With or Without You: A Memoir
by Domenica Ruta
Abuse is painful (1/8/2013)
This memoir burns everything you have, from the body to the soul. The book is well written and perhaps just saves the author's life. Being born puts a small child in the wrong lane of life and a having a dysfunctional family overloads her mind and body. This all stems from family drug use, poverty and mistreatment carried forward from past generations. Nikki as the writer/subject is called, has a survivor mentality but not always. There is humor in the book as well as pain. Some pages you have to force yourself to read.
I put the book down several times and it always drew me back. I hope the world is alright for Nikki...
The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con
by Amy Reading
A Sad Tale of Flim-Flam (6/28/2012)
The “history” that this author covers in her book is like puff pastry. It looks good but there is nothing inside. The police authorities, who try to make you think they “just found and caught” the culprit, should have stopped these get rich quick artists eons ago.
Swindlers, con men, counterfeiters and scam artists still run the world and it seems no one can do much about it from the FBI on down. There is a lot of truth in the saying there’s a sucker born every minute. Congress seems unwilling to act – saying let the buyer beware.
I had hoped to learn something new in this book but, sadly, I didn’t.
The Voluntourist: A Six-Country Tale of Love, Loss, Fatherhood, Fate, and Singing Bon Jovi in Bethlehem
by Ken Budd
Paying to volunteer (5/2/2012)
If you're thinking about the concept of paying your own way to volunteer in the world this is the book to read. The author documents his time in 6 different countries. The most inspirational and memorable one takes place in Palestine at Christmas. At the back of the book are great guidelines to follow when picking your organization to volunteer with. Ken Budd's volunteer trips start with helping to clean up the mess of Katrina and then tells the stories of working in China, Kenya, Costa Rica and Ecuador. At the beginning of the trip to Palestine the author said he was not going to judge either the Israelis or the Palestinians - as he writes about the volunteering and the things he sees happen in front of him and to him, you realize what nasty little game Israel is playing in the Middle East. The book was totally enjoyable. But I felt the author injected too much of his personal mourning for his dead father and the fact that he and his wife (both over 40) had not had a child of their own into the book.
King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village
by Peggielene Bartels, Eleanor Herman
Inspirational and Thought provoking (12/23/2011)
With women like this, Africa CAN survive. I've traveled in and read about Africa for many years. I have never read or seen anything as positive as what is related in this wonderful book. Nor have I read an honest picture of the continent as a whole, written by an African King. The king, Peggielene Bartels is from Ghana and a naturalized American citizen who is a secretary at the Ghanian embassy. The men of her small town, Otuam, vote for her to be King. They quickly learn this is a mistake. Sadly because most of Africa suffers from the same past i.e. the slave trade and "ownership" by the countries of Europe making Peggy king breaks the mold. Through her, glimpse how Africa "works": Its religions, food, poverty, lack of clean water, politics, oppressive heat and much more. The book is written in an open and simple style. You feel you are part of the experience not being hit over the head. You cheer for Peggy and her faith in everyone.
Things We Didn't Say: A Novel
by Kristina Riggle
Life Imperfect. (5/14/2011)
I found this book thought provoking because I have never experienced much of what was written about. I have observed it, including the cut backs in the newspaper industry. Everything comes across as a viable way of living for many. Alcoholism, addiction to pills, divorce, step-parenting, grandparenting, runaway teens and keeping secrets slyly seeps into many relationships. It is a good book for young people. Either to have read to them or for teens to read themselves. Every once-in-a-while I felt the book slowed down or offered more information than necessary. You do learn that avoiding issues that matter will bog down any relationship.
Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth
by Lisa Napoli
Reporter finds peace with self (2/16/2011)
The first part of the book I really couldn't tell if this story was fiction, non-fiction or a biography. True the author really didn't have any idea what she had talked herself into. Yet after spending a year in the "happiest place on earth", Bhutan, she was able to step out of her stupor and write with sense of purpose about the things she had observed and participated in. The last third of the book lends itself to freeing the author from bad memories of earlier life in the USA. The many changes in this small country, with local interaction make the last part extremely interesting.
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel
by Tom Franklin
What? (10/23/2010)
It's not often that I am a loss for words. From the book title, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, to the last page, I forced myself to read this tome. Half the way through I almost said, this book is so horrible I can't read any further. I don't need to love the characters in any book. But in this case I found none of them had any redeeming qualities. The the male who perpetrated most of the animal cruelty probably was the worst. The other characters, especially the males were were unkind, ignorant and stupid. These people would all perform well in the clogged arena of Halloween movies, I kid you not. Bits and pieces of the writing were actually quite well done. But nowhere near enough to matter. I have reviewed mysteries and murder stories, as well as other books for years. This book really hit bottom in my rankings.
The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors: A Novel
by Michele Young-Stone
Lightening strikes some interest (5/8/2010)
Each chapter had an interesting introduction. Sometimes more interesting than the chapter itself. I didn't really relate, much less understand most of the characters. The novel is too long. There are too many lightening damaged people in it, maybe that was MY problem with it. In the beginning of the book it all worked. The last third was nonsense to fill up a prescribed length necessary to submit it. I chose to read this on my computer with the Adobe Digital Editions program. Didn't care for the format. I own a Kindle but was interested in the "newer" way of doing things. I still love my Kindle. But I didn't really like the book.
Ten Minutes from Home: A Memoir
by Beth Greenfield
A poignant history of grief and loss (4/19/2010)
This well written memoir documents the author's grief, pain, guilt, anger and loss. The anguish involved drips off the pages as do the readers tears. A car accident kills a brother along with a best friend. Because of this a mother, father and the author are all changed forever too. I do not know if reading this book will help others. But the stark reality of this book and the insights it brings to all of us who know very little about the losing a loved one is very powerful. The last paragraph in the book is perhaps the saddest in the book but it projects hope for the future.
Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy
by Melissa Milgrom
Yikes! Still Life and it's stuffed (1/12/2010)
I chose this book because I knew nothing about it's subject matter except for the fact I never enjoyed the final product staring at me. Now that I have read the book I know a lot about the subject matter but feel no less of an aversion. However, this book is well written, well researched and I commend the author on her exacting work. No matter if you're fan or foe you will end up angry at taxidermy and what happened at the Smithsonian, as a man is allowed to "buy" his way to trophies. You will marvel at the extent some will go to be the best or even the most creative. Some start with road kill. What's funny is most practitioners will not "recreate" pets. Others go back to the Audubon method: he killed them, to stuff them, to draw them. If you can get past the "chill factor" this is an interesting look at life after death. By the end even the author gets into the act.
The Book of Illumination: A Novel from the Ghost Files
by Mary Ann Winkowski
Ghosts and Illuminations (10/3/2009)
A clever and "spirited" mystery about ghosts and an ancient book that takes place in modern Cambridge, MA. Anza O'Malley, a single mom and ghost-whisperer, solves the mysterious disappearance of a beautiful, illuminated manuscript. With the help of three ghosts O'Malley not only solves the crime she also brings an estranged family together. The book is also an interesting introduction to the art of bookbinding.
Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother's Story
by Asha Bandele
Something wonderful (12/14/2008)
Asha Bandele writes with a poets voice and words about being a single mom. Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother’s Story, is a memoir that takes time to read. It's about love, betrayal and redemption. And most of all it’s about trusting in oneself. It's about being a single mother and how love grows, even when neither mother nor child is a "perfect model". The book is so well written that the reader gets vested in the life that Bandele writes about and becomes part of her story. One hopes that everyone reads this uncommonly profound memoir and comes away from it being a better mother or father even if life itself treats you badly.
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time: My Adventures in Life and Food
by Moira Hodgson
This memoir covers epicurian delights... (7/20/2008)
Along with travel and other escapades of life. The author rehashes her life in a way that makes the reader hungry for more. The memories are wonderful. Next thing you're trying to guess what's coming up on the menu or what the next recipe is. Stories served up from Great Britain, the Middle East, boarding school and Vietnam are only hints of this banquet of living. At times wordy the reader will still crave more.
Out Stealing Horses: A Novel
by Per Petterson
Life follows everyone... (5/9/2008)
Petterson weaves a tale of the past and the present. Of love, pain, frailty and family - of things that made the man Trond became and the memories of the past he wants to reconcile with in his soul. The translation is beautiful as is the story itself.
Then We Came to the End: A Novel
by Joshua Ferris
Finally stopped before the end... (4/7/2008)
I found this a well written book. But, I finally got fed up "listening to" a whole group of "mystified" slackers whining about their fates in life, love and layoffs. When I realized I didn't care for any of the characters or their stories I returned the book to the library.
Seven for a Secret: A John the Eunuch Mystery
by Mary and Eric Mayer Reed
It's No Secret (2/9/2008)
I did not enjoy this book. In the first 100 pages I thought I would find a copy of book one and start at the beginning. But after the last 100 pages I decided against it. (296 total). The authors seem intent on drowning the reader in archaic terminology, long words, too many characters and a glossary. It's an interesting time in history and it could be a great story. The subjects are vibrant, yet the superfluous use of words kill the desire to get to the end, let alone read any of the other six books. There is one offhand sentence that explains why John, Lord Chamberlain is a eunuch and another sentence that explains the title of the book. Yet everything else is described in detail. The writing at times is uneven. Having just visited Istanbul the descriptions of the old city are well done. The book itself is over-written.
Gomorrah: A Personal Journey into the Violent International Empire of Naples' Organized Crime System
by Roberto Saviano, translated by Virginia Jewiss
Globalization at its Worst (10/29/2007)
Author Robert Svaiano worked undercover as an assistant to a Asian textile manufacturer to document how China is involved in the black market of Europe from high-end clothing to low-end junk.
He then collected evidence on the Camorra mob. A mob that technically owns Naples, Italy, especially its poor people.
The violence, the audacity, the subterfuge is as amazing as it is sickening. Toxic waste is dumped where it's feasible, not safe. Tags denoting where items are made mean nothing. Bribes can buy anything.
It's a book of horrors that surely involves far more places than Naples and makes any and all products we buy anywhere suspect.
An interesting read. Another condemnation of China. Also it looks at how the criminal element changes to meet new world challenges.
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