was alive but I'd be livid for at least 2 weeks.

-The turkey baster. Weird.

So, I guess I'm really just irritated to have it be so much potential and then it be squandered.

Anyone else read this one?

Book Review: "Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History" by Kate Schatz and illustrations by Miriam Klein Stahl

Everything you need to know about this book is in the title. It is a book with little snippets about women around the world who are doing amazing things. A couple people you may already be familiar with: Frida Kahlo, Malala, etc. Some I know I had definently not heard of. There were a few that had been on my radar to find out more about them, and now that has become a serious need! Here are a couple of the women you will hear about:
 

Wangari Maathai - she realized that deforestation was destroying her home country of Kenya and was the first African woman to get the Nobel Peace Prize for "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace".

Madres de la Plaza Mayo - There were some serious bad times in Argentina during the late 70s and early 80's ("The Dirty War") where several thousand people went missing (courtesy of the government). Mothers of the missing people would gather, wearing white handkerchiefs on their heads, and demand information about their disappeared children.

Josephine Baker - Miss Baker was a fooooooorce! Singer, dancer, Francophile, mother to a whole bunch of adopted kids from all over the world, civil rights activist and on and on.

Sophie Scholl - Sophie was a member of the White Rose, a nonviolent resistance group against the Nazis. Did this end well for her? No. Was she incredibly brave and a damn hero? Yes.

 

 

 This is just a taste of all of the interesting stories that await for you in this tidy book with interesting woodcut illustrations!  Pick it up!

 

 

This book was given to me for free in exchange for an honest review by Blogging for Books

 

 

Graphic Novel Review: "Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride" by Lucy Knisley

This was not my favorite Lucy Knisley. I love her food and travel based offerings the most, but this book is still valuable and if you have some engaged friends I would recommend you giving this to them!

The story details Lucy's relationship with her now husband, how they planned their wedding long distance, and their actual wedding day. The food sounded great, surprise surprise! 

Lucy is shocked by the mass commercialization of weddings and how there are so many things that you are "supposed" to do. It was definetly something I noticed when I was planning my wedding, but like Lucy I got to a point where it's like "Uh, no if it's not something you want to do you don't have to do it". Though Lucy went a little farther than me. Though looking back I would have made some changes, but really I have no regrets.

Another thing that Lucy brings up is her bisexuality. What happens to that part of her once she gets married (to a man)? Is it something that she stops being? Is it something that lies dormant in her waiting for years down the line to rear it's head and cause problems? It was something that she struggled with, and I think a lot of people do. Not necessarily the bisexuality part, but the "hey I'm yoking myself to this person forever and what does that mean for me as a person?"

There's stress, barn building, poutine, and all of the rest of the wedding details made better by Lucy's cute sketches and laid back style. When it's all said and done you feel kind of exhausted, but in a good way! 

My main critique of this book is that there weren't any of her manatee sketches which I love :)

Book review: "The Caretaker of Lorne Fields" by David Zeltserman

If you like creepy books without certain resolution , well boy howdy do I have a book for you!

Jack Durkin spends his whole day saving the world, at least that's what he spends. To the passerby he spends the whole day, every day, weeding the same field. Jack spends his days preventing the horrible Aukowie from rising up and destroying the world. It's a familial job, passed down from oldest son to oldest son going back almost 300 years. It used to be a job that people respected, and treated the Durkin's with deference and kindness. Now people are cynical, and whisper that those Durkins have lost their minds. And on top of that Jack has a cranky wife, an oldest son who wants nothing to do with the field, and a younger son who wants to be the caretaker but can't be because the contract, signed by his ancestors and the town, says it has to be the oldest son.

A horrifying incident changes the public view of Jack from a harmless weirdo to a person who is dangerous and delusional. Jack's allies are few and far between as he tries to prove that is work is important and can't be disturbed.

I wasn't sure if I was #TeamDurkin or #TeamSkepticalTownsfolk because after each incident my position changed. If you read this, let me know where you land. I don't think we're supposed to have a solid answer but I'm curious as to people's interpretations.

I give this book a solid 3.5 stars for being short, inventive, a little heart tuggy, and a little scary all wrapped into one!

 

Book review: "The Wolf Road" by Beth Lewis

Elka, our narrator could kill me and skin me pretty deftly I think. After "the Big Stupid" (which we never get a full account on but seems to be some kind of nuclear/global war) she and her nana live alone in a cabin in the woods. But after a dangerous storm lands Elka far from everything she knows she meets the Trapper, who takes her in and teaches her everything she needs to know about  living in the forest and being a skilled hunter. He never let's her go with him on big hunts for things like elk, and he's not exactly parental and warm but he's taught her a lot and took her in when she was in need of shelter. So they're a weird little family....until Elka is in town one day and is confronted with a lady boss officer of the law who tells her that the Trapper may not be all who she thinks he is....so Elka makes a run for it, with almost nothing to her name but her wits, skill and a really good knife.

Elka is not met with kindness from all as she tries to make her way to the town where she thinks that her parents, who she hasn't seen since she was a baby, set out for to make their fortunes on what sounds like a post apocalyptic gold rush. The whole time she can basically feel the Trapper's breath on her neck. She does meet a few allies on the way, one has four legs and fur, and the other is a person who ends up saving her life more than once.

There is danger, adventure, terrible creepy people, good hearted nice people, the scariest sounding thunderstorms I've ever heard of (maybe nuclear war disrupted our weather patterns or something?), death defying escapes, and people locked in crates. I wouldn't read this book while camping. Nope nope nope.

I give this book a 3.2 out of 5. It was entertaining and a fast read, even if it wasn't ever breaking new ground. My only criticism was that a lot of the time I forgot that it was supposed to be post-apocalyptic because it didn't really play into the story TOO much. It could have just been the normal 1880s most of the time. Either way, not a big criticism.

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

Book Review: "One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway" by Asne Seierstad

This book was on my TBR for a long time but I didn't ever pick it up due to the page length. You really have to plan when you're going to read those 500+ page books, you know? I finally made time for it, and I'm kicking myself for taking so long to open it up. 

Just as a reminder, in 2011 Anders Breivik detonated a bomb in downtown Oslo (killing 8) and then took guns to a island where a group of teenagers were at a camp and killed 69 teenagers. (Everytime I re-read the numbers it makes me queasy). I remember this attack, maybe more than others, because we have good family friends who were in Norway when this happened and they had been in Oslo the day before. Luckily we were able to reach them on faceook and found out that they were ok.
This book chronicles the life of Breivik and those of his victims, and then later the crimes themselves. The descriptions of the lives of everyone involved made for a really interesting look into the lives of people who live in Norway. Like (this is over simplifying) Breivik's mother said she felt too overwhelmed to care for him and so the government provided a family to watch him on the weekends for a short time. I was like whaaaaat is that all about? And how Norway has struggled to become an integrated, multicultural place. Not a rare struggle.

This book wasn't a feel good book. It was detailed and unflinching. You heard about the exact moments that these young people lost their lives. Where the bullets entered their brains. What they were holding in their hands when they dies. If they were near their friends. Sometimes their last words. However, I felt like the explicitness of the story kept it from being cheapened or glossed over. It showed the horror of the acts that were committed.

The whole book made me feel uneasy and sickly but there was one particular part that made me feel like someone punched me in the stomach. After the massacre had stopped and the survivors had been evacuated to the mainland the police and medical examiners began to cover all of the bodies with sheets. In the darkness and stillness of the coming night you could hear the cellphones ringing from the pockets and the clutched hands of the bodies under the sheets. The desperate phone calls to children from parents that wouldn't be answered. Ugh. 

I'm not going to rate this book because how can you rate a book about the worst days of so many people's lives. Be assured that this book is worth reading.

Book Review: "In Praise of Profanity" by Michael Adams

This book really didn't need to be a whole book. Though it was a pretty short book I felt like it might have been better in a different format, maybe a series of web articles? Though it felt like it carried on a little longer than it probably needed to, and got a little folded over on top of itself sometimes there were some interesting points:

-What's the difference between something being obscene or profane?

- Who decides what words are worse than others? (Like, you can say "ass" on tv but maybe not "shit"?)

- Words that used to be insults that now people have "reclaimed" - n*gga, bitch, and f*g.

One thing that I thought was interesting that the book kinda brings up but then I stewed on it a little more was how many different contexts we can use the same word. For example, "shit".

My team just scored a touchdown - "Shit yeah!" (Celebratory)

Becky borrowed my favorite sweater without asking and I just found out - "What the shit, Becky?!" (Angry)

When Becky finds out that I know she has my favorite sweater - "Oh Shit" (Scared). YOU SHOULD BE BECKY, I LOVE THAT SWEATER.

And, of course the sentence you would say after wolfing down too much movie theater popcorn in one sitting - "I'm going to have the shits" (Verb...technically a predictive verb if that was a real thing.)


So, short book, fast read, kinda redundant but I learned a couple of swear words in different languages so not a complete loss. 2.5 stars.

Graphic Novel Review: "Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Naratives from Black History" by Joel Christian Gill

When I was looking for my next graphic novel to review on goodreads the big ol' font on this cover caught my eye, along with it's unusual name. What does fruit have to do with black history? And then I saw that the title comes from an anti-racism song by Billie Holiday that talks about how black victims of lynching look like strange fruit hanging from trees. Oh....so, that's awful to think about. I've linked the song below, also Billie has skills in case you haven't heard her before. Worth a listen on multiple levels!




So, this book talks about 9 stories that you probably haven't heard before. Myself I had heard of two of these men. I''d heard of Henry "Box" Brown from an episode of The Memory Palace - a favorite podcast of mine, and I'd heard of Bass Reeves from an episode of Drunk History. A tv show with a funny premise, but that I've actually learned a lot from. Reading this book you will hear about a chess champion, a cyclist, the nation's first integrated school and more!

I have only 2 gripes, and they are small. One, a lot of times the font is hard to read. It's either teeny tiny or very scripty so maybe not a good book to read on a moving vehicle or in the dark. My other gripe is that they left a lot out of the Box Brown episode. They detail very well his escape from slavery in a small, mailed box but they tell you less about what happens afterward. I feel like they also imply that he escaped and bought his wife and 3 children who were still in slavery as soon as he could but he actually went on a speaking tour and married a white woman in Great Britain and started a new family......I'm sure it comes down to a) limited pages to devote to each story and b) I think the focus is supposed to be on the daring escape (though with things like that I'm always more interested in how you cope AFTER something like that).

A good read, I learned a lot and I will keep my eyes peeled for more in the series.

Book Review: "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" by William Heffernan

I'm going to level with you guys - I don't really do murder mysteries so I'm not sure why this book ended up on my TBR but a departure from what you usually read is good sometimes right?

Basically, three young men leave their home in Jerusalem's Landing, Vermont to fight in the Civil War. One doesn't come back at all, one comes back physically maimed and one comes back personally changed (basically, he was already a bit of an asshole and now he's  a big, huge, cruel asshole). Our main person is Jubel, who is the one who comes back with one less arm than he left home with. He's a deputy with his dad the sheriff (or constable or something) and he has to investigate a murder. So the book flashes between the current timeline (the murder), the timeline where the three boys were fighting in the army together (where something super scandalous happens and they talk about it the whole book without actually saying what it is) and a timeline of when they were younger (oh look what scamps those kids are!).

There's also a love story, because of course there is.

Really there's nothing wrong with this book if you're looking for a historical fiction murder mystery. But there were two things that bothered me about this book.

1) There were two female characters (one a main character, one more peripheral) and they were hardly given any character development. One was like a "so perfect on a pedestal" and then one was "gold digger hussy". Felt like there wasn't a whole lot of work put into the female characters.

2) The whole point of this book is solving this murder and talking about this salacious thing that happened when the boys were in the army. They hard and harp on them both and when it comes to the big reveal of both they each get like, half a page. It's so brushed aside it was like the author didn't actually think about how to wrap it up after talking so much about it. It was a little annoying.

Anyway, I gave it a 2 star but if you are a frequent murder mystery reader or like things set in the Civil War (that was the best written timeline, I thought) you still might want to pick this one up. 

 

Book review: "The Hidden Letters of Velta B." by Gina Ochsner

After reading this books description I thought I had a pretty good idea of what would happen. I was wrong, as usual. What I couldn't have counted on was the lovely writing that this author used to tell this interesting (though sometimes confusing) story.

This book is set in Latvia, and I learned all kinds interesting folklore and traditions. My buddy at Myths and Legends podcast could fill some episodes with those Latvian yarns. Like, you're supposed to sweep the path behind everyone after a funeral so the dead persons spirit won't follow anyone home. And that gypsies give the gift of a down pillow at a funeral.

It's basically the story of a small town and a family who loves there. It's set in about the 90s but it feels pretty timeless. There's: ghosts, unplanned pregnancies, Baptists who must have a piano on a certain side of the worship hall, a small town that needs an economic boost, a mad (but friendly) scientist, a swindler uncle who is still a little lovable until he turns totally loathsome, grief, lost love and cows in flotation jackets.

Phew.

Here's one of my favorite snippets of the book (and an example of the authors lovely style):

You tell me  that at the root of the word mirror is miracle or wonder. I have always believed in miracles. I credit your grandfather for this unshakable belief that the inexplicable, unbiddable, and wholly wonderful does and can occur. And I believe in blessings. You cannot be wondrously healed if you haven't first been terribly wounded.


I liked a lot of this book, though sometimes it was kind of hard to follow. And who I thought would really be the star of this book was really just being told the story like the reader is, but that's my own suppositions. I'll give it a 3.65.

Book Review: "A Matter of Breeding: A Biting History of Pedigree Dogs and How the Quest for Status Has Harmed Man's Best Friend" by Michael Brandow

I very much like dogs, and very much enjoy watching dog shows on tv. Saying things like "oh look at his little face!", "Is that a mop or a dog?" and "AAWWWWWWWWW". My dad and I always joke that we should start a drinking game every time one of the (notoriously bad) announcers explains that "the dogs aren't being judged against each other, they're being judged against their breed's standard". The thing is, after reading this book, it becomes AMAZINGLY clear that being as close as possible to the breed standard could be a very bad thing indeed.

Our author talks about a variety of dogs and topics like: breed origins, why dogs that we think are really old look nothing like their ancestors, and why being recognized by the AKC is not always a good thing. Some of the dogs that are talked about at length are: borzois (who I think are so gorgeous but are really just a hodge podge of all kind of dogs that you wouldn't believe, even though they just kind of look like more elgant greyhounds), Labrador retrievers (including why we call them "chocolate" and not "liver" colored), German Shepherds (you ever notice how their back legs make them almost look like they are crouch/crawling when they walk? Not good.) and English Bulldogs (the breed that is the most expensive when it comes to medical bills, but that doesn't keep lots of people from buying them.)

Author also talks about how certain dogs' existence were threatened due to human conflicts: pets that were seen as bourgeousie were rounded up and killed by the thousands during events like the Inquisition and the French Revolution. Sharpeis almost went extinct during Mao's reign in China.

If you're a big dog person, have an interest in genetics or why humans have a tendency to make almost everything worse that they come into contact with, this book might be for you! I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because I'm a big ol' dog nerd!

All Lady July Book Review: "Book of Esther" by Emily Barton

Overall- This book was not a bad book but I felt like it was so hard to be so many things that it got confused and confusing for the reader.

The plot is basically that a peacful (predominantly Jewish) country is under threat by a menacing country that is pushing refugees into the peaceful countries land and imprisoning all of the Jews and taking their things and making them disappear. A young Jewish woman from a noble family decides to take it upon herself to raise an army when she thinks that people are not taking the threat seriously. 

Like, are you trying to be speculative fiction? Are you trying to be your own inventive novel but you're borrowing so hard from history that it's reading like weird, steampunk historical fan fic? I was distracted through the whole thing.
Also, another thing that makes it hard is that there is a fair amount of references to practices in Judaism with no references. I knew some of them, just because of books I have read in the past, but it's pretty much thrown at you with no context. And there is a fair amount of dialogue in (sorry for my ignorance) Hebrew or Yiddish that you kind of just have to infer things. I'm all for not being spoon fed every thing but it got to be distracting.

My favorite thing: so many golems. And I love me some golems. This is the first book that really go into depth of like "Do they have a soul? Can they worship? Are they ashamed that they are naked?"

I gave this book two stars, and that was mostly for the golems and the one other supernatural thing that makes an appearance. Shrug. But (!) if you've read this and you love it tell me why!


(I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from Blogging for Books)

All Lady July - Graphic Novel Review: "Raven Girl" by Audrey Niffenegger

Are you looking for a graphic novel with kind of bizarre illustrations and cross species families accompanied by poetry like words? Then, this might be the graphic novel for you. 

Honestly I thought it was a little bizarre and strange but liked the sounds of the words. I mean, if you're going to have a person fall in love with a raven and have a hybrid baby together it has to sound pretty right?

Favorite sentence:
"He felt as one does when dreaming about familiar houses with sudden strange rooms discovered in unlikely places".

And the new word that I learned: perfidiousness

Which means:  deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful

Thanks Dictionary.com!

 Honestly I don't have a whole lot to say about this one so I guess we will just leave it there. (I really just needed to feel my "graphic novel" quota for the month shrug.