Memri's bookshelf: all en-US Fri, 14 Feb 2025 19:08:25 -0800 60 Memri's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Frozen River 112975658 A gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into American history.

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town¡¯s most respected gentlemen¡ªone of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.

Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon¡¯s newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.]]> 432 Ariel Lawhon 0385546874 Memri 5 4.37 2023 The Frozen River
author: Ariel Lawhon
name: Memri
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2025/02/14
shelves:
review:

]]> The Earl and the Pharaoh 60194166 Bestselling author Lady Fiona Carnarvon tells the thrilling behind-the-scenes story of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun on its centennial, and explores the unparalleled life of family ancestor George Herbert--the famed Egyptologist, world-traveler, and 5th Earl of Carnarvon behind it--whose country house, Highclere Castle, is the setting of the beloved series Downton Abbey.

In November 1922, the world was mesmerized by news of an astonishing historical find in Egypt's legendary Valley of Kings: the discovery of the tomb of the Egyptian Pharoah Tutankhamun. George Herbert, himself a famed amateur Egyptologist and noted antiquities collector, financed the expedition and excavation headed by lead archaeologist Howard Carter, and accompanied him inside this sacred space that had remained untouched for centuries.

Inside the tomb, the explorers found King Tut's sarcophagus and a treasure trove of astonishing artifacts: chariots and model boats, board games and paintings, a coffin made of pure gold. But these objects were more than just beautifully crafted works of art; they shed new light on Tutankhamun world and this fabled period of history, and changed our understanding of how the ancient Egyptians had lived--transforming overnight what had been formed through centuries of history and myth.

Drawing on Highclere Castle's archives, Lady Fiona Carnarvon pays homage to her ancestor on the 100th anniversary of this extraordinary event. In vivid and dramatic detail, she brings into focus the larger-than-life characters and lustrous settings--as well as those twists of luck and tragedies that shaped Herbert's life. Across the early 1900s, Highclere saw no less drama than the fictional Downton Abbey, with early tragedies for the Earl and love affairs, as well highs of exorbitant wealth and trials of punishing debt. But above all there was adventure. While Herbert first went to Egypt for his health, this mysterious, romantic land would become a second home; the beloved place where he funneled his attentions over a period of decades, never quite realizing how great the fruits of his labors would prove.

Visitor to an Antique Land features two 2 8-page full-color photo inserts.]]> 400 Fiona Carnarvon 0063264226 Memri 4 3.33 The Earl and the Pharaoh
author: Fiona Carnarvon
name: Memri
average rating: 3.33
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/02/14
shelves:
review:

]]> Lessons in Chemistry 206305528
But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America¡¯s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth¡¯s unusual approach to cooking (¡°combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride¡±) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn¡¯t just teaching women to cook. She¡¯s daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.]]> 404 Bonnie Garmus Memri 4 4.24 2022 Lessons in Chemistry
author: Bonnie Garmus
name: Memri
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves:
review:

]]> Same As It Ever Was 199344873
She¡¯s unprepared, though, for what comes next: a surprise announcement from her straight-arrow son, an impending separation from her spikey teenaged daughter, and a seductive resurgence of the past, all of which threaten to draw her back into the patterns that had previously kept her on a razor¡¯s edge.

Same As It Ever Was traverses the rocky terrain of real life, ¡ªexploring new avenues of maternal ambivalence, intergenerational friendship, and the happenstantial cause-and-effect that governs us all. Delving even deeper into the nature of relationships¡ªhow they grow, change, and sometimes end¡ªLombardo proves herself a true and definitive cartographer of the human heart and asserts herself among the finest novelists of her generation.]]> 498 Claire Lombardo 0385549555 Memri 0 to-read 3.82 2024 Same As It Ever Was
author: Claire Lombardo
name: Memri
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Comfort & Joy 188201
In the small town of Rain Valley, six-year-old Bobby O¡¯Shea is facing his first Christmas without a mother. Unable to handle the loss, Bobby has closed himself off from the world, talking only to his invisible best friend. His father Daniel is beside himself, desperate to help his son cope. Yet when the little boy meets Joy, these two unlikely souls form a deep and powerful bond. In helping Bobby and Daniel heal, Joy finds herself again.

But not everything is as it seems in quiet Rain Valley, and in an instant, Joy¡¯s world is ripped apart, and her heart is broken. On a magical Christmas Eve, a night of impossible dreams and unexpected chances, Joy must find the courage to believe in a love--and a family--that can¡¯t possibly exist, and go in search of what she wants . . . and the new life only she can find.]]> 272 Kristin Hannah 0345483790 Memri 3 3.38 2005 Comfort & Joy
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Memri
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lodestar (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #5)]]> 27272698
Sophie Foster is back in the Lost Cities--but the Lost Cities have changed. The threat of war hangs heavy over her glittering world, and the Neverseen are wreaking havoc.

The lines between friend and enemy have blurred, and Sophie is unsure whom to trust. But when she's warned that the people she loves most will be the next victims, she knows she has to act.

A mysterious symbol could be the key--if only she knew how to translate it. Every new clue seems to lead deeper into her world's underbelly and the Black Swan aren't the only ones who have plans. The Neverseen have their own Initiative, and if Sophie doesn't stop it, they might finally have the ultimate means to control her.]]> 688 Shannon Messenger Memri 4 4.48 2016 Lodestar (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #5)
author: Shannon Messenger
name: Memri
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/28
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Briar Club 181110045 A haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, D.C. boardinghouse during the McCarthy era.

Washington, D.C., 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation¡¯s capital, where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; police officer¡¯s daughter Nora, who is entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Bea, whose career has ended along with the women¡¯s baseball league of WWII; and poisonous, gung-ho Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy¡¯s Red Scare.

Grace¡¯s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears apart the house, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: Who is the true enemy in their midst?]]> 432 Kate Quinn 0063244748 Memri 4 4.26 2024 The Briar Club
author: Kate Quinn
name: Memri
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/28
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)]]> 60556912
Every day I clean the Winchesters¡¯ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew¡¯s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it¡¯s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina¡¯s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina¡¯s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it¡¯s like. But she soon finds out¡­ and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it¡¯s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don¡¯t know who I really am.

They don¡¯t know what I¡¯m capable of¡­

An unbelievably twisty read that will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won¡¯t be able to put this down!]]> 329 Freida McFadden 1803144378 Memri 3 4.31 2022 The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)
author: Freida McFadden
name: Memri
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[On Loss and Living Onward: Collected Voices for the Grieving and Those Who Would Mourn with Them]]> 18596313 280 Melissa Dalton-Bradford 1938301927 Memri 0 to-read 4.59 2014 On Loss and Living Onward: Collected Voices for the Grieving and Those Who Would Mourn with Them
author: Melissa Dalton-Bradford
name: Memri
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #4)]]> 22733616
Her closest friends from the Lost Cities have gone with her to join the Black Swan. They still have doubts about the shadowy organization, but the only way to find answers is to start working with them. And as they settle into their new lives, they uncover secrets far bigger than anything they¡¯d imagined.

But their enemies are far from done, and unleash a terrifying plague that threatens the safety of an entire species. Sophie and her friends fight with everything they have¡ªwith new allies joining them¡ªbut every choice has consequences. And trusting the wrong person could prove deadly.

In this game-changing fourth book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, Sophie must question everything to find a truth that will either save her world¡ªor shatter it.]]> 672 Shannon Messenger Memri 4 4.56 2015 Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #4)
author: Shannon Messenger
name: Memri
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/26
date added: 2024/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience]]> 58330567 Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through eighty-seven of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. As she maps the necessary skills and an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances¡ªa universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection.

Over the past two decades, Brown's extensive research into the experiences that make us who we are has shaped the cultural conversation and helped define what it means to be courageous with our lives. Atlas of the Heart draws on this research, as well as on Brown's singular skills as a storyteller, to show us how accurately naming an experience doesn't give the experience more power, it gives us the power of understanding, meaning, and choice.

Brown shares, "I want this book to be an atlas for all of us, because I believe that, with an adventurous heart and the right maps, we can travel anywhere and never fear losing ourselves."]]> 301 Bren¨¦ Brown 0399592555 Memri 0 to-read 4.33 2021 Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience
author: Bren¨¦ Brown
name: Memri
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Remarkably Bright Creatures 58733693 Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.]]> 368 Shelby Van Pelt 0063204150 Memri 5 4.35 2022 Remarkably Bright Creatures
author: Shelby Van Pelt
name: Memri
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/14
date added: 2024/05/14
shelves:
review:

]]> Origin (Robert Langdon, #5) 32307358 This an alternate cover for B01LY7FD0D

Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend a major announcement--the unveiling of a discovery that "will change the face of science forever." The evening's host is Edmond Kirsch, a forty-year-old billionaire and futurist whose dazzling high-tech inventions and audacious predictions have made him a renowned global figure. Kirsch, who was one of Langdon's first students at Harvard two decades earlier, is about to reveal an astonishing breakthrough . . . one that will answer two of the fundamental questions of human existence.

As the event begins, Langdon and several hundred guests find themselves captivated by an utterly original presentation, which Langdon realizes will be far more controversial than he ever imagined. But the meticulously orchestrated evening suddenly erupts into chaos, and Kirsch's precious discovery teeters on the brink of being lost forever. Reeling and facing an imminent threat, Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape Bilbao. With him is Ambra Vidal, the elegant museum director who worked with Kirsch to stage the provocative event. Together they flee to Barcelona on a perilous quest to locate a cryptic password that will unlock Kirsch's secret.

Navigating the dark corridors of hidden history and extreme religion, Langdon and Vidal must evade a tormented enemy whose all-knowing power seems to emanate from Spain's Royal Palace itself . . . and who will stop at nothing to silence Edmond Kirsch. On a trail marked by modern art and enigmatic symbols, Langdon and Vidal uncover clues that ultimately bring them face-to-face with Kirsch's shocking discovery . . . and the breathtaking truth that has long eluded us. Origin is stunningly inventive--Dan Brown's most brilliant and entertaining novel to date]]> 482 Dan Brown Memri 2 3.87 2017 Origin (Robert Langdon, #5)
author: Dan Brown
name: Memri
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2020/06/16
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Life After Death: Insights from Latter-day Revelation]]> 588852
(View amazon detail page)

ASIN: 1573455415]]> 132 Robert L. Millet 1573455415 Memri 0 to-read 3.91 1999 Life After Death: Insights from Latter-day Revelation
author: Robert L. Millet
name: Memri
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> I Must Betray You 56970272 Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren¡¯t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force.

Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceau?escu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He¡¯s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves¡ªor use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.

Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?

A gut-wrenching, startling window into communist Romania and the citizen spy network that devastated a nation, from the number one New York Times best-selling, award-winning author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray.]]> 321 Ruta Sepetys 198483603X Memri 4 4.38 2022 I Must Betray You
author: Ruta Sepetys
name: Memri
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/09
date added: 2024/04/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal]]> 8564644 Little Princes is the epic story of Conor Grennan's battle to save the lost children of Nepal and how he found himself in the process. Part Three Cups of Tea, and part Into Thin Air, Grennan's remarkable memoir is at once gripping and inspirational, and it carries us deep into an exotic world that most readers know little about.

One Person Can Make a Difference

In search of adventure, twenty-nine-year-old Conor Grennan traded his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Children's Home, an orphanage in war-torn Nepal.

Conor was initially reluctant to volunteer, unsure whether he had the proper skill, or enough passion, to get involved in a developing country in the middle of a civil war. But he was soon overcome by the herd of rambunctious, resilient children who would challenge and reward him in a way that he had never imagined. When Conor learned the unthinkable truth about their situation, he was stunned: The children were not orphans at all. Child traffickers were promising families in remote villages to protect their children from the civil war - for a huge fee - by taking them to safety. They would then abandon the children far from home, in the chaos of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.

For Conor, what began as a footloose adventure becomes a commitment to reunite the children he had grown to love with their families, but this would be no small task. He would risk his life on a journey through the legendary mountains of Nepal, facing the dangers of a bloody civil war and a debilitating injury. Waiting for Conor back in Kathmandu, and hopeful he would make it out before being trapped in by snow, was the woman who would eventually become his wife and share his life's work.

Little Princes is a true story of families and children, and what one person is capable of when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. At turns tragic, joyful, and hilarious, Little Princes is a testament to the power of faith and the ability of love to carry us beyond our wildest expectations.]]> 294 Conor Grennan 0061930059 Memri 5 4.25 2011 Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal
author: Conor Grennan
name: Memri
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/03/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Vera Wong, #1)]]> 61827543 Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ¡®detective¡¯ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he¡¯s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it¡¯s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she¡¯ll do a better job than the police possibly could ¨C because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands ¨C Vera decides it¡¯s down to her to catch the killer.

Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.]]> 339 Jesse Q. Sutanto 0593549228 Memri 4 4.01 2023 Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Vera Wong, #1)
author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
name: Memri
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/06
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Because of the Messiah in a Manger]]> 41094520 160 Brad Wilcox 1629724653 Memri 4 4.62 Because of the Messiah in a Manger
author: Brad Wilcox
name: Memri
average rating: 4.62
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/01/03
shelves:
review:

]]> The Rent Collector 13628812
The Rent Collector is a story of hope, of one woman's journey to save her son and another woman's chance at redemption.]]> 304 Camron Wright 1609071220 Memri 5 4.22 2012 The Rent Collector
author: Camron Wright
name: Memri
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/11/14
shelves:
review:

]]> Homecoming 61683285
Sixty years later, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for almost twenty years, she now finds herself laid off from her full-time job and struggling to make ends meet. A phone call out of nowhere summons her back to Sydney, where her beloved grandmother, Nora, who raised Jess when her mother could not, has suffered a fall and been raced to the hospital.

Nora has always been a vibrant and strong presence: decisive, encouraging, young despite her years. When Jess visits her in the hospital, she is alarmed to find her grandmother frail and confused. It¡¯s even more alarming to hear from Nora's housekeeper that Nora had been distracted in the weeks before her accident and had fallen on the steps to the attic¡ªthe one place Jess was forbidden from playing in when she was small.

At loose ends in Nora's house, Jess does some digging of her own. In Nora's bedroom, she discovers a true crime book, chronicling the police investigation into a long-buried tragedy: the Turner Family Tragedy of Christmas Eve, 1959. It is only when Jess skims through the book that she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this once-infamous crime¡ªa crime that has never been resolved satisfactorily. And for a journalist without a story, a cold case might be the best distraction she can find¡­

An epic novel that spans generations, Homecoming asks what we would do for those we love, and how we protect the lies we tell. It explores the power of motherhood, the corrosive effects of tightly held secrets, and the healing nature of truth. Above all, it is a beguiling and immensely satisfying novel from one of the finest writers working today.]]> 547 Kate Morton 0063020890 Memri 5 4.00 2023 Homecoming
author: Kate Morton
name: Memri
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/03
date added: 2023/10/03
shelves:
review:

]]> The Nightingale 21853621 In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says good-bye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn¡¯t believe that the Nazis will invade France¡­but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne¡¯s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

Vianne¡¯s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Ga?tan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can¡­completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.]]> 564 Kristin Hannah 0312577222 Memri 0 to-read 4.63 2015 The Nightingale
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Memri
average rating: 4.63
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> What Alice Forgot 6469165
Alice is twenty-nine. She adores sleep, chocolate, and her ramshackle new house. She¡¯s newly engaged to the wonderful Nick and is pregnant with her first baby.

There¡¯s just one problem.
All that was ten years ago ¡­

Alice has slipped in a step aerobics class, hit her head and lost a decade. Now she¡¯s a grown-up, bossy mother of three in the middle of a nasty divorce and her beloved sister Elisabeth isn¡¯t speaking to her. This is her life but not as she knows it.

Clearly Alice has made some terrible mistakes.
Just how much can happen in a decade?

Can she ever get back to the woman she used to be?]]> 487 Liane Moriarty 0141043768 Memri 5 4.06 2010 What Alice Forgot
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Memri
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/09/12
shelves:
review:

]]> Beautiful Ashes 59581446
Abandoned, broken from abuse and assault, facing poverty, and gripped with fear for her life, Shelly struggles to dismantle decades of lies.

But into the deepening darkness that follows, God sends heavenly gifts, leading Shelly to a newfound faith. There she finds a peace she¡¯s never thought possible.

When Shelly eventually meets the man she will marry, she thinks her life will finally be everything she¡¯s ever dreamed of, but the lingering wounds of her past¡ªand new, devastating medical complications¡ªshake her faith. After all she¡¯s endured, can she rise from the ashes and trust God once more?]]> 392 Shelly Edwards Jorgensen Memri 0 to-read 4.57 Beautiful Ashes
author: Shelly Edwards Jorgensen
name: Memri
average rating: 4.57
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Faith after Doubt: Why Your Beliefs Stopped Working and What to Do about It]]> 53138160 From the author of A New Kind of Christianity comes a bold proposal: only doubt can save the world and your faith.

Sixty-five million adults in the U.S. have dropped out of active church attendance and about 2.7 million more are leaving every year. Faith After Doubt is for the millions of people around the world who feel that their faith is falling apart.



Using his own story and the stories of a diverse group of struggling believers, Brian D. McLaren, a former pastor and now an author, speaker, and activist shows how old assumptions are being challenged in nearly every area of human life, not just theology and spirituality. He proposes a four-stage model of faith development in which questions and doubt are not the enemy of faith, but rather a portal to a more mature and fruitful kind of faith. The four stages--Simplicity, Complexity, Perplexity, and Harmony--offer a path forward that can help sincere and thoughtful people leave behind unnecessary baggage and intensify their commitment to what matters most.]]> 256 Brian D. McLaren 1250262771 Memri 4 4.30 2021 Faith after Doubt: Why Your Beliefs Stopped Working and What to Do about It
author: Brian D. McLaren
name: Memri
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/08/23
shelves:
review:
This book resonated with me. I think his stages of doubt were brilliant.
]]> Then She Was Gone 35297426 She was fifteen, her mother's golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW
It¡¯s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.

And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a caf¨¦ and sweeps Laurel off her feet.

Before too long she¡¯s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.

Poppy is precocious and pretty - and meeting her completely takes Laurel's breath away.

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?

Who still has secrets to hide?]]> 359 Lisa Jewell 1501154648 Memri 4 4.02 2017 Then She Was Gone
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Memri
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/08/23
shelves:
review:
We listened to this on audio on a road trip. Kept us awake and engaged the whole day. Loved it!
]]> <![CDATA[Everblaze (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #3)]]> 13260668
Sophie Foster is ready to fight back.

Her talents are getting stronger, and with the elusive Black Swan group ignoring her calls for help, she¡¯s determined to find her kidnappers¡ªbefore they come after her again.

But a daring mistake leaves her world teetering on the edge of war, and causes many to fear that she has finally gone too far. And the deeper Sophie searches, the farther the conspiracy stretches, proving that her most dangerous enemy might be closer than she realizes.]]> 624 Shannon Messenger 1442445998 Memri 5 4.46 2014 Everblaze (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #3)
author: Shannon Messenger
name: Memri
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/23
date added: 2023/08/23
shelves:
review:
I must be a kid at heart because I am thoroughly enjoying this series!
]]> <![CDATA[The Power of Self-Discipline: 5-Minute Exercises to Build Self-Control, Good Habits, and Keep Going When You Want to Give Up]]> 58539027 Stop self-defeating behaviors and act with intention. You¡¯ll thank yourself later.

What you receive in life is dictated by your self-discipline. The more you have, the more you get. Will you settle for less than you desire?

How to make willpower automatic, second nature, and habitual.

The Power of Self-Discipline is not a textbook on self-discipline, nor is it a gentle and drawn-out discussion. It is a toolbox to keep you in motion and in action towards your goals. It pulls no punches as it provides direct techniques to ensure that your actions match your intentions ¡ª a difficult task.

Self-discipline is not about grinding it out from morning until night. Let¡¯s work smarter and accomplish more with less effort.

Tools to get started, keep going, overcome distractions, and follow through every single time.

Peter Hollins has studied psychology and peak human performance for over a dozen years and is a bestselling author. He has worked with a multitude of individuals to unlock their potential and path towards success. His writing draws on his academic, coaching, and research experience.

Gain self-awareness and cultivate your determination and tenacity. Immediate action has never been so easy.

?Learn the main emotional, psychological, and biological obstacles you are battling.
?Understand and break the 5-step cycle of laziness that keeps you glued to the couch, unhappier than ever.
?Confront yourself with a series of direct questions that force self-awareness and action.
?An insightful formula for maximizing willpower and how to manipulate it.
?What your discipline style is.]]> 250 Peter Hollins 1647433037 Memri 0 to-read 3.58 2021 The Power of Self-Discipline: 5-Minute Exercises to Build Self-Control, Good Habits, and Keep Going When You Want to Give Up
author: Peter Hollins
name: Memri
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> I'm Glad My Mom Died 59364173
Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother¡¯s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called ¡°calorie restriction,¡± eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, ¡°Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn¡¯t tint hers?¡± She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.

In I¡¯m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail¡ªjust as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly , she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (¡°Hi Gale!¡±), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.

Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I¡¯m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.]]> 320 Jennette McCurdy Memri 0 to-read 4.45 2022 I'm Glad My Mom Died
author: Jennette McCurdy
name: Memri
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Exile (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #2)]]> 13260670
But Sophie's kidnappers are still out there. And when Sophie discovers new messages and clues from the mysterious Black Swan group, she¡¯s forced to take a terrifying risk¡ªone that puts everyone in incredible danger.

As long buried secrets rise to the surface, it¡¯s once again up to Sophie to uncover hidden memories¡ªbefore someone close to her is lost forever.

In this second book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, Sophie must journey to the darkest corners of her luminous world in a sequel that will leave you breathless for more.]]> 576 Shannon Messenger Memri 5 4.46 2013 Exile (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #2)
author: Shannon Messenger
name: Memri
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/06/28
shelves:
review:
Loving this series so far. My 9 year old granddaughter Charly, is ahead of me. She¡¯s on book 5 already! Great story. Can¡¯t wait to see if they made it into a movie. ??
]]> <![CDATA[Keeper of the Lost Cities (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #1)]]> 12842828
Everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She discovers there¡¯s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave behind everything and start a new life in a place that is vastly different from anything she has ever known.

Sophie has new rules to learn and new skills to master, and not everyone is thrilled that she has come ¡°home.¡±
There are secrets buried deep in Sophie¡¯s memory¡ªsecrets about who she really is and why she was hidden among humans¡ªthat other people desperately want. Would even kill for.

In this page-turning debut, Shannon Messenger creates a riveting story where one girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.]]> 496 Shannon Messenger 1442445939 Memri 4 4.39 2012 Keeper of the Lost Cities (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #1)
author: Shannon Messenger
name: Memri
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/18
date added: 2023/05/18
shelves:
review:
I¡¯m enjoying this series so far. My grand daughter and I are reading it together. Reminds me a bit of Harry Potter, which isn¡¯t a bad thing.
]]> <![CDATA[Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt]]> 27863812 Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt offers people who struggle with questions and people who love those who struggle practical ways to stay planted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Rather than attempting to answer every possible question or doubt, Planted presents an empathetic, practical, and candid dialog about the relationship of doubt and faith.]]> 219 Patrick Q. Mason 1629721816 Memri 0 to-read 4.30 Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt
author: Patrick Q. Mason
name: Memri
average rating: 4.30
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End]]> 20696006 In Being Mortal, author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending

Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit. Nursing homes, preoccupied with safety, pin patients into railed beds and wheelchairs. Hospitals isolate the dying, checking for vital signs long after the goals of cure have become moot. Doctors, committed to extending life, continue to carry out devastating procedures that in the end extend suffering.

Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families. Gawande offers examples of freer, more socially fulfilling models for assisting the infirm and dependent elderly, and he explores the varieties of hospice care to demonstrate that a person's last weeks or months may be rich and dignified.]]> 282 Atul Gawande 0805095152 Memri 5 4.47 2014 Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
author: Atul Gawande
name: Memri
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/01/05
shelves:
review:
One of the best books I¡¯ve read on the way we treat medicine, assisted living and end of life care for our sick and elderly.
]]> <![CDATA[The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane: (A Heartwarming Tale of a China Rabbit's Quest for Love & Belonging - A Middle-Grade Chapter Book for Kids Ages 7-10 in Grades 2-5)]]> 37186
Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely.

And then, one day, he was lost.

Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle ¡ª that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.]]> 228 Kate DiCamillo 0763625892 Memri 0 to-read 4.38 2006 The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane: (A Heartwarming Tale of a China Rabbit's Quest for Love & Belonging - A Middle-Grade Chapter Book for Kids Ages 7-10 in Grades 2-5)
author: Kate DiCamillo
name: Memri
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> One by One 50892433
When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Turn of the Key and In a Dark Dark Wood returns with another suspenseful thriller set on a snow-covered mountain.]]> 372 Ruth Ware Memri 0 to-read 3.70 2020 One by One
author: Ruth Ware
name: Memri
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Call Us What We Carry 56805404 The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, Amanda Gorman¡¯s remarkable new collection reveals an energizing and unforgettable voice in American poetry. Call Us What We Carry is Gorman at her finest. Including ¡°The Hill We Climb,¡± the stirring poem read at the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, and bursting with musical language and exploring themes of identity, grief, and memory, this lyric of hope and healing captures an important moment in our country¡¯s consciousness while being utterly timeless.

The breakout poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman.]]> 228 Amanda Gorman 0593465067 Memri 0 to-read 4.27 2021 Call Us What We Carry
author: Amanda Gorman
name: Memri
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Sold on a Monday 40216800 2 CHILDREN FOR SALE

The scrawled sign, peddling young siblings on a farmhouse porch, captures the desperation sweeping the country in 1931. It¡¯s an era of breadlines, bank runs, and impossible choices.

For struggling reporter Ellis Reed, the gut-wrenching scene evokes memories of his family¡¯s dark past. He snaps a photograph of the children, not meant for publication. But when the image leads to his big break, the consequences are devastating in ways he never imagined.

Haunted by secrets of her own, secretary Lillian Palmer sees more in the picture than a good story and is soon drawn into the fray. Together, the two set out to right a wrongdoing and mend a fractured family, at the risk of everything they value.

Inspired by an actual newspaper photo that stunned readers across the nation, this touching novel explores the tale within the frame and behind the lens¡ªa journey of ambition, love, and the far-reaching effects of our actions.]]> 344 Kristina McMorris 1492663999 Memri 4 3.83 2018 Sold on a Monday
author: Kristina McMorris
name: Memri
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/08/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Where'd You Go, Bernadette 13526165
When her daughter Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades, Bernadette, a fiercely intelligent shut-in, throws herself into preparations for the trip. But worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle life she never wanted, Ms. Fox is on the brink of a meltdown. And after a school fundraiser goes disastrously awry at her hands, she disappears, leaving her family to pick up the pieces--which is exactly what Bee does, weaving together an elaborate web of emails, invoices, and school memos that reveals a secret past Bernadette has been hiding for decades. Where'd You Go Bernadette is an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to terms with who they are and the power of a daughter's love for her mother.]]> 330 Maria Semple 0316204277 Memri 3 3.87 2012 Where'd You Go, Bernadette
author: Maria Semple
name: Memri
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/05/22
shelves:
review:

]]> Cutting for Stone 3591262
Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon at a mission hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother¡¯s death in childbirth and their father¡¯s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Yet it will be love, not politics¡ªtheir passion for the same woman¡ªthat will tear them apart and force Marion, fresh out of medical school, to flee his homeland. He makes his way to America, finding refuge in his work as an intern at an underfunded, overcrowded New York City hospital. When the past catches up to him¡ªnearly destroying him¡ªMarion must entrust his life to the two men he thought he trusted least in the world: the surgeon father who abandoned him and the brother who betrayed him.

An unforgettable journey into one man¡¯s remarkable life, and an epic story about the power, intimacy, and curious beauty of the work of healing others.
(front flap)]]> 560 Abraham Verghese 0375414495 Memri 0 to-read 4.32 2009 Cutting for Stone
author: Abraham Verghese
name: Memri
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/05/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Courage to Run: A Story Based on the Life of Young Harriet Tubman (Daughters of the Faith Series)]]> 1411498 Daughters of the Faith: ordinary girls who did extraordinary things for God.

Harriet Tubman?was born a slave on a Maryland plantation in the 1800¡¯s. She trusts in God, but her faith is tested at every turn. Should she obey her masters or listen to her conscience?

This story from Harriet¡¯s childhood is a record of a young girl¡¯s courage. Even more, it¡¯s a story of God¡¯s faithfulness, as He prepares Harriet for her adult calling to lead more than 300 people out of slavery through the Underground Railroad.

¡°Young readers will identify with Harriet Tubman¡¯s courage and faith as she uses the strength she gains through adversity to lead others to a new life of freedom. Highly recommended reading.¡± ¡ª?Lauraine Snelling, author, Golden Filly and High Hurdles series]]> 144 Wendy Lawton 0802440983 Memri 0 to-read 4.31 2002 Courage to Run: A Story Based on the Life of Young Harriet Tubman (Daughters of the Faith Series)
author: Wendy Lawton
name: Memri
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/05/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Wish You Were Here 57701764 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and The Book of Two Ways comes comes a deeply moving novel about the resilience of the human spirit in a moment of crisis.

Jodi Picoult once again proves she is the master of wading through the darkness to find the light. Wish You Were Here is a powerfully evocative story of resilience and the triumph of the human spirit.
--Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising

Synopsis
Diana O¡¯Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She¡¯s an associate specialist at Sotheby¡¯s now, but her boss has hinted at a promotion if she can close a deal with a high-profile client. She¡¯s not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galapagos¡ªdays before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time.

But then a virus that felt worlds away has appeared in the city, and on the eve of their departure, Finn breaks the news: It¡¯s all hands on deck at the hospital. He has to stay behind. You should still go, he assures her, since it would be a shame for all of their nonrefundable trip to go to waste. And so, reluctantly, she goes.

Almost immediately, Diana¡¯s dream vacation goes awry. Her luggage is lost, the Wi-Fi is nearly nonexistent, and the hotel they¡¯d booked is shut down due to the pandemic. In fact, the whole island is now under quarantine, and she is stranded until the borders reopen. Completely isolated, she must venture beyond her comfort zone. Slowly, she carves out a connection with a local family when a teenager with a secret opens up to Diana, despite her father¡¯s suspicion of outsiders.

In the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin¡¯s theory of natural selection was formed, Diana finds herself examining her relationships, her choices, and herself¡ªand wondering if when she goes home, she too will have evolved into someone completely different.]]> 310 Jodi Picoult 1984818414 Memri 0 to-read 3.86 2021 Wish You Were Here
author: Jodi Picoult
name: Memri
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Reminders of Him 58341222 A troubled young mother yearns for a shot at redemption in this heartbreaking yet hopeful story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover. After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter¡¯s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself. The only person who hasn¡¯t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna¡¯s daughter. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna¡¯s life, both would risk losing the trust of everyone important to them. The two form a connection despite the pressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing.]]> 335 Colleen Hoover 1542025605 Memri 0 to-read 4.33 2022 Reminders of Him
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Memri
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Unhoneymooners (Unhoneymooners, #1)]]> 42201431
Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren¡¯t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there¡¯s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn¡¯t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781501128035.]]> 432 Christina Lauren 1501128035 Memri 0 to-read 3.88 2019 The Unhoneymooners (Unhoneymooners, #1)
author: Christina Lauren
name: Memri
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Power of Stillness: Mindful Living for Latter-day Saints]]> 52891645
There is a third alternative¡ªthat our spirituality could reignite by approaching it from a more ¡°mindful¡± place. When it feels like we¡¯re on a runaway train, mindfulness returns us to a peaceful place where we can observe our thoughts and feelings without jumping on board with them. Using Latter-day Saint vernacular and examples, The Power of Stillness explores the ways in which mindfulness can deepen testimonies of the gospel. Practicing mindful principles can reinvigorate the joy inherent in our faith and helps us feel calmer, more present and engaged in our lives, and more spiritually connected to our Savior.]]> 240 Jacob Z. Hess 1629726907 Memri 0 to-read 4.41 The Power of Stillness: Mindful Living for Latter-day Saints
author: Jacob Z. Hess
name: Memri
average rating: 4.41
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Woman Is No Man 34313931 339 Etaf Rum 0062699768 Memri 0 to-read 4.25 2019 A Woman Is No Man
author: Etaf Rum
name: Memri
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bean Trees (Greer Family, #1)]]> 30868 232 Barbara Kingsolver 0812474945 Memri 4 4.00 1988 The Bean Trees (Greer Family, #1)
author: Barbara Kingsolver
name: Memri
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/03/19
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything]]> 48711165 Find hope even in these dark times with this rediscovered masterpiece, a companion to his international bestseller Man's Search for Meaning.

Eleven months after he was liberated from the Nazi concentration camps, Viktor E. Frankl held a series of public lectures in Vienna. The psychiatrist, who would soon become world famous, explained his central thoughts on meaning, resilience, and the importance of embracing life even in the face of great adversity.

Published here for the very first time in English, Frankl's words resonate as strongly today--as the world faces a coronavirus pandemic, social isolation, and great economic uncertainty--as they did in 1946. He offers an insightful exploration of the maxim "Live as if you were living for the second time," and he unfolds his basic conviction that every crisis contains opportunity. Despite the unspeakable horrors of the camps, Frankl learned from the strength of his fellow inmates that it is always possible to "say yes to life"--a profound and timeless lesson for us all.]]> 136 Viktor E. Frankl 080700555X Memri 0 to-read 4.15 1946 Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything
author: Viktor E. Frankl
name: Memri
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1946
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Sarah's Key 556602
Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's sixtieth anniversary, Julia Jarmond, an American journalist, is asked by her Paris-based American magazine to write an article about this black day in France's past. Julia has lived in Paris for nearly twenty-five years, married a Frenchman, and she is shocked both by her ignorance about the event and the silence that still surrounds it. In the course of her investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connects her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from the terrible days spent shut in at the Vel' d'Hiv' to the camps and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

Writing about the fate of her country with a pitiless clarity, Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and denial surrounding this painful episode in French history.
(front flap)]]> 294 Tatiana de Rosnay 0312370830 Memri 4 4.18 2006 Sarah's Key
author: Tatiana de Rosnay
name: Memri
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/03/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett]]> 50358079 It's never too late to start living.

Infused with the emotional power of?Me Before You?and the irresistible charm of?Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine?and?Be Frank with Me, a moving and joyous novel about an elderly woman ready to embrace death and the little girl who reminds her what it means to live.

Eudora Honeysett is done with this noisy, moronic world¡ªall of it. She has witnessed the indignities and suffering of old age and has lived a full life. At eighty-five, she isn¡¯t going to leave things to chance. Her end will be on her terms. With one call to a clinic in Switzerland, a plan is set in motion.?

Then she meets ten-year-old Rose Trewidney, a whirling, pint-sized rainbow of color and sparkling cheer. All Eudora wants is to be left alone to set her affairs in order. Instead, she finds herself embarking on a series of adventures with the irrepressible Rose and their affable neighbor, the recently widowed Stanley¡ªafternoon tea, shopping sprees, trips to the beach, birthday celebrations, pizza parties.?

While the trio of unlikely BFFs grow closer and anxiously await the arrival of Rose¡¯s new baby sister, Eudora is reminded of her own childhood¡ªof losing her father during World War II and the devastating impact it had on her entire family. In reflecting on her past, Eudora realizes she must come to terms with what lies ahead.?

But now that her joy for life has been rekindled, how can she possibly say goodbye??]]> 372 Annie Lyons 0063026066 Memri 0 to-read 4.26 2020 The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett
author: Annie Lyons
name: Memri
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Broken Horses 54895726 The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, producer, and six-time Grammy winner opens up about a life shaped by music in this candid, heartfelt, and intimate story.

Brandi Carlile was born into a musically gifted, impoverished family on the outskirts of Seattle and grew up in a constant state of change, moving from house to house, trailer to trailer, 14 times in as many years. Though imperfect in every way, her dysfunctional childhood was as beautiful as it was strange, and as nurturing as it was difficult. At the age of five, Brandi contracted bacterial meningitis, which almost took her life, leaving an indelible mark on her formative years and altering her journey into young adulthood.

As an openly gay teenager, Brandi grappled with the tension between her sexuality and her faith when her pastor publicly refused to baptize her on the day of the ceremony. Shockingly, her small town rallied around Brandi in support and set her on a path to salvation where the rest of the misfits and rejects find it: through twisted, joyful, weird, and wonderful music.

In Broken Horses, Brandi Carlile takes listeners through the events of her life that shaped her very raw art - from her start at a local singing competition where she performed Elton John¡¯s ¡°Honky Cat¡± in a bedazzled white polyester suit, to her first break opening for Dave Matthews Band, to many sleepless tours over 15 years and six studio albums, all while raising two children with her wife, Catherine Shepherd. This hard-won success led her to collaborations with personal heroes like Elton John, Dolly Parton, Mavis Staples, Pearl Jam, Tanya Tucker, and Joni Mitchell, as well as her peers in the supergroup The Highwomen, and ultimately to the Grammy stage, where she converted millions of viewers into instant fans.

Evocative and piercingly honest, Broken Horses is at once an examination of faith through the eyes of a person rejected by the church¡¯s basic tenets and a meditation on the moments and lyrics that have shaped the life of a creative mind, a brilliant artist, and a genuine empath on a mission to give back.]]> 336 Brandi Carlile 0593237242 Memri 0 to-read 4.40 2021 Broken Horses
author: Brandi Carlile
name: Memri
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Long Walk to Water 7981456 A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about a girl in Sudan in 2008 and a boy in Sudan in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours¡¯ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the "lost boys" of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya¡¯s in an astonishing and moving way.]]> 128 Linda Sue Park 0547251270 Memri 5 4.21 2010 A Long Walk to Water
author: Linda Sue Park
name: Memri
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/02/09
shelves:
review:
One of my 10 year old grandsons recommended this book. I learned so much about the Sudanese conflict, dire need for water and wells, the lost boys of Sudan and terrible genocide of the South Sudanese back in the 1980¡¯s and 90¡¯s. Thanks Davey for the great rec.
]]> <![CDATA[Big Shot (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #16)]]> 57296511
In Big Shot , book 16 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series from #1 international bestselling author Jeff Kinney, Greg Heffley and sports just don¡¯t mix.

After a disastrous field day competition at school, Greg decides that when it comes to his athletic career, he¡¯s officially retired. But after his mom urges him to give sports one more chance, he reluctantly agrees to sign up for basketball.

Tryouts are a mess, and Greg is sure he won¡¯t make the cut. But he unexpectedly lands a spot on the worst team.

As Greg and his new teammates start the season, their chances of winning even a single game look slim. But in sports, anything can happen. When everything is on the line and the ball is in Greg¡¯s hands, will he rise to the occasion? Or will he blow his big shot?

See the Wimpy Kid World in a whole new way with the help of Greg Heffley¡¯s best friend in the instant #1 bestsellers Diary of an Awesome Friendly Rowley Jefferson¡¯s Journal, Rowley Jefferson¡¯s Awesome Friendly Adventure , and Rowley Jefferson¡¯s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories!]]> 226 Jeff Kinney 1419749153 Memri 5 4.09 2021 Big Shot (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #16)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Deep End (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #15)]]> 51468119
But their plans hit a major snag, and they find themselves stranded at an RV park that's not exactly a summertime paradise.

Things only get worse for the Heffleys when the skies open up and the water starts to rise, making them wonder if they can save their vacation¡ªor if they're already in too deep.]]> 226 Jeff Kinney 164700165X Memri 4 4.28 The Deep End (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #15)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.28
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> ¸ðÈðµÄ‡åÈÕ¼Ç(14)£º°á¼Ò´ó×÷Õ½ 28051013 ¶Á¸ðÈðµÄ±¬Ð¦³É³¤¹ÊÊ£¬¼‚½âÄãµÄÉú»îѹÁ¦£¡
ÓÄĬ‡å±¬£¬ÈÃÈËЦµ½·­¹öÅçÀáµÄÆæÊ飡
Âþ»­Ê½Í¼Ïñ£¬ÎÞÕÏ°­Ñ§Ï°¿ÚÓﻯ¡¢Éú»î»¯Ó¢ÎÄ£¡

¡òȫϵÁÐÊ鼮ȫÇòÓ¡Á¿³¬¹ý200,000,000±¾
¡òÈ«ÇòÓÐ73ÖÖ°æ±¾£¬·­Òë³É61ÖÖÓïÑÔ
¡òÃÀ‡ø¡¶¼~¼s•rˆó¡·ÅÅÐаñ¹ÚÜŠ×÷¼Ò¡¢¸»±ÈÊ¿¹«Ë¾Æ±ßxÈ«ÇòÊÕÈë×î¸ßµÄ×÷¼Ò¡¢¡¶•r´ú¡·ësÕIßxžéÊÀ½ç°Ù´ó×î¾ßÓ°í‘Á¦µÄÈËÎï¡­¡­ÒÔÉϘsÒ«¶¼Ö¸Ïòͬһ‚€ÈË©¤©¤‚Ü·ò£®¿ÏÄᣨJeff Kinney£©£¡

·îÈ°´ó¼Ò²Î¼ÓÀÏÌ«Ì«µÄÔáÀñǧÍò²»Òª³Ùµ½£¬Ð¡ÐÄÊܵ½×çÖ䣡

ÀٰŹÃÆŹýÊÀÁË£¬ºýÍ¿µÄ¸ðÈðÒ»¼Ò²»½öÔÚÔáÀñÉÏ´ó³Ùµ½£¬ÉõÖÁ¸ù±¾ÅÜ´í³¡£¡Òòžé»ñµÃÁ˹ÃÆŵÄһС±ÊÒŲú£¬ËûÃǾö¶¨ÓÃÕâ±ÊÒâÍâÖ®²Æ×°ÐÞ·¿×Ó£¬°ïÂèÂè´òÔìÃÎÏëÖеijø·¿¡£

¶¯¹¤Ö®ºó£¬¸ðÈðÒ»¼Ò²Å·¢ÏÖ·¿×ÓÎÊÌâ²ã³ö²»Çǽ±Úľͷ¸¯»µ·¢Ã¹£¬Ô­±¾¶ãÔÚǽÄÚµÄÀÏÊó²þ¿ñµÄÈëÇÖËûÃǵÄÉú»î·¶Î§£¬»¹ÓÐĪÃûÆäÃî²»Öª´ÓÄÄÑeð³öÀ´µÄ»Æ·äÔÚ¼ÒÖÐÅÇ»²²»È¥??×î²ÒµÄÊÇ£¬Òòžé»­´í½¨ÖþÀ¶Í¼¶øÇÖÕ¼µ½Áھӵĵؽ磬ÃÎÏë³ø·¿¼Æ»­±»ÆȺ°Í££¡¸ðÈðÂè·ß¶øÉÏÍøËÑѰз¿×Ó£¬¾ö¶¨¾Ù¼Ò°áÀëÕâ¸öÉËÐĵء£°á¼Ò´ó×÷Õ½£¬¼´¿Ì¿ªÊ¼£¡±Õ±Õ> 224 Jeff Kinney 1419739034 Memri 4 4.26 2019 ¸ðÈðµÄ‡åÈÕ¼Ç(14)£º°á¼Ò´ó×÷Õ½
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Meltdown (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #13)]]> 39304888
It's a fight for survival as Greg and Rowley navigate alliances, betrayals, and warring gangs in a neighborhood meltdown. When the snow clears, will Greg and Rowley emerge as heroes? Or will they even survive to see another day?]]> 218 Jeff Kinney 1419727435 Memri 4 4.25 2018 The Meltdown (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #13)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Getaway (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #12)]]> 34735291 224 Jeff Kinney 1419725459 Memri 4 4.27 2017 The Getaway (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #12)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Double Down (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #11)]]> 30051627
As if that's not scary enough, Halloween is just around the corner and the frights are coming at Greg from every angle.

When he discovers a bag of gummy worms, it sparks an idea. Can Greg get his mom off his back by making a movie.... and will he become rich and famous in the progress? Or will doubling down on this path just double Greg's troubles?]]> 217 Jeff Kinney Memri 4 4.15 2016 Double Down (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #11)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Old School (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #10)]]> 25222064
That¡¯s the question Greg Heffley is asking as his town voluntarily unplugs and goes electronics-free. But modern life has its conveniences, and Greg isn¡¯t cut out for an old-fashioned world.

With tension building inside and outside the Heffley home, will Greg find a way to survive? Or is going ¡°old school¡± just too hard for a kid like Greg?]]> 224 Jeff Kinney 1419717014 Memri 4 4.27 2015 Old School (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #10)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Long Haul (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #9)]]> 21535019 217 Jeff Kinney 141971189X Memri 4 4.30 2014 The Long Haul (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #9)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hard Luck (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #8)]]> 17733898 Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 8, the latest installment in the #1 bestselling series by Jeff Kinney and one of the most anticipated books of 2013. A global phenomenon, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has more than 85 million books in print around the world.

Greg Heffley's on a losing streak. His best friend, Rowley Jefferson, has ditched him, and finding new friends in middle school is proving to be a tough task. To change his fortunes, Greg decides to take a leap of faith and turn his decisions over to chance. Will a roll of the dice turn things around, or is Greg's life destined to be just another hard-luck story?]]> 217 Jeff Kinney 1419711326 Memri 4 4.26 2013 Hard Luck (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #8)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Third Wheel (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #7)]]> 13563669 Love is in the air - but what does that mean for Greg Heffley?

A Valentine's Day dance at Greg's middle school has turned his world upside down. As Greg scrambles to find a date, he's worried he'll be left out in the cold on the big night. His best friend, Rowley, doesn't have any prospects either, but that's a small consolation.

An unexpected twist gives Greg a partner for the dance and leaves Rowley the odd man out. But a lot can happen in one night, and in the end, you never know who's going to be lucky in love.

]]> 224 Jeff Kinney 1419705849 Memri 4 4.19 2012 The Third Wheel (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #7)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #6)]]> 11254250 224 Jeff Kinney 1419702238 Memri 4 4.23 2011 Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #6)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #4)]]> 6578293 ?
Greg, a self-confessed "indoor person,¡± is living out his ultimate summer fantasy: no responsibilities and no rules. But Greg¡¯s mom has a different vision for an ideal summer . . . one packed with outdoor activities and "family togetherness.¡±
?
Whose vision will win out? Or will a new addition to the Heffley family change everything?]]> 218 Jeff Kinney 0810983915 Memri 4 4.17 2009 Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #4)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Last Straw (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #3)]]> 3293821 218 Jeff Kinney 0810970686 Memri 4 4.14 2009 The Last Straw (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #3)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rodrick Rules (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #2)]]> 1809465 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling book!

Secrets have a way of getting out, especially when a diary is involved.

Whatever you do, don¡¯t ask Greg Heffley how he spent his summer vacation, because he definitely doesn¡¯t want to talk about it.

As Greg enters the new school year, he¡¯s eager to put the past three months behind him . . . and one event in particular.

Unfortunately for Greg, his older brother, Rodrick, knows all about the incident Greg wants to keep under wraps. But secrets have a way of getting out . . . especially when a diary is involved.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules chronicles Greg¡¯s attempts to navigate the hazards of middle school, impress the girls, steer clear of the school talent show, and most important, keep his secret safe.]]> 226 Jeff Kinney 0810994739 Memri 4 4.16 2008 Rodrick Rules (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #2)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:
I am really enjoying the Nana challenge to read all of these Wimpy Kid books by my grandson and thoroughly am enjoying all of them! Silly but that's the real with 12 grandsons!
]]> <![CDATA[Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #1)]]> 389627 In the first book of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, #1 international bestselling author Jeff Kinney, introduces us to Greg Heffley: an unforgettable, unlikely hero that every family can relate to.

Being a kid can really stink. And no one knows this better than Greg. He finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. Greg is happy to have Rowley Jefferson, his sidekick, along for the ride. But when Rowley's star starts to rise, Greg tries to use his best friend's newfound popularity to his own advantage, kicking off a chain of events that will test their friendship in hilarious fashion.

The hazards of growing up before you're ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary. But as Greg says: ¡°Just don¡¯t expect me to be all ¡°Dear Diary¡± this and ¡°Dear Diary¡± that.¡±

Luckily for us, what Greg Heffley says he won¡¯t do and what he actually does are two very different things.]]> 226 Jeff Kinney 0810993139 Memri 4 3.98 2007 Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #1)
author: Jeff Kinney
name: Memri
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2019/12/13
date added: 2022/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands]]> 56157 180 Laura Schlessinger 0060520620 Memri 2 3.70 2003 The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands
author: Laura Schlessinger
name: Memri
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2003
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2022/01/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself]]> 1963638 The Untethered Soul offers simple yet profound answers to these questions.

Whether this is your first exploration of inner space, or you¡¯ve devoted your life to the inward journey, this book will transform your relationship with yourself and the world around you. You¡¯ll discover what you can do to put an end to the habitual thoughts and emotions that limit your consciousness. By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, author and spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization.

Copublished with the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) The Untethered Soul begins by walking you through your relationship with your thoughts and emotions, helping you uncover the source and fluctuations of your inner energy. It then delves into what you can do to free yourself from the habitual thoughts, emotions, and energy patterns that limit your consciousness. Finally, with perfect clarity, this book opens the door to a life lived in the freedom of your innermost being.]]> 183 Michael A. Singer Memri 5 4.19 2007 The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
author: Michael A. Singer
name: Memri
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/01/31
shelves:
review:

]]> When Willa Fell 58941165
And then there is the foster sister invading her life. Straight off the Navajo reservation, Verna Yazzie¡¯s differences infuriate Effie. Confronting her own prejudice and searing loss, she must share her home and family with someone she loathes. Both girls stumble to understand each other in a year long journey filled with humor and heartache.

Will Effie cling to her guilty secret or chart a path to trust and friendship?]]> 198 Laraine F. Eddington Memri 5 4.25 When Willa Fell
author: Laraine F. Eddington
name: Memri
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/11/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Last Protector (Clayton White, #1)]]> 56316761 From the acclaimed author of the Pierce Hunt series comes a thrilling novel featuring a Secret Service agent who takes on a ruthless foe to protect the country he serves and the woman he loves.

Former air force combat rescue officer Special Agent Clayton White now works for the Secret Service performing routine escort missions for politicians. These missions may not be quite as exciting as his time in the military, but Clayton¡¯s okay with that. It gives him more time to see his girlfriend, Veronica Hammond¡ªan archaeologist who also happens to be the vice president elect¡¯s daughter.

But Clayton¡¯s seemingly manageable new routine takes a startling turn when South African mercenaries target Veronica at an awards gala celebrating her work. After this attempt on Veronica¡¯s life, Clayton enters a complicated web of lies, betrayal, and dangerous government secrets.

As Clayton gets closer to the truth, he encounters unexpected foes pitted against questionable allies. With enemies at every turn, the only constant Clayton can rely on is Veronica. But when the threat against her turns on him, too, he faces an impossible love or country.]]> 261 Simon Gervais 1542022959 Memri 0 to-read 4.22 2021 The Last Protector (Clayton White, #1)
author: Simon Gervais
name: Memri
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/10/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Stand Your Ground 23492857 Essence bestselling and award-winning author Victoria Christopher Murray comes Stand Your Ground, a new novel about two women who are faced with the same tragedy.

A black teenage boy is dead. A white man shot him. Was he standing his ground or was it murder?

Janice Johnson is living every black mother's nightmare. Her seventeen-year-old son was murdered and the shooter has not been arrested. Can the D.A. and the police be trusted to investigate and do the right thing? Should Janice take advantage of the public outcry and join her husband alongside the angry protestors who are out for revenge?

Meredith Spencer is married to the man accused of the killing and she sees her husband and the situation with far more clarity than anyone realizes. What she knows could blow the case wide open, but what will that mean for her life and that of her son? Will she have the courage to come forward in time so that justice can be done?

#1 national bestselling and award-winning author Victoria Christopher Murray's Stand Your Ground is a pulse-pounding meditation on race, motherhood, marriage, and vigilante justice that will have readers spellbound until its shocking end.]]> 368 Victoria Christopher Murray 1476792992 Memri 0 to-read 4.36 2015 Stand Your Ground
author: Victoria Christopher Murray
name: Memri
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/10/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Great Believers 36739329
Thirty years later, Fiona is in Paris tracking down her estranged daughter who disappeared into a cult. While staying with an old friend, a famous photographer who documented the Chicago crisis, she finds herself finally grappling with the devastating ways AIDS affected her life and her relationship with her daughter. The two intertwining stories take us through the heartbreak of the eighties and the chaos of the modern world, as both Yale and Fiona struggle to find goodness in the midst of disaster.

The Great Believers has become a critically acclaimed, indelible piece of literature; it was selected as one of New York Times Best 10 Books of the Year, a Washington Post Notable Book, a Buzzfeed Book of the Year, a Skimm Reads pick, and a pick for the New York Public Library¡¯s Best Books of the year.]]> 421 Rebecca Makkai Memri 0 to-read 4.29 2018 The Great Believers
author: Rebecca Makkai
name: Memri
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Book of Lost Names 52762903 The Book of Lost Names.

The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II¡ªan experience Eva remembers well¡ªand the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin¡¯s Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don¡¯t know where it came from¡ªor what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer¡ªbut will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help reunite those lost during the war?

As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named R¨¦my, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and R¨¦my disappears.

An engaging and evocative novel reminiscent of The Lost Girls of Paris and The Alice Network, The Book of Lost Names is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of bravery and love in the face of evil.]]> 388 Kristin Harmel 1982131896 Memri 4 4.41 2020 The Book of Lost Names
author: Kristin Harmel
name: Memri
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/08/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI]]> 29496076 ?
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Then, one by one, they began to be killed off. One Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, watched as her family was murdered. Her older sister was shot. Her mother was then slowly poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more Osage began to die under mysterious circumstances.

In this last remnant of the Wild West¡ªwhere oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes such as Al Spencer, ¡°the Phantom Terror,¡± roamed ¨C virtually anyone who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll surpassed more than twenty-four Osage, the newly created F.B.I. took up the case, in what became one of the organization¡¯s first major homicide investigations. But the bureau was then notoriously corrupt and initially bungled the case. Eventually the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only Native American agents in the bureau. They infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest modern techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most sinister conspiracies in American history.

In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. The book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. But more than that, it is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward Native Americans that allowed the murderers to operate with impunity for so long. Killers of the Flower Moon is utterly riveting, but also emotionally devastating.]]> 359 David Grann 0385534256 Memri 5 4.12 2017 Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
author: David Grann
name: Memri
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/08/03
shelves:
review:

]]> The Midnight Library 52578297
When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.

Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?]]> 288 Matt Haig 0525559477 Memri 5 3.96 2020 The Midnight Library
author: Matt Haig
name: Memri
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/06/22
shelves:
review:

]]> The Nickel Boys 42270835 Author of The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in 1960s Florida.

Elwood Curtis has taken the words of Dr Martin Luther King to heart: he is as good as anyone. Abandoned by his parents, brought up by his loving, strict and clear-sighted grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But given the time and the place, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy his future, and so Elwood arrives at The Nickel Academy, which claims to provide 'physical, intellectual and moral training' which will equip its inmates to become 'honorable and honest men'.

In reality, the Nickel Academy is a chamber of horrors, where physical, emotional and sexual abuse is rife, where corrupt officials and tradesmen do a brisk trade in supplies intended for the school, and where any boy who resists is likely to disappear 'out back'. Stunned to find himself in this vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold on to Dr King's ringing assertion, 'Throw us in jail, and we will still love you.' But Elwood's fellow inmate and new friend Turner thinks Elwood is naive and worse; the world is crooked, and the only way to survive is to emulate the cruelty and cynicism of their oppressors.

The tension between Elwood's idealism and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision which will have decades-long repercussions.

Based on the history of a real reform school in Florida that operated for one hundred and eleven years and warped and destroyed the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative by a great American novelist whose work is essential to understanding the current reality of the United States.]]> 213 Colson Whitehead Memri 5 4.25 2019 The Nickel Boys
author: Colson Whitehead
name: Memri
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/06/22
shelves:
review:

]]> The Girl They Left Behind 38532199 A sweeping family saga and love story that offers a vivid and unique portrayal of life in war-torn 1941 Bucharest and life behind the Iron Curtain during the Soviet Union occupation¡ªperfect for fans of Lilac Girls and Sarah¡¯s Key.

On a freezing night in January 1941, a little Jewish girl is found on the steps of an apartment building in Bucharest. With Romania recently allied with the Nazis, the Jewish population is in grave danger, undergoing increasingly violent persecution. The girl is placed in an orphanage and eventually adopted by a wealthy childless couple who name her Natalia. As she assimilates into her new life, she all but forgets the parents who were forced to leave her behind. They are even further from her mind when Romania falls under Soviet occupation.

Yet, as Natalia comes of age in a bleak and hopeless world, traces of her identity pierce the surface of her everyday life, leading gradually to a discovery that will change her destiny. She has a secret crush on Victor, an intense young man who as an impoverished student befriended her family long ago. Years later, when Natalia is in her early twenties and working at a warehouse packing fruit, she and Victor, now an important official in the Communist regime, cross paths again. This time they are fatefully drawn into a passionate affair despite the obstacles swirling around them and Victor¡¯s dark secrets.

When Natalia is suddenly offered a one-time chance at freedom, Victor is determined to help her escape, even if it means losing her. Natalia must make an agonizing decision: remain in Bucharest with her beloved adoptive parents and the man she has come to love, or seize the chance to finally live life on her own terms, and to confront the painful enigma of her past.]]> 353 Roxanne Veletzos 1501187686 Memri 4 4.02 2018 The Girl They Left Behind
author: Roxanne Veletzos
name: Memri
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/06/22
shelves:
review:

]]> The Four Winds 53138081 Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance.

In this uncertain and dangerous time, Elsa Martinelli¡ªlike so many of her neighbors¡ªmust make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life. The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American Dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes an epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against the backdrop of one of America¡¯s most defining eras¡ªthe Great Depression.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781250178602]]> 464 Kristin Hannah 1250178606 Memri 4 4.27 2021 The Four Winds
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Memri
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/06/22
shelves:
review:

]]> Anxious People 49127718 A poignant, charming novel about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined

Looking at real estate isn't usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can't fix up their own marriage. There's a wealthy banker who has been too busy making money to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can't seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment's only bathroom, and you've got the worst group of hostages in the world.

Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them¡ªthe bank robber included¡ªdesperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in a motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.

Humorous, compassionate, and wise, Anxious People is an ingeniously constructed story about the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope¡ªthe things that save us, even in the most anxious of times.

Includes short story - The Last Round of Golf]]> 336 Fredrik Backman 198216963X Memri 3 4.17 2019 Anxious People
author: Fredrik Backman
name: Memri
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/06/22
shelves:
review:

]]> Lilac Girls (Lilac Girls, #1) 25893693
On the eve of a fateful war, New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline¡¯s world is forever changed when Hitler¡¯s army invades Poland in September 1939¡ªand then sets its sights on France.

An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she sinks deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspect neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.

For ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. But, once hired, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.

The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbr¨¹ck, the notorious female-only Nazi concentration camp. The tragedy and triumph of their stories cross continents¡ªfrom New York to Paris, and Germany to Poland¡ªcapturing the indomitable pull of compassion to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.

In Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly has crafted a remarkable novel of unsung women and their quest for love, happiness, and second chances. It is a story that will keep readers bonded with the characters, searching for the truth, until the final pages.]]> 487 Martha Hall Kelly 1101883073 Memri 4 4.27 2016 Lilac Girls (Lilac Girls, #1)
author: Martha Hall Kelly
name: Memri
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2021/03/31
date added: 2021/03/31
shelves:
review:

]]> The Book of Longings 52698452 ¡°I am Ana. I was the wife of Jesus.¡±

Raised in a wealthy family in Sepphoris with ties to the ruler of Galilee, Ana is rebellious and ambitious, a relentless seeker with a brilliant, curious mind and a daring spirit. She yearns for a pursuit worthy of her life, but finds no outlet for her considerable talents. Defying the expectations placed on women, she engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes secret narratives about neglected and silenced women. When she meets the eighteen-year-old Jesus, each is drawn to and enriched by the other¡¯s spiritual and philosophical ideas. He becomes a floodgate for her intellect, but also the awakener of her heart.

Their marriage unfolds with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, James and Simon, and their mother, Mary. Here, Ana¡¯s pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to the Roman occupation of Israel, partially led by her charismatic adopted brother, Judas. She is sustained by her indomitable aunt Yaltha, who is searching for her long-lost daughter, as well as by other women, including her friend Tabitha, who is sold into slavery after she was raped, and Phasaelis, the shrewd wife of Herod Antipas. Ana¡¯s impetuous streak occasionally invites danger. When one such foray forces her to flee Nazareth for her safety shortly before Jesus¡¯s public ministry begins, she makes her way with Yaltha to Alexandria, where she eventually finds refuge and purpose in unexpected surroundings.

Grounded in meticulous historical research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus¡¯s life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring account of one woman¡¯s bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place, and culture devised to silence her.]]> 416 Sue Monk Kidd 052542976X Memri 3 4.21 2020 The Book of Longings
author: Sue Monk Kidd
name: Memri
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/03/15
shelves:
review:

]]> The Things We Cannot Say 40899464
Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina¡¯s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate. Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents¡¯ farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief.

Slipping between Nazi-occupied Poland and the frenetic pace of modern life, Kelly Rimmer creates an emotional and finely wrought narrative that weaves together two women¡¯s stories into a tapestry of perseverance, loyalty, love and honor. The Things We Cannot Say is an unshakable reminder of the devastation when truth is silenced¡­and how it can take a lifetime to find our voice before we learn to trust it.]]> 448 Kelly Rimmer 1525831518 Memri 0 to-read 4.51 2019 The Things We Cannot Say
author: Kelly Rimmer
name: Memri
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[White Like Her: My Family's Story of Race and Racial Passing]]> 34181487 White Like Her: My Family¡¯s Story of Race and Racial Passing is the story of Gail Lukasik¡¯s mother¡¯s ¡°passing,¡± Gail¡¯s struggle with the shame of her mother¡¯s choice, and her subsequent journey of self-discovery and redemption.

In the historical context of the Jim Crow South, Gail explores her African-American mother¡¯s decision to pass, how she hid her secret even from her own husband, and the price she paid for choosing whiteness.

Haunted by her mother¡¯s fear and shame, Gail embarks on a quest to uncover her mother¡¯s racial lineage, tracing her family back to eighteenth-century colonial Louisiana. In coming to terms with her decision to publicly out her mother, Gail changed how she looks at race and heritage.
]]> 316 Gail Lukasik 1510724125 Memri 4 3.59 2017 White Like Her: My Family's Story of Race and Racial Passing
author: Gail Lukasik
name: Memri
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/02/16
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother]]> 29209
Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared "light-skinned" woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her twelve black children. James McBride, journalist, musician and son, explores his mother's past, as well as his own upbringing and heritage, in a poignant and powerful debut, The Color Of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother.

The son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white, James McBride grew up in "orchestrated chaos" with his eleven siblings in the poor, all-black projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn. "Mommy," a fiercely protective woman with "dark eyes full of pep and fire," herded her brood to Manhattan's free cultural events, sent them off on buses to the best (and mainly Jewish) schools, demanded good grades and commanded respect. As a young man, McBride saw his mother as a source of embarrassment, worry, and confusion--and reached thirty before he began to discover the truth about her early life and long-buried pain.

In The Color of Water, McBride retraces his mother's footsteps and, through her searing and spirited voice, recreates her remarkable story. The daughter of a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi, she was born Rachel Shilsky (actually Ruchel Dwara Zylska) in Poland on April 1, 1921. Fleeing pogroms, her family emigrated to America and ultimately settled in Suffolk, Virginia, a small town where anti-Semitism and racial tensions ran high. With candor and immediacy, Ruth describes her parents' loveless marriage; her fragile, handicapped mother; her cruel, sexually-abusive father; and the rest of the family and life she abandoned.

At seventeen, after fleeing Virginia and settling in New York City, Ruth married a black minister and founded the all-black New Brown Memorial Baptist Church in her Red Hook living room. "God is the color of water," Ruth McBride taught her children, firmly convinced that life's blessings and life's values transcend race. Twice widowed, and continually confronting overwhelming adversity and racism, Ruth's determination, drive and discipline saw her dozen children through college--and most through graduate school. At age 65, she herself received a degree in social work from Temple University.

Interspersed throughout his mother's compelling narrative, McBride shares candid recollections of his own experiences as a mixed-race child of poverty, his flirtations with drugs and violence, and his eventual self-realization and professional success. The Color of Water touches readers of all colors as a vivid portrait of growing up, a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a lyrical valentine to a mother from her son.]]> 291 James McBride 1573225789 Memri 0 to-read 4.13 1995 The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
author: James McBride
name: Memri
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/10/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mormonism and White Supremacy: American Religion and The Problem of Racial Innocence]]> 49344763 As America begins to come to terms with the costs of white privilege to Black lives, this book urges a soul-searching examination of the role American Christianity has played in sustaining everyday white supremacy by assuring white people of their innocence. In Mormonism and White Supremacy, Joanna Brooks offers an unflinching look at her own people's history and culture and finds in them lessons that will hit home for every scholar of American religion and person of faith.
]]> 240 Joanna Brooks 0190081767 Memri 0 to-read 4.26 2020 Mormonism and White Supremacy: American Religion and The Problem of Racial Innocence
author: Joanna Brooks
name: Memri
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/10/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Lost Letter 33098837 A heart-breaking, heart-warming historical novel of love and survival inspired by real resistance workers during World War II Austria, and the mysterious love letter that connects generations of Jewish families. For readers of The Nightingale, Lilac Girls, and Sarah's Key.

Austria, 1938.
Kristoff is a young apprentice to a master Jewish stamp engraver. When his teacher disappears during Kristallnacht, Kristoff is forced to engrave stamps for the Germans, and simultaneously works alongside Elena, his beloved teacher's fiery daughter, and with the Austrian resistance to send underground messages and forge papers. As he falls for Elena amidst the brutal chaos of war, Kristoff must find a way to save her, and himself.

Los Angeles, 1989.
Katie Nelson is going through a divorce and while cleaning out her house and life in the aftermath, she comes across the stamp collection of her father, who recently went into a nursing home. When an appraiser, Benjamin, discovers an unusual World War II-era Austrian stamp placed on an old love letter as he goes through her dad's collection, Katie and Benjamin are sent on a journey together that will uncover a story of passion and tragedy spanning decades and continents, behind the just fallen Berlin Wall.

A beautiful, poignant and devastating novel, The Lost Letter shows the lasting power of love.]]> 322 Jillian Cantor 0399185674 Memri 0 to-read 4.16 2017 The Lost Letter
author: Jillian Cantor
name: Memri
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/10/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness]]> 6792458
As the United States celebrates the nation's "triumph over race" with the election of Barack Obama, the majority of young black men in major American cities are locked behind bars or have been labeled felons for life. Although Jim Crow laws have been wiped off the books, an astounding percentage of the African American community remains trapped in a subordinate status--much like their grandparents before them.

In this incisive critique, former litigator-turned-legal-scholar Michelle Alexander provocatively argues that we have not ended racial caste in America: we have simply redesigned it. Alexander shows that, by targeting black men and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, even as it formally adheres to the principle of color blindness. The New Jim Crow challenges the civil rights community--and all of us--to place mass incarceration at the forefront of a new movement for racial justice in America.]]> 290 Michelle Alexander Memri 4 4.52 2010 The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
author: Michelle Alexander
name: Memri
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2020/10/06
date added: 2020/10/06
shelves:
review:

]]> What She Left Behind 17802747
Ten years ago, Izzy Stone¡¯s mother fatally shot her father while he slept. Devastated by her mother¡¯s apparent insanity, Izzy, now seventeen, refuses to visit her in prison. But her new foster parents, employees at the local museum, have enlisted Izzy¡¯s help in cataloging items at a long-shuttered state asylum. There, amid piles of abandoned belongings, Izzy discovers a stack of unopened letters, a decades-old journal, and a window into her own past.

Young flapper and suffragette Clara Cartwright is caught between her overbearing parents and her desire to be a modern woman. Furious when she rejects an arranged marriage, instead finding love with an Italian Immigrant, Clara¡¯s father sends her to a genteel home for nervous invalids. But when his fortune is lost in the stock market crash of 1929, he can no longer afford her care¡ªand Clara is committed to the public asylum.

Even as Izzy deals with the challenges of yet another new beginning, Clara¡¯s story keeps drawing her into the past. If Clara was never really mentally ill, could something else explain her own mother¡¯s violent act? Piecing together Clara¡¯s fate compels Izzy to re-examine her own choices¡ªwith shocking and unexpected results.]]> 336 Ellen Marie Wiseman 0758278454 Memri 4 3.93 2015 What She Left Behind
author: Ellen Marie Wiseman
name: Memri
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/27
date added: 2020/09/27
shelves:
review:

]]> They Went Left 52701968
Zofia's last words to her brother were a promise: Abek to Zofia, A to Z. When I find you again, we will fill our alphabet. Now her journey to fulfill that vow takes her through Poland and Germany, and into a displaced persons camp where everyone she meets is trying to piece together a future from a painful past: Miriam, desperately searching for the twin she was separated from after they survived medical experimentation. Breine, a former heiress, who now longs only for a simple wedding with her new fianc¨¦. And Josef, who guards his past behind a wall of secrets, and is beautiful and strange and magnetic all at once.

But the deeper Zofia digs, the more impossible her search seems. How can she find one boy in a sea of the missing? In the rubble of a broken continent, Zofia must delve into a mystery whose answers could break her--or help her rebuild her world.]]> 364 Monica Hesse 0316490571 Memri 4 4.23 2020 They Went Left
author: Monica Hesse
name: Memri
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/21
date added: 2020/09/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[So You Want to Talk About Race]]> 35099718 In this breakout book, Ijeoma Oluo explores the complex reality of today's racial landscape--from white privilege and police brutality to systemic discrimination and the Black Lives Matter movement--offering straightforward clarity that readers need to contribute to the dismantling of the racial divide

In So You Want to Talk About Race, Editor at Large of The Establishment Ijeoma Oluo offers a contemporary, accessible take on the racial landscape in America, addressing head-on such issues as privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the "N" word. Perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between people of color and white Americans struggling with race complexities, Oluo answers the questions readers don't dare ask, and explains the concepts that continue to elude everyday Americans.

Oluo is an exceptional writer with a rare ability to be straightforward, funny, and effective in her coverage of sensitive, hyper-charged issues in America. Her messages are passionate but finely tuned, and crystalize ideas that would otherwise be vague by empowering them with aha-moment clarity. Her writing brings to mind voices like Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay, and Jessica Valenti in Full Frontal Feminism, and a young Gloria Naylor, particularly in Naylor's seminal essay "The Meaning of a Word."]]> 248 Ijeoma Oluo 1580056776 Memri 0 to-read 4.48 2018 So You Want to Talk About Race
author: Ijeoma Oluo
name: Memri
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/07/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> American Dirt 45046527
Lydia lives in Acapulco. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while cracks are beginning to show in Acapulco because of the cartels, Lydia¡¯s life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. But after her husband¡¯s tell-all profile of the newest drug lord is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and Luca find themselves joining the countless people trying to reach the United States. Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?]]> 459 Jeanine Cummins Memri 5 4.32 2020 American Dirt
author: Jeanine Cummins
name: Memri
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/07/12
date added: 2020/07/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Olive, Again (Olive Kitteridge, #2)]]> 43984883 San Francisco Chronicle).?The?New Yorker?has said that Elizabeth Strout ¡°animates the ordinary with an astonishing force,¡± and she has never done so more clearly than in these pages, where the iconic Olive struggles to understand not only herself and her own life but the lives of those around her in the town of Crosby, Maine. Whether with a teenager coming to terms with the loss of her father, a young woman about to give birth during a hilariously inopportune moment, a nurse who confesses a secret high school crush, or a lawyer who struggles with an inheritance she does not want to accept, the unforgettable Olive will continue to startle us, to move us, and to inspire?us¡ªin Strout¡¯s words¡ª¡°to bear the burden of the mystery with as much grace as we can.¡±]]> 289 Elizabeth Strout 0812996542 Memri 3 4.06 2019 Olive, Again (Olive Kitteridge, #2)
author: Elizabeth Strout
name: Memri
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/07/04
date added: 2020/07/04
shelves:
review:

]]> Caleb's Crossing 9684523 A richly imagined new novel from the author of the New York Times bestseller, People of the Book.

Once again, Geraldine Brooks takes a remarkable shard of history and brings it to vivid life. In 1665, a young man from Martha's Vineyard became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Upon this slender factual scaffold, Brooks has created a luminous tale of love and faith, magic and adventure.

The narrator of Caleb's Crossing is Bethia Mayfield, growing up in the tiny settlement of Great Harbor amid a small band of pioneers and Puritans. Restless and curious, she yearns after an education that is closed to her by her sex. As often as she can, she slips away to explore the island's glistening beaches and observe its native Wampanoag inhabitants. At twelve, she encounters Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a tentative secret friendship that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's minister father tries to convert the Wampanoag, awakening the wrath of the tribe's shaman, against whose magic he must test his own beliefs. One of his projects becomes the education of Caleb, and a year later, Caleb is in Cambridge, studying Latin and Greek among the colonial elite. There, Bethia finds herself reluctantly indentured as a housekeeper and can closely observe Caleb's crossing of cultures.

Like Brooks's beloved narrator Anna in Year of Wonders, Bethia proves an emotionally irresistible guide to the wilds of Martha's Vineyard and the intimate spaces of the human heart. Evocative and utterly absorbing, Caleb's Crossing further establishes Brooks's place as one of our most acclaimed novelists.

Watch a Video]]> 306 Geraldine Brooks 0670021040 Memri 4 3.83 2011 Caleb's Crossing
author: Geraldine Brooks
name: Memri
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/06/16
shelves:
review:

]]> Prayers for Sale 4618898 Sandra Dallas has created an unforgettable tale of a friendship between two women, one with surprising twists and turns, and one that is ultimately a revelation of the finest parts of the human spirit.]]> 305 Sandra Dallas 0312385188 Memri 5 3.86 1997 Prayers for Sale
author: Sandra Dallas
name: Memri
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2019/11/19
date added: 2019/11/19
shelves:
review:
Especially enjoyed listening to, rather than reading this book. Cute story, with a wonderful ending. Fun read.
]]> <![CDATA[David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants]]> 15751404 The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell has explored the ways we understand and change our world. Now he looks at the complex and surprising ways the weak can defeat the strong, the small can match up against the giant, and how our goals (often culturally determined) can make a huge difference in our ultimate sense of success. Drawing upon examples from the world of business, sports, culture, cutting-edge psychology, and an array of unforgettable characters around the world, David and Goliath is in many ways the most practical and provocative book Malcolm Gladwell has ever written.]]> 305 Malcolm Gladwell 0316204366 Memri 3 3.97 2013 David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
author: Malcolm Gladwell
name: Memri
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2019/06/26
date added: 2019/06/26
shelves:
review:

]]> Where the Crawdads Sing 36809135
But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life's lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world¡ªuntil the unthinkable happens.

In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a profound coming of age story and haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens¡¯s debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

The story asks how isolation influences the behavior of a young woman, who like all of us, has the genetic propensity to belong to a group. The clues to the mystery are brushed into the lush habitat and natural histories of its wild creatures.]]> 384 Delia Owens 0735219117 Memri 5 4.35 2018 Where the Crawdads Sing
author: Delia Owens
name: Memri
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/06/12
shelves:
review:

]]> The Sound of Gravel 25332115 A riveting, deeply affecting true story of one girl¡¯s coming-of-age in a polygamist family.

RUTH WARINER was the thirty-ninth of her father¡¯s forty-two children. Growing up on a farm in rural Mexico, where authorities turn a blind eye to the practices of her community, Ruth lives in a ramshackle house without indoor plumbing or electricity. At church, preachers teach that God will punish the wicked by destroying the world and that women can only ascend to Heaven by entering into polygamous marriages and giving birth to as many children as possible. After Ruth¡¯s father¡ªthe man who had been the founding prophet of the colony¡ªis brutally murdered by his brother in a bid for church power, her mother remarries, becoming the second wife of another faithful congregant.

In need of government assistance and supplemental income, Ruth and her siblings are carted back and forth between Mexico and the United States, where Ruth¡¯s mother collects welfare and her stepfather works a variety of odd jobs. Ruth comes to love the time she spends in the States, realizing that perhaps the community into which she was born is not the right one for her. As she begins to doubt her family¡¯s beliefs and question her mother¡¯s choices, she struggles to balance her fierce love for her siblings with her determination to forge a better life for herself.

Recounted from the innocent and hopeful perspective of a child, The Sound of Gravel is the remarkable memoir of one girl¡¯s fight for peace and love. This is an intimate, gripping tale of triumph, courage, and resilience.]]> 336 Ruth Wariner 1250077699 Memri 0 to-read 4.28 2016 The Sound of Gravel
author: Ruth Wariner
name: Memri
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/05/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life]]> 944267 314 Henry Cloud Memri 2 4.20 1992 Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life
author: Henry Cloud
name: Memri
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1992
rating: 2
read at: 2019/04/30
date added: 2019/04/30
shelves:
review:

]]> The Light Between Oceans 13158800 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

Australia, 1926. After four harrowing years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home to take a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day's journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby's cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom's judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

M. L. Stedman's mesmerizing, beautifully written debut novel seduces us into accommodating Isabel's decision to keep this "gift from God." And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer, where justice for one person is another's tragic loss.]]> 362 M.L. Stedman 1451681739 Memri 5 4.02 2012 The Light Between Oceans
author: M.L. Stedman
name: Memri
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2019/04/30
date added: 2019/04/30
shelves:
review:

]]> When Breath Becomes Air 25899336
At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a na?ve medical student "possessed," as he wrote, "by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life" into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.

What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir.

Paul Kalanithi died in March 2015, while working on this book, yet his words live on as a guide and a gift to us all. "I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything," he wrote. "Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head: 'I can't go on. I'll go on.'" When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both.]]> 208 Paul Kalanithi 0812988418 Memri 3 4.41 2016 When Breath Becomes Air
author: Paul Kalanithi
name: Memri
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2019/04/15
date added: 2019/04/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Screwtape Letters: Also Includes "Screwtape Proposes a Toast"]]> 674321 This edition includes a substantial new preface from the author who tells the reader something of the writing of the book, and answers the question often raised as to whether he "really believes in devils." The answer involves discussion of devils and angels in literature, art and life. "My symbol for hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or a thoroughly nasty business office." The edition also includes a new Screwtape piece, "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," and should find a new generation of readers for the wittiest piece of writing the 20th century has yet produced to stimulate the ordinary man to godliness.]]> 209 C.S. Lewis 0805420401 Memri 3 4.39 1942 The Screwtape Letters: Also Includes "Screwtape Proposes a Toast"
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Memri
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1942
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2019/03/28
shelves:
review:

]]>