March 19, 2023 HANGING AROUND

Hopalong Cassidy here-hobbling toward week four. The black and blue and brown and yellow and purple is finally gone. The swelling is getting better too. Can't wait to go back to the doctor next week. I'll have another Xray. Praying for good news. It is VERY hard for me to sit around. Thankful for the NCAA tournament. It's given me something to do between books. Speaking of books, I just finished the first installment of Claire Mackintosh's new crime series The Last Party. The series features Ffion Morgan, a detective constable in Wales. She's thirty years old, recently separated and living with her mother Elen and sister Seren in Cwm Coed. The story begins on New Year's Day as a body washes up on Mirror Lake during the annual Polar Plunge. The body--Rhys Lloyd-- was a famous singer from Cwm Coed who recently returned to build "The Shore" a resort for the wealthy--much to the chagrin of the residents of Cwm Coed. As the lake borders both Wales and England, Leo Brady, a detective constable from England  teams up with Fifion to investigate Lloyd's death. It seems everyone in Cwm Coed had a reason to want Rhys Lloyd dead. This is a real page turner with so many twists and turns that you won't know who killed Lloyd to the very last page. It's refreshing to read about a woman detective--especially one as rough around the edges as Ffion. The cast of characters including the wealthy people living at The Shore are in sharp contrast to the residents of Cwm Coed, which adds a whole other layer to the mystery. I really enjoyed this mystery and look forward to the next book. It's about 400 easy pages that you'll have trouble putting down. 

March 4, 2023 BAREFOOT BLUE JEAN NIGHT

 

Took a tumble in Florida. Mini Tsunami hit me from behind and I went flying. When I got up--I knew something was wrong. My foot was killing me. Rallied though. Spent three more days in Florida limping/dancing around AND  trying to ignore it. Finally had an X-ray on Monday. I have an oblique, mildly displaced fracture of the distal fifth metatarsal metadiaphysis. What the HELL does that even mean?? Basically--I can't run, play pickleball or walk for exercise for at least 6-8 week. I broke a bone near my right baby toe. SO SAD. Thankfully--I have a stack of about 10 books here to keep me occupied and help me stay sane. It's going to be a long 6-8 weeks though. If you enjoyed Snowflower and the Secret Fan then I think you will thoroughly enjoy Juhea Kim's debut novel Beasts of a Little Land. Set in Korea during the Japanese occupation, it is 1917 and a lone Korean hunter is tracking a tiger in the mountains when he is captured by Japanese soldiers. He later leads the soldiers out of the mountains in exchange for his life and the tiger he initially hunted, survives unharmed--setting a major theme in this historical fictional novel--there are several different kinds of beasts in Korea--figuratively speaking. The majority of the novel then follows Jade, a young girl whose mother sells her to a courtesan. As an apprentice, Jade becomes life long friends with Luna and Lotus. Jade grow up to become a celebrated courtesan and movie star in Seoul where she, Luna and Lotus befriend several men including Myungbo--who is fighting for Korean independence. Minister Ma, a lethal man with many mistresses. Jungho, an orphan and leader of a street gang and HanCol, a rickshaw driver who is in love with Jade. Find out what happens to these unforgettable characters as they try to survive a ruthless war, death, despair, starvation and heart ache. This novel is about 400 pages but the prose is beautiful and it's well worth the read. Enjoy

February 12, 2023 TIME IS ON MY SIDE

 

If you could find out how long you had to live, would you want to know? That's a scary question right? On the one hand, it would be nice to know because then you could arrange your life in such a way that reflected the time you had left on Earth. It could also be a real downer, especially, if you found out you only had one year left. Not sure if I would want to know how many years I have left--it would probably freak me out. Blissful ignorance is more my speed.  How about you? I recently finished a novel that examined this idea called The Measure by Nikki Erlick. As this thought provoking novel unfolds, every person in the world wakes up one morning and receives a small wooden box. Some choose to open the box, while others do not. Inside the box is a string and a message that reads "The measure of your life lies within".  The people do not know where the boxes came from or what they mean at first. Over time, they come to realize that the length of the string equates to the length of their lives and the whole world must adapt to this new "order".  Should people with shorter strings have to register with the government? Should the long stringers get better jobs? Should the government force people to open their boxes? The novel explores eight people who try to deal with this "new" world and the consequences of either opening or keeping the box closed.  This is dystopia at its finest. The Measure is a fascinating but also disturbing story of about 350 pages  about family and friendships and how lives are forever changed by a small box. Enjoy and be thankful we don't have to make that choice.  

February 5, 2023 IT'S NOT EASY TO BE ME

 Feeling old lately. I have so many aches and pains--back hurts, butt hurts, leg hurts, knee hurts. I am LITERALLY FALLING APART. Not sure what to do. So-- do I continue to TRY to do yoga and modify--do I continue to TRY to run--slower than molasses--through the pain--even when my foot starts tingling? How about pickleball? UGH-- OR do I just stop doing EVERYTHING. Sit around like a rock and die of boredom and depression. It is such a catch 22. The rate I'm going--I'll be ON THE CANE before long. It's not easy to be me...............In other news--If you're looking for a fine piece of historical fiction, look no further than the 2021 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich. The main character, Thomas Wazhashks, is based on the life of Erdrich's own grandfather. Thomas works as a night watchman at a jewel bearing factory near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural Dakota. He is also a Chippewa council member on the reservation. Thomas, as tribal chairman, works to fight against Native American Dispossession of the 1950s. He and other council members not only struggle to understand the termination bill, but also fight in Congress for their land, rights and Native American identity when  Congress wants to end all treaties. In addition to Thomas and his family, other heartwarming characters on the reservation include Patrice, who works at the factory to support her mother Zhanaat and brother Pokey. Wood Mountain, a boxer interested in Patrice and Lloyd Barnes, a math teacher at the reservation school. Each faces different hardships living on the reservation including poverty, abuse and addiction. I totally loved the characters in this well written novel and enjoyed learning about a time in history that I wasn't familiar with. This should be required reading in every high school  because the Native American struggle in our history is one that should never be forgotten. It's about 460 pages--well worth your time. 

January 22, 2023 BORN THIS WAY

 

Celebrated another birthday last week. Made it another 365 days. Thankful. But it seems to me that birthdays should be celebrated by the mother too. After all--if the mother didn't give birth then there wouldn't be any reason to celebrate right? Whenever we celebrate a birthday--I tell my kids the story of their birth. The whole drama--well most of it. They get all embarrassed but it's fun to reflect back on those days so that they can appreciate their own quirky arrival on this planet. After all-- every birth is different--and it's nice to know the circumstances surrounding your own birth. So--I'm really into Simone St. James these days. She writes mysteries,  thrillers and even ghost stories. I really enjoyed her novel from 2020 The Sun Down Motel. This thriller begins in 1982. Viv Delaney leaves her hometown enroute to New York City. On the way, she stops in Fell, New York, to work as a night clerk at the Sun Down Motel to earn extra money. One day she disappears and is never seen again. 35 years later, her niece, Carly Kirk, decides to take a trip to Fell to visit the motel and find out what happened to her aunt. Strangely, the motel hasn't changed at all since 1982. In order to learn more about the motel, Carly take a job as the night clerk and finds herself wrapped up in the mystery her aunt found herself in years earlier. The story switches back and forth between Viv and Carly with several plots, twists, turns, and ghosts, but is easy to follow. Find out what happened to Viv in 1982 and if Carly becomes the latest victim when you read this 336 unsettling, page turner for yourself. BOO. 

January 6, 2023 THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

I recommend many books but sometimes find it difficult to recommend my FAVORITE BOOKS because they're just a little off the beaten path.  And truth be told--some people don't appreciate that.  So to be clear-- when I'm recommending a book I LOVE--this is what you are apt to get. A book filled with quirky characters-- And a writer whose prose is so brilliant that the characters seem real. An author who has the ability to take the  mundane, tragic or even depressing elements of life and mix in just enough humor--to make me smile or even laugh out loud at times. Finally, there's nothing better than a book that has many sub plots and vignettes  that seem unrelated BUT somehow come together at the end of the story. These types of  books don't come around very often but I found one last year that I didn't get around to reviewing called Behind The Scenes At The Museum by Kate Atkinson. Originally written in 1995, the 25th anniversary edition came out last year and that's when I spied it. This family saga tells the story of six generations of women from York, England. It begins with Ruby Lennox as the narrator--at the time of her conception in 1951. Ruby is an excellent observer of her misfit family that includes her parents, Bunty and George, and sisters who all live above their pet shop. Interspersed with Ruby's narrative are chapters told from the point of view of various family members including her great grandmother, grandmother, mother and sisters. They each share vignettes of their own sometimes pathetic lives and the events in history that shaped them.  While the story seems to jump around and the sub plots unrelated-- it all comes around in the end making this a very gratifying novel. This is a 322 page book I highly recommend. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Enjoy. 

January 2, 2023 THE BEST OF TIMES

I know I'm a day late BUT I'd still like to share with you my stats and favorite books from 2022. I read 60 books but sadly only reviewed 23. I'll try to be better this year. My favorite books IN ORDER:

1) The Hearts Invisible Furies by John Boyne

2) Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

  3) Still Life by Sarah Winman

4) Case Histories and the whole series which includes 6 books by Kate Atkinson

5) The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

6) The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

7) Oh William! and Lucy by the Sea. --part of a series of books by Elizabeth Strout

8) The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

9) The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

10) The Sundown Motel or any mystery by Simone St. James

If you haven't read any of these great books---get to it. They will get you through the long winter. Happy reading. Have a safe, happy and healthy New Year.