"Which comes first the chicken or the egg? Perhaps my mission truly was decided by the position of the planets. In which case it was fated from the moment I was born. It was inevitable; I am only fulfilling my destiny. We'll never know, will we?"
-the "Perp" from the novel
I found this novel when I was looking for Daughter of Fortune, a newer one by this author. I have read Allende before and I was expecting a story set in South America. Was I surprised! This one, apparently translated from Spanish, is a thriller---a story involving a serial killer in San Francisco. The title refers to a group of amateur sleuths playing an online game called Ripper. The group includes one main character, high school senior Amanda Jackson, her beloved grandfather Blake and some friends around the world. Ripper becomes an essential resource in solving multiple murders in the Bay Area.
There are numerous other significant characters to keep up with in the novel---Amanda's mother, Indiana; her father Deputy Chief of Homicide Bob Martin of SFPD; and Ryan Miller, former Navy Seal and war hero whose prosthetic leg does not hold him back. Of course, there are secondary characters, some of whom are killed in a series of strange murders. The precocious Amanda is like a chip off the old block (her father) but couldn't be more different from her mother, a free-spirited healer. Amanda is the first to determine connections between all the murders, which seem at first to be unrelated.
My favorite character was Ryan, a strong, brave and likeable character but with a temper, to be sure. He is in love with Indiana, called Indi, and when she disappears, Ryan and Ripper get busy, along with Indi's ex-husband, Bob Martin and the SFPD, trying to find her before it's too late. I kept guessing who the "perp" was and it was not until late in this almost-500 page novel that I knew for sure.
I am rating Ripper a 4. It really is longer than I like a book to be and there are so many characters to keep up with. It started out a little slow but soon became a page-turner. So bottom line: I liked it, didn't love it.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Eleanor Roosevelt A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman
"It was not until I reached middle age that I had the courage to develop interests of my own...From that time on, though I have had many problems, though I have known grief and loneliness that are the lot of most human beings... I have never been bored, never found the days long enough for the range of activities with which I wanted to fill them. And, having learned to stare down fear, I long ago reached the point where there is no living person whom I fear, and few challenges that I am not willing to face."
-Eleanor Roosevelt, looking back on her life
If I ever read a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, it would have been as a child. I knew she was a much-beloved first lady and an amazing woman but I had so much to learn. The impetus for me to pick up a biography now was learning of a play I will see later in the year called "My Lord, What a Night," which involves singer Marian Anderson. It seems when Ms. Anderson was denied a concert hall in Washington DC by the DAR, Eleanor resigned her membership from that organization in protest. Also I remembered in a Smithsonian traveling exhibit about the workings of the White House, I had learned she was the first to integrate the White House staff.
This particular biography is from the juvenile section. I quite often look for biographies or nonfictions there to get a brief overview of something I may want to explore more in depth later. There were several biographies on the shelf and this one caught my eye because of the author, who I remembered from my teaching days as one who includes many photographs. It did not disappoint.
Eleanor Roosevelt was truly a woman ahead of her time---in the areas of race relations and world peace, in particular. Some of the countless adjectives used to describe her by many people who met her were: warm, sympathetic, compassionate, humble, energetic, independent, a "gracious and magnificent lady." She was the first First Lady to fly and she made great use of that transportation, traveling the world and being called "Eleanor Everywhere." On most of these trips she was attempting to help people.
I was surprised to learn that Eleanor was a school teacher for quite a while when she was living in New York and even during Franklin's time as governor. She loved teaching and hated giving it up to move to DC when FDR became president. After he passed away she would end up teaching again. As a retired teacher of many years, I was touched.
I am glad to know more about Eleanor Roosevelt. I will be looking for The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt. I think it would be enlightening to learn more about her life from her own words. She is my new (old) hero!
-Eleanor Roosevelt, looking back on her life
If I ever read a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, it would have been as a child. I knew she was a much-beloved first lady and an amazing woman but I had so much to learn. The impetus for me to pick up a biography now was learning of a play I will see later in the year called "My Lord, What a Night," which involves singer Marian Anderson. It seems when Ms. Anderson was denied a concert hall in Washington DC by the DAR, Eleanor resigned her membership from that organization in protest. Also I remembered in a Smithsonian traveling exhibit about the workings of the White House, I had learned she was the first to integrate the White House staff.
This particular biography is from the juvenile section. I quite often look for biographies or nonfictions there to get a brief overview of something I may want to explore more in depth later. There were several biographies on the shelf and this one caught my eye because of the author, who I remembered from my teaching days as one who includes many photographs. It did not disappoint.
Eleanor Roosevelt was truly a woman ahead of her time---in the areas of race relations and world peace, in particular. Some of the countless adjectives used to describe her by many people who met her were: warm, sympathetic, compassionate, humble, energetic, independent, a "gracious and magnificent lady." She was the first First Lady to fly and she made great use of that transportation, traveling the world and being called "Eleanor Everywhere." On most of these trips she was attempting to help people.
I was surprised to learn that Eleanor was a school teacher for quite a while when she was living in New York and even during Franklin's time as governor. She loved teaching and hated giving it up to move to DC when FDR became president. After he passed away she would end up teaching again. As a retired teacher of many years, I was touched.
I am glad to know more about Eleanor Roosevelt. I will be looking for The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt. I think it would be enlightening to learn more about her life from her own words. She is my new (old) hero!
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
"Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery.
None but ourselves can free our minds."
-Bob Marley, from 'Redemption Song,' quoted by the author
Years ago our book club read The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, a memoir of an almost unbelievably horrid childhood. This one is reminiscent in its intensity. Westover's dysfunctional family is led by a fundamentalist Mormon who is paranoid about government interference to the point of not allowing his children to go to school or seek medical help from doctors or hospitals. Tara's mother, a midwife and herbalist, exclusively provided the medical treatment. The family was waiting for the End of Days and hoarding food and other supplies in their rural Idaho home.
Since Tara had a father who failed time and again to keep his children safe and then refused help from the medical community, a brother who was almost certainly schizophrenic and a mother who refused to go against her tyrannical husband, it was not only a wonder that she eventually earned advanced degrees at prestigious schools and wrote this book, but that she survived to adulthood at all! Some families are dysfunctional but being a member of the Westover family was dangerous.
I can't say I really enjoyed the story but I did find it riveting, perhaps because Tara's upbringing was SO different from mine in a loving home. I found the structure confusing at times as it was not always chronological. I found it sad that being educated indirectly led Tara to her estrangement from her parents and some siblings. I can't help but wonder if she has reconnected with them now. My rating is a 4. More after the Page Turner meeting....
It's time for an entertaining, somewhat mindless fiction now!
-------------------------------
Fourteen of us met to discuss Tara Westover's memoir. Individual ratings were all over the place with an average of 3.8. I'm not sure that any of us really enjoyed the book but most admitted they found it a page-turner anyway. We used the discussion questions issued by the publisher as a jumping off place but no one needed much motivation to talk about the book. Much of our conversation centered on the author's education, both formal and informal---learning about the world outside her mountain home. I believe we were all amazed and impressed that Ms. Westover has accomplished all she has in spite of her very abnormal upbringing. A new member of our group who had grown up in an LDS community contributed beautifully to our understanding of some aspects of the book so I will rate our meeting a 5!
In seeking more information about the author of Educated: A Memoir, I found numerous interviews on YouTube. Here is a link to the one with Ellen DeGeneres, one of the shorter ones.
https://binged.it/2Zi3yEx
None but ourselves can free our minds."
-Bob Marley, from 'Redemption Song,' quoted by the author
Years ago our book club read The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, a memoir of an almost unbelievably horrid childhood. This one is reminiscent in its intensity. Westover's dysfunctional family is led by a fundamentalist Mormon who is paranoid about government interference to the point of not allowing his children to go to school or seek medical help from doctors or hospitals. Tara's mother, a midwife and herbalist, exclusively provided the medical treatment. The family was waiting for the End of Days and hoarding food and other supplies in their rural Idaho home.
Since Tara had a father who failed time and again to keep his children safe and then refused help from the medical community, a brother who was almost certainly schizophrenic and a mother who refused to go against her tyrannical husband, it was not only a wonder that she eventually earned advanced degrees at prestigious schools and wrote this book, but that she survived to adulthood at all! Some families are dysfunctional but being a member of the Westover family was dangerous.
I can't say I really enjoyed the story but I did find it riveting, perhaps because Tara's upbringing was SO different from mine in a loving home. I found the structure confusing at times as it was not always chronological. I found it sad that being educated indirectly led Tara to her estrangement from her parents and some siblings. I can't help but wonder if she has reconnected with them now. My rating is a 4. More after the Page Turner meeting....
It's time for an entertaining, somewhat mindless fiction now!
-------------------------------
Fourteen of us met to discuss Tara Westover's memoir. Individual ratings were all over the place with an average of 3.8. I'm not sure that any of us really enjoyed the book but most admitted they found it a page-turner anyway. We used the discussion questions issued by the publisher as a jumping off place but no one needed much motivation to talk about the book. Much of our conversation centered on the author's education, both formal and informal---learning about the world outside her mountain home. I believe we were all amazed and impressed that Ms. Westover has accomplished all she has in spite of her very abnormal upbringing. A new member of our group who had grown up in an LDS community contributed beautifully to our understanding of some aspects of the book so I will rate our meeting a 5!
In seeking more information about the author of Educated: A Memoir, I found numerous interviews on YouTube. Here is a link to the one with Ellen DeGeneres, one of the shorter ones.
https://binged.it/2Zi3yEx
Sunday, August 18, 2019
The Secrets of Lost Stones by Melissa Payne
"It takes time for all the loose ends to be in one place, but once they are, things tend to move quickly."
-Lucy, from the novel
This was another free novel from Amazon First Reads. It was intriguing, to be sure. I had a hard time putting it down midway through. I am rating it a 4.
Protagonist Jess Abbot, is a young woman seemingly with nothing more to lose, when she tries a change of location and winds up in the small town of Pine Lake. There she soon meets an eccentric old lady named Lucy who hires her as a caregiver.
In the meantime, co-protagonist Star, a teenaged runaway ends up in Pine Lake and is befriended by Lucy, as well.
It would seem that Lucy is a clairvoyant as she knows that both Jess and Star are holding tightly to regrets and guilt in their pasts. Lucy's many mentions of her "loose ends" make both Jess and Star wonder why they've been brought together. Lucy's odd ways (some townspeople call her a witch) and mysterious happenings, including the frequent appearance of secret stones, add to the intrigue.
The story is told with alternating perspectives of Jess and Star. Although I correctly predicted some events, the climax was pretty surprising. So many coincidences were a bit difficult to believe but I did enjoy the story.
-Lucy, from the novel
This was another free novel from Amazon First Reads. It was intriguing, to be sure. I had a hard time putting it down midway through. I am rating it a 4.
Protagonist Jess Abbot, is a young woman seemingly with nothing more to lose, when she tries a change of location and winds up in the small town of Pine Lake. There she soon meets an eccentric old lady named Lucy who hires her as a caregiver.
In the meantime, co-protagonist Star, a teenaged runaway ends up in Pine Lake and is befriended by Lucy, as well.
It would seem that Lucy is a clairvoyant as she knows that both Jess and Star are holding tightly to regrets and guilt in their pasts. Lucy's many mentions of her "loose ends" make both Jess and Star wonder why they've been brought together. Lucy's odd ways (some townspeople call her a witch) and mysterious happenings, including the frequent appearance of secret stones, add to the intrigue.
The story is told with alternating perspectives of Jess and Star. Although I correctly predicted some events, the climax was pretty surprising. So many coincidences were a bit difficult to believe but I did enjoy the story.
Monday, August 5, 2019
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
"What the mind don't 'member, the heart still know. Love, the strongest thang of all. Stronger than all the rest....Secrets ain't a healthy thang. Secrets ain't a healthy thang, no matter how old they is. Sometimes the oldest secrets is the worst of all."
-Bart's mother, from the novel
This book was recommended to me and it was an excellent read. A story of exploitation of children, it was very difficult to read in places and even more poignant because it is based on a true story.
In 1939 five children---ages 12 and under---are essentially stolen from the shanty boat where they'd been living and taken to a home run by Georgia Tann, the director of the Tennessee Children's Home Society, Memphis, Tennessee. They are led to believe they will be reunited with their parents but will actually be offered---at a price---to wealthy childless couples. Rill Foss is the eldest of the children and sees herself as the protector of her siblings. She narrates her story which is heart-wrenching, to say the least, and it goes back and forth to....
Present time in Aiken, South Carolina, where lawyer Avery Stafford meets a woman in a nursing home who calls Avery "Fern" and seemingly filches her bracelet. Later a photo found in the woman's room piques Avery's curiosity and starts her on an unexpected path where she will uncover a long-held family secret and discover much about herself.
In A Note from the Author, Wingate relates the fact and fiction of the novel. "Though Rill and her siblings exist only in these pages, their experiences mirror those reported by children who were taken from their families from the 1920s through 1950. The true story of Georgia Tann and the Memphis branch of the Tennessee Children's Home Society is a bizarre and sad paradox." Shockingly, Tann had a lot of people fooled for a long time as she was called the "Mother of Modern Adoption." According to the author, Eleanor Roosevelt sought her advice about child welfare. Also from the author: "While Mrs. Murphy and her home in the story are fictional, Rill's experiences there were inspired by those reported by survivors."
The novel was thoroughly riveting, a page-turner to be sure. I rate it a 5.
--------------
Here we are a year later with the Page Turners having read this book and meeting via Zoom to discuss it. The group's average rating is 3.9 with almost everyone liking the book on some level. Of 19 participating, there were 15 4's and 5's.
Some found the multiple characters, several with more than one name, and the dual timeframe format confusing. Others really enjoyed the story within a story which eventually connected the past and present kept the reader turning pages until the connection was clear. Most agreed it was not as enjoyable as it was compelling.
A few participants had been personally touched by adoption or foster care and had interesting experiences to share. Some found the book comparable to Where the Crawdads Sing.
Several members had read additional information about Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society. So shocking that this corruption and exploitation of children went on so long! I think we agree that children in deplorable conditions need to be rescued but biological parents should be given the opportunity to prove themselves before their children are taken from them.
The publisher has provided a wonderful resource on Before We Were Yours, including Author's Notes, an interview, discussion questions and even recipes.
Here's a link:
http://www.randomhousebooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/BeforeWeWereYours_BookClubKit.pdf
-Bart's mother, from the novel
This book was recommended to me and it was an excellent read. A story of exploitation of children, it was very difficult to read in places and even more poignant because it is based on a true story.
In 1939 five children---ages 12 and under---are essentially stolen from the shanty boat where they'd been living and taken to a home run by Georgia Tann, the director of the Tennessee Children's Home Society, Memphis, Tennessee. They are led to believe they will be reunited with their parents but will actually be offered---at a price---to wealthy childless couples. Rill Foss is the eldest of the children and sees herself as the protector of her siblings. She narrates her story which is heart-wrenching, to say the least, and it goes back and forth to....
Present time in Aiken, South Carolina, where lawyer Avery Stafford meets a woman in a nursing home who calls Avery "Fern" and seemingly filches her bracelet. Later a photo found in the woman's room piques Avery's curiosity and starts her on an unexpected path where she will uncover a long-held family secret and discover much about herself.
In A Note from the Author, Wingate relates the fact and fiction of the novel. "Though Rill and her siblings exist only in these pages, their experiences mirror those reported by children who were taken from their families from the 1920s through 1950. The true story of Georgia Tann and the Memphis branch of the Tennessee Children's Home Society is a bizarre and sad paradox." Shockingly, Tann had a lot of people fooled for a long time as she was called the "Mother of Modern Adoption." According to the author, Eleanor Roosevelt sought her advice about child welfare. Also from the author: "While Mrs. Murphy and her home in the story are fictional, Rill's experiences there were inspired by those reported by survivors."
The novel was thoroughly riveting, a page-turner to be sure. I rate it a 5.
--------------
Here we are a year later with the Page Turners having read this book and meeting via Zoom to discuss it. The group's average rating is 3.9 with almost everyone liking the book on some level. Of 19 participating, there were 15 4's and 5's.
Some found the multiple characters, several with more than one name, and the dual timeframe format confusing. Others really enjoyed the story within a story which eventually connected the past and present kept the reader turning pages until the connection was clear. Most agreed it was not as enjoyable as it was compelling.
A few participants had been personally touched by adoption or foster care and had interesting experiences to share. Some found the book comparable to Where the Crawdads Sing.
The publisher has provided a wonderful resource on Before We Were Yours, including Author's Notes, an interview, discussion questions and even recipes.
Here's a link:
http://www.randomhousebooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/BeforeWeWereYours_BookClubKit.pdf
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