en-US Sat, 12 Apr 2025 13:52:57 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 213946733
#1 bestselling author John Grisham takes you back to Camino Island where bookseller Bruce Cable and novelist Mercer Mann always manage to find trouble in paradise.

In this new thriller on Camino Island, popular bookseller Bruce Cable tells Mercer Mann an irresistible tale that might be her next novel. A giant resort developer is using its political muscle and deep pockets to claim ownership of a deserted island between Florida and Georgia. Only the last living inhabitant of the island, Lovely Jackson, stands in its way. What the developer doesn’t know is that the island has a remarkable history, and locals believe it is cursed…and the past is never the past…]]> John Grisham Anita 0 currently-reading 3.64 2024
author: John Grisham
name: Anita
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 212294441 “A stone-cold banger of a novel—a twisty journey through Silicon Valley’s dark side, wrapped in a stunning mystery package with some wild surprises along the way.”—Blake Crouch, New York Timesbestselling author of Dark Matter

Don’t call me a fixer. This isn’t HBO.

In her job as unofficial “problem solver�� for Silicon Valley’s most ruthless venture capitalist, Mackenzie Clyde’s gotten used to playing for high stakes. Even if none of those tech-bro millions she’s so good at wrangling ever make it into her pockets.

But this time, she’s in way over her head—or so it seems.

The lightning-rod CEO of tech’s hottest startup has just been murdered, leaving behind billions in “dead money�� frozen in his will. As the company’s chief investor, Mackenzie’s boss has a fortune on the line—and with the police treading water, it’s up to Mackenzie to step up and resolve things, fast.

Mackenzie’s a lawyer, not a detective. Cracking this fiendishly clever killing, with its list of suspects that reads like a who’s-who of Valley power players, should be way out of her league.

Except that Mackenzie’s used to being underestimated. In fact, she’s counting on it.

Because the way she sees it, this isn’t an investigation. It’s an opportunity. And she’ll do anything it takes to seize it.

Anything at all.

Featuring jaw-dropping twists and a wily, outsider heroine you can’t help rooting for, Dead Money is a brilliant sleight-of-hand mystery. Written by a longtime insider, it is also a dead-on snapshot of the Valley’s rich and famous—and a glimpse at the darkness lurking behind the tech world’s cheery facade.]]> 416 Jakob Kerr 0593726707 Anita 0 currently-reading 4.01 2025
author: Jakob Kerr
name: Anita
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 173754979 A brilliant reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—both harrowing and satirical—told from the enslaved Jim's point of view

When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.

Brimming with nuanced humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illuminates Jim's agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before. James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first-century American literature.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780385550369.]]> 303 Percival Everett Anita 5 books-for-english-teachers 4.47 2024
author: Percival Everett
name: Anita
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves: books-for-english-teachers
review:
This is the best book of the year for me. James is based on Huckleberry Finn, and told from Jim's point of view. It is a truthful reimagining of what really happened. I won't spoil any surprises, but it is a powerful look at the evil of slavery.
]]> 148014534 The first history of the notebook, a simple invention that changed the way the world thinks.

We see notebooks everywhere we go. But where did this simple invention come from? How did they revolutionise our lives, and why are they such powerful tools for creativity? And how can using a notebook help you change the way you think?

In this wide-ranging story, Roland Allen reveals all the answers. Ranging from the bustling markets of medieval Florence to the quiet studies of our greatest thinkers, he follows a trail of dazzling ideas, revealing how the notebook became our most dependable and versatile tool for creative thinking. He tells the notebook stories of artists like Leonardo and Frida Kahlo, scientists from Isaac Newton to Marie Curie, and writers from Chaucer to Henry James. We watch Darwin developing his theory of evolution in tiny pocketbooks, see Agatha Christie plotting a hundred murders in scrappy exercise books, and learn how Bruce Chatwin unwittingly inspired the creation of the Moleskine.

On the way we meet a host of cooks, kings, sailors, fishermen, musicians, engineers, politicians, adventurers and mathematicians, who all used their notebooks as a space for thinking and to shape the modern world.

In an age of AI and digital overload, the humble notebook is more relevant than ever.

Allen shows how bullet points can combat ADHD, journals can ease PTSD, and patient diaries soften the trauma of reawakening from coma. The everyday act of moving a pen across paper can have profound consequences, changing the way we think and making us more creative, more productive -- and happier.]]> 416 Roland Allen 1782839151 Anita 0 currently-reading 4.37 2023
author: Roland Allen
name: Anita
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 126919284
But to everyone’s surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons in the wake of his uncle’s death brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place.

Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Cam’s estranged family—and the twisted secrets they keep—the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have.

But Ruby’s plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will—and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.]]> 294 Rachel Hawkins 1250280036 Anita 5 audio-books, mystery 3.80 2024
author: Rachel Hawkins
name: Anita
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/07
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: audio-books, mystery
review:
This audio book was especially well performed. Camden M. has tried to distance himself from his family and the fortune he has inherited. When he returns with his wife to sort things out with the family mansion and millions, secret after secret is revealed about this extremely dysfunctional family. This is a fun ride all the way through.
]]> 205800515 A moving celebration of the history of American football from the New York Times bestselling author of Why We Love Baseball

After his bestselling home run books Why We Love Baseball and The Baseball 100, Joe Posnanski turns from the national pastime to the number one sport in America. Why We Love Football is Posnanski’s newest must-have deep dive into the archives and legends of the sport, and the result is a rousing tale of the 100 greatest moments in football lore.

This is the best kind of sports writing. Entertaining, enlightening, heartbreaking, hilarious, and always fascinating, these stories of the sport offer a panoramic look across its history. From hidden gems and classic tales to famous moments told from previously unheard perspectives, this book is the football book for even its most ardent fans.

From Patrick Mahomes's magic to the Ice Bowl, from Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass to a plethora of football "miracles," Why We Love Football is an unforgettable, conversational masterpiece you won’t ever want to end, and a can't-miss take on football from one of the greatest sportswriters of our time.]]> 415 Joe Posnanski 0593475534 Anita 3 non-fiction 4.42
author: Joe Posnanski
name: Anita
average rating: 4.42
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/06
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: non-fiction
review:
Really 3.5, but add a star if you are a football fan. This is a fun book, but you need to read it slowly so you can look up these 100 moments on youtube. Some I remembered, but many more were new to me. A good book for the football lover.
]]> 58438618
Glucose, or blood sugar, is a tiny molecule in our body that has a huge impact on our health. It enters our bloodstream through the starchy or sweet foods we eat. Ninety percent of us suffer from too much glucose in our system—and most of us don't know it.

The symptoms? Cravings, fatigue, infertility, hormonal issues, acne, wrinkles�� And over time, the development of conditions like type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, cancer, dementia, and heart disease.

Drawing on cutting-edge science and her own pioneering research, biochemist Jessie Inchauspé offers ten simple, surprising hacks to help you balance your glucose levels and reverse your symptoms—without going on a diet or giving up the foods you love. For example:
* How eating foods in the right order will make you lose weight effortlessly
* What secret ingredient will allow you to eat dessert and still go into fat-burning mode
* What small change to your breakfast will unlock energy and cut your cravings

Both entertaining, informative, and packed with the latest scientific data, this book presents a new way to think about better health. Glucose Revolution is chock-full of tips that can drastically and immediately improve your life, whatever your dietary preferences.]]> 304 Jessie Inchauspé 1982179414 Anita 4 non-fiction 4.42 2022
author: Jessie Inchauspé
name: Anita
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/03
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: non-fiction
review:
This is a very easy to read and engaging book. I enjoyed all the graphs about glucose spikes and her hacks for minimizing them. I will be trying a bunch of them.
]]> 34200177
From the acclaimed author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.]]> Taylor Jenkins Reid Anita 3 audio-books 3.69 2015
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Anita
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: audio-books
review:
Inspired by the movie Sliding Doors, Hannah lives out two different lives according to a decision she made. Sort of a romance in the multiverse. Read by Julia Whelan, one of my favorites.
]]> 213243937 An exclusive thriller writer’s retreat hosted on a private island turns lethal when one of the authors is found murdered in this twisty locked room mystery.

When renowned anonymous author J. R. Alastor hires former aspiring writer Mila del Angél to host a writing retreat at his private manor off the coast of Maine, she jumps at the chance—particularly since she has an ax to grind with one of the invitees. The guest list? Six thriller authors, all masters of deceit, misdirection, and mayhem.

Confess the crimes, survive the tropes.

Alastor and Mila have masterminded a week of games, trope-fueled riddles, and maybe a jump scare or two—the perfect cover for Mila to plot a murder of her own. But when a guest turns up dead—and it’s not the murder she planned—Mila finds herself trapped in a different narrative altogether.

One by one, you’ll lose your turn.

With a storm cutting off the island, and the body count rising, Mila must outwit a killer who knows literally every trick in the book.

Until only one of us remains��]]> 371 Ande Pliego 059387157X Anita 4 mystery 3.59 2025
author: Ande Pliego
name: Anita
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: mystery
review:
Every murder mystery trope is examined and used in this delicious mystery. Six famous mystery authors are invited by a wildly successful, but secret mystery author to a writers' retreat. Of course nothing is as it seems as this week of games turns deadly since all the writers are hiding terrible secrets. This real life game of Clue has it all as we see if anyone can survive.
]]> 159403420 A masterfully paced thriller about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder �� from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient.

This is a tale of murder.

Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time �� it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder.

We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse �� a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.]]> Alex Michaelides 1250329523 Anita 3 audio-books, mystery 3.20 2024
author: Alex Michaelides
name: Anita
average rating: 3.20
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/27
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves: audio-books, mystery
review:
This is a decent "bunch of people on an island and somebody gets killed" mystery. The island is near Mykonos and the people are actors and writers. The mystery has some twists and the narrator is very good.
]]> 37863426 176 John Hendrix 1419728385 Anita 4 4.42 2018
author: John Hendrix
name: Anita
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: graphic-novels, non-fiction, young-adult-middle-grade
review:
This graphic account of Dietrich's life, ministry, and execution for his part in the plot to kill Hitler is informative, artistic, and inspiring. Through words and images Hendrix tell this true story of a man living his religion to the point of giving up his own life for the greater good.
]]> 222159043
“Lending my voice to help deliver Cher’s memoir has been an honor and a thrill. Her life is fascinating, glamorous, surprising, exciting�� and at times, completely heartbreaking. Her story is a beautiful balance of ULTIMATE stardom and accessibility. She is CHER for a reason and this book helps the reader get behind ‘the reason,’�� says Block.

“When it came to completing the audiobook, I knew I wouldn't be able to do it all myself due to my dyslexia. But then I thought of Stephanie, who won the Tony for playing me on Broadway in The Cher Show. I knew she would be the perfect choice to get across to the reader the essence of me. I called her and within hours she re-arranged her schedule to start the recording. I felt so safe having her help share my story, and she did a beautiful job,�� says Cher.]]> Cher Anita 4 4.29 2024
author: Cher
name: Anita
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: audio-books, memoir, non-fiction
review:
I listened to this and then had to get the book to look at the pictures. Cher is amazing. She came from a long line of dysfunctional families, and was able to overcome so many obstacles (some of her own making), to become the icon she is today. I loved listening to her read the beginnings of each chapter, with Stephanie Block finishing each one out. She is upfront with her dyslexia and I admire that. I will definitely read/listen to part 2 and however many more parts she needs to chronicle an amazing life.
]]> 60693285 Prayer is the source of Jesus's most astonishing miracles and the subject of Jesus's most audacious promises, and yet, people find prayer to be boring, obligatory, or confusing. Join Tyler Staton, author, pastor, and national director of the 24/7 Prayer movement, as he invites you to discover the incredible gift of prayer.

Within the pages of Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools, Staton addresses common roadblocks to prayer and gives you the confidence to come to God just as you are. Through timely biblical teaching, powerful storytelling, and insights on historic Christian practices, Staton gives you the tools you need to:

- Express your doubts and disappointments about prayer
- Discover and practice multiple postures of prayer, including silence, persistence, confession, and more
- Understand and embrace the wonder and mystery of prayer in everyday life
- Open or reopen the line of communication with your Creator and experience afresh his divine power on earth

If you're feeling disheartened, disappointed, or distracted in your prayer life, let Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools be your guide as you learn to enjoy prayer in its purest form: a vital, sustaining, powerful connection with God that is more real and alive than you could have ever imagined.]]> 272 Tyler Staton 031036535X Anita 0 4.58
author: Tyler Staton
name: Anita
average rating: 4.58
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/19
shelves: currently-reading, r-s-study-group-books
review:

]]> 57645345
Avery Mason, host of American Events, knows the subjects that grab a TV audience’s attention. Her latest story—a murder mystery laced with kinky sex, tragedy, and betrayal—is guaranteed to be ratings gold. New DNA technology has allowed the New York medical examiner’s office to make its first successful identification of a 9/11 victim in years. The twist: the victim, Victoria Ford, had been accused of the gruesome murder of her married lover. In a chilling last phone call to her sister, Victoria begged her to prove her innocence.

Emma Kind has waited twenty years to put her sister to rest, but closure won’t be complete until she can clear Victoria’s name. Alone she’s had no luck, but she’s convinced that Avery’s connections and fame will help. Avery, hoping to negotiate a more lucrative network contract, goes into investigative overdrive. Victoria had been having an affair with a successful novelist, found hanging from the balcony of his Catskills mansion. The rope, the bedroom, and the entire crime scene was covered in Victoria’s DNA.

But the twisted puzzle of Victoria’s private life is just the beginning. And what Avery doesn't realize is that there are other players in the game who are interested in Avery’s own secret past—one she has kept hidden from both the network executives and her television audience. A secret she thought was dead and buried . . .

Accused of a brutal murder, Victoria Ford made a final chilling call from the North Tower on the morning of 9/11. Twenty years ago, no one listened. Today, you will.]]> 357 Charlie Donlea 1496727169 Anita 5 mystery 4.07 2021
author: Charlie Donlea
name: Anita
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: mystery
review:
Terrific mystery/thriller. A victim's remains from 9/11 is identified 20 years later, a daughter of a Bernie Madoff type character, and a 20 year old murder investigation come together in thrilling and unexpected ways. I will definitely read more of Charlie Donlea.
]]> 53291928 8 hours, 44 minutes

Welcome back to Camino Island, where anything can happen—even a murder in the midst of a hurricane, which might prove to be the perfect crime . . .

Just as Bruce Cable’s Bay Books is preparing for the return of bestselling author Mercer Mann, Hurricane Leo veers from its predicted course and heads straight for the island. Florida’s governor orders a mandatory evacuation, and most residents board up their houses and flee to the mainland, but Bruce decides to stay and ride out the storm.

The hurricane is devastating: homes and condos are leveled, hotels and storefronts ruined, streets flooded, and a dozen people lose their lives. One of the apparent victims is Nelson Kerr, a friend of Bruce’s and an author of thrillers. But the nature of Nelson’s injuries suggests that the storm wasn’t the cause of his death: He has suffered several suspicious blows to the head.

Who would want Nelson dead? The local police are overwhelmed in the aftermath of the storm and ill equipped to handle the case. Bruce begins to wonder if the shady characters in Nelson’s novels might be more real than fictional. And somewhere on Nelson’s computer is the manuscript of his new novel. Could the key to the case be right there—in black and white? As Bruce starts to investigate, what he discovers between the lines is more shocking than any of Nelson’s plot twists—and far more dangerous.]]> 9 John Grisham 0593168437 Anita 4 audio-books, mystery 3.45 2020
author: John Grisham
name: Anita
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves: audio-books, mystery
review:
This is the second in the series and it doesn't disappoint. Most of the same characters weather a hurricane that is the setting for a murder. Lots of bad guys (corrupt nursing homes, contract killers) that all get their comeuppance at the end.
]]> 15954242 338 Karl Ricks Anderson 1609071662 Anita 5 4.36 2012
author: Karl Ricks Anderson
name: Anita
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/11
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: r-s-study-group-books, lds, non-fiction
review:
This scrupulously researched and documented text looks at the divine manifestations occurring in Kirtland, Ohio during the LDS Kirtland period. Anderson looks at the theological importance of this period of LDS history and cheerleads for his beloved Kirtland. An excellent discussion book and a great resource for those wanting a deep dive into the revelations of that period.
]]> 53331577 Inspired by the true World War II history of the few bookshops to survive the Blitz, The Last Bookshop in London is a timeless story of wartime loss, love and the enduring power of literature.

August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, but the bunkers and blackout curtains that she finds on her arrival were not what she expected. And she certainly never imagined she’d wind up working at Primrose Hill, a dusty old bookshop nestled in the heart of London.

Through blackouts and air raids as the Blitz intensifies, Grace discovers the power of storytelling to unite her community in ways she never dreamed—a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of the war.]]> 325 Madeline Martin 133528480X Anita 4 4.07 2021
author: Madeline Martin
name: Anita
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/12
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: audio-books, especially-for-women
review:
This is another historical drama set during the London Blitz. Claire is displaced by her uncle, so she sets out to London where she gets a job at a bookshop. She comes of age as we learn more about living under nightly bombings.
]]> 43220998 A portrait of love, silence, and secrets under a Spanish dictatorship.

�� Madrid, 1957 ��

Under the oppressive dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into Spain under the welcoming promise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of an oil tycoon, who arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother's birth through the lens of his camera. Photography—and fate—introduce him to Ana, whose family's interweaving obstacles reveal the lingering grasp of the Spanish Civil War, as well as chilling definitions of fortune and fear. Daniel's photographs leave him with uncomfortable questions amidst shadows of danger. He is backed into a corner of difficult decisions to protect those he loves. Lives and hearts collide, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city.

Master storyteller Ruta Sepetys once again shines light into one of history's darkest corners in this epic, heart-wrenching novel about identity, unforgettable love, repercussions of war, and the hidden violence of silence—inspired by the true postwar struggles of Spain.

Includes vintage media reports, oral history commentary, photos, and more.]]> 495 Ruta Sepetys 0399160310 Anita 5 4.30 2019
author: Ruta Sepetys
name: Anita
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/08
date added: 2025/03/08
shelves:
review:
Sepetys sets an interesting story in late 50's Madrid and examines life under Franco. This is an excellent historical fiction about post civil war Spain and the Franco regime. She describes the horrors of living under a fascist regime and the secret lives so many have to live. I was not aware of the issues and the US issues of trying to help people by being somewhat complicit with the regime.
]]> 58667474

Foreword by Patrick McDonnell

Does God exist? Is there a heaven? What’s the point of it all? Do we even matter?

This collection of thought-provoking, humorous comic strips is a series of conversations between a squirrel, a badger, and a friendly blue ghost who may or may not be one third of the Holy Trinity. Charming, witty, and at times poignant, yet never holier-than-thou, John Hendrix tackles some of life’s greatest questions.

Whether you consider yourself faithful or a nonbeliever, these delightfully off-kilter comics deliver laughter, comfort, and philosophical musings with humble, honest spirit—and just the right dose of playful irreverence.

�� The Holy Ghost introduces us to a spirit who is charming, approachable and insightful . . . he does for this underrated part of the Godhead what Charles M. Schulz did for beagles.�� —St. Louis Public Radio]]> 128 John Hendrix 1419755439 Anita 4 graphic-novels, non-fiction 3.97
author: John Hendrix
name: Anita
average rating: 3.97
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/07
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: graphic-novels, non-fiction
review:
This graphic novel tackles the big questions of faith and doubt in a humorous and thought-provoking way. The Holy Ghost and squirrel dialogue in these one page cartoons and debate the deep love of God. I will use many of these in lessons to come.
]]> 34121119 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER �� “A delightfully lighthearted caper ... [a] fast-moving, entertaining tale.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A gang of thieves stage a daring heist from a secure vault deep below Princeton University’s Firestone Library. Their loot is priceless, but Princeton has insured it for twenty-five million dollars.

Bruce Cable owns a popular bookstore in the sleepy resort town of Santa Rosa on Camino Island in Florida. He makes his real money, though, as a prominent dealer in rare books. Very few people know that he occasionally dabbles in the black market of stolen books and manuscripts.

Mercer Mann is a young novelist with a severe case of writer’s block who has recently been laid off from her teaching position. She is approached by an elegant, mysterious woman working for an even more mysterious company. A generous offer of money convinces Mercer to go undercover and infiltrate Bruce Cable’s circle of literary friends, ideally getting close enough to him to learn his secrets.

But eventually Mercer learns far too much, and there’s trouble in paradise as only John Grisham can deliver it.]]> 290 John Grisham 0385543026 Anita 4 3.69 2017
author: John Grisham
name: Anita
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: mystery, books-for-bibliophiles, audio-books, books-for-english-teachers
review:
It has been a while since I read any Grisham. This was a fun, summertime romp. F. Scott Fitzgerald's manuscripts are stolen from Princeton, and we are immersed in the world of bookstores, first editions, rare books, authors, and of course, criminal intrigue. I enjoyed the book business, but found the mystery, not as much. All in all a good time.
]]> 208512484 The Mythmakers is a graphic novel biography of two literary icons—C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien—following the story of their friendship and creative fellowship, and how each came to write their masterworks

Through narrative and comic panels, Hendrix chronicles Lewis and Tolkien’s near-idyllic childhoods, then moves on to both men’s horrific tour of the trenches of World War I to their first meeting at Oxford in 1929, and then the foreshadowing, action, and aftermath of World War II. He reveals the shared story of their friendship, in all its ups and downs, that gave them confidence to venture beyond academic concerns (fantasy wasn’t considered suitable for adult reading, but the domain of children), shaped major story/theme ideas, and shifted their ideas about the potential of mythology and faith.

The Mythmakers also shows the camaraderie and the importance of the social/literary circle of friends called the Inklings, and how the friendship of these two great men fell apart and came together again. Hendrix concludes describing how the writings of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien had re-enchanted the 20th century, after two World Wars. In writing aimed at scholars, adults, and young people, these two tweedy academics altered the course of storytelling and embraced the concept that fantasy writing for an adult audience was an accepted form of literature.]]> 218 John Hendrix 1419746340 Anita 5 4.60 2024
author: John Hendrix
name: Anita
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/27
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: books-for-english-teachers, graphic-novels, non-fiction
review:
This graphic novel is more than the story of Lewis and Tolkien, a great story in itself, but a masterful text that could be used as the basis of a college course in literature, or a seminary course in faith and literature. The creativity in pictures, text, and telling an academic tale in a fascinating way makes this a masterpiece. It almost persuades me to give The Lord of the Rings another try.
]]> 217432789 Murder links past and present once again in this mind-boggling metafictional mystery from��Anthony Horowitz—another tribute to the golden age of Agatha Christie featuring detective Atticus Pund and editor Susan Ryland, stars of the New York Times bestsellers Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders.

Editor Susan Ryeland has left her Greek island, her hotel, and her Greek boyfriend Andreas in search of a new life back in England.

Freelancing for Causton Books, she’s working on the manuscript of a novel, Pund’s Last Case, by a young author named Eliot Crace, a continuation of the popular Alan Conway series. ��Susan is surprised to learn that Eliot is the grandson of legendary children’s author Marian Crace, who died some fifteen years ago—murdered, Elliot insists, by poison.

As Susan begins to read the manuscript’s opening chapters, the skeptical editor is relieved to find that Pund’s Last Case is actually very good. Set in the South of France, it revolves around the mysterious death of Lady Margaret Chalfont, who, though mortally ill, is poisoned—perhaps by a member of her own family. But who did it? And why?

The deeper Susan reads, the more it becomes clear that the clues leading to the truth of Marian Crace’s death are hidden within this Atticus Pund mystery.

While Eliot’s accusation becomes more plausible, his behavior grows increasingly erratic.. Then he is suddenly killed in a hit-and-run accident, and Susan finds herself under police scrutiny as a suspect in his killing.

Three mysterious deaths. Multiple motives and possible murderers. If Susan doesn’t solve the mystery of Pund’s Last Case, she may well be the next victim.]]> 592 Anthony Horowitz 0063305704 Anita 0 to-read 4.47 2025
author: Anthony Horowitz
name: Anita
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 223438256
From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing.

Shari Franke’s childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface—Ruby’s wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined.

As the family’s YouTube notoriety grew, so too did Ruby’s delusions of righteousness. Fueled by the sadistic influence of relationship coach Jodi Hildebrandt, together they implemented an inhumane and merciless disciplinary regime.

Ruby and Jodi were arrested in Utah in 2023 on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. On that fateful day, Shari shared a photo online of a police car outside their home. Her caption had one word: “Finally.��

For the first time, Shari will reveal the disturbing truth behind 8 Passengers and her family’s devastating involvement with Jodi Hildebrandt’s cultish life coaching program, “ConneXions.�� No stone is left unturned as Shari exposes the perils of influencer culture and shares for the first time her battle for truth and survival in the face of her mother’s cruelty.]]> Shari Franke Anita 4 4.36 2025
author: Shari Franke
name: Anita
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: especially-for-women, lds, memoir
review:
A very quick read that will 1) explain the backstory behind the Franke/Hillebrandt child abuse case. 2) make you feel like the mother of the year.
]]> 219198147
Always just on the periphery, looking on, young Frankie is never quite sure enough of herself to take centre stage. But the outsider holds certain advantages, sees things others don't, can influence without drawing attention. And when the map has been lost, it's anyone's guess where you may end up, or the accidental choices you find you have made. Frankie discovers that life is not always the one we hope for, or the one others expect of us.

Travelling from post-war Ireland to the dazzling art scene of 1960s New York by way of London, Frankie is an immersive, decade-sweeping novel about love, bravery and what it means to live a significant life.]]> Graham Norton Anita 4 audio-books 4.39 2024
author: Graham Norton
name: Anita
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/23
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves: audio-books
review:
This story of a young Irish girl forced into marriage at a young age, then abandoned in NYC and still comes out finding meaning and love despite lots of setbacks.
]]> 425029 Presumed Innocent brings to life our worst nightmare: that of an ordinary citizen facing conviction for the most terrible of all crimes. It's the stunning portrayal of one man's all-too-human, all-consuming fatal attraction for a passionate woman who is not his wife, and the story of how his obsession puts everything he loves and values on trial—including his own life. It's a book that lays bare a shocking world of betrayal and murder, as well as the hidden depths of the human heart. And it will hold you and haunt you ... long after you have reached its shattering conclusion.]]> 421 Scott Turow 0446350982 Anita 0 4.10 1987
author: Scott Turow
name: Anita
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at: 1988/01/01
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 213890792 New from the author of Presumed Innocent, the #1 bestseller that redefined the legal thriller and is the basis for Apple TV+’s most-watched drama series ever.

Rusty is a retired judge attempting a third act in life with a loving soon-to-be wife, Bea, with whom he shares both a restful home on an idyllic lake in the rural Midwest and a plaintive hope that this marriage will be his best, and his last. But the peace that’s taken Rusty so long to find evaporates when Bea’s young adult son, Aaron, living under their supervision while on probation for drug possession, disappears. If Aaron doesn’t return soon, he will be sent back to jail.

Aaron eventually turns up with a vague story about a camping trip with his troubled girlfriend, Mae, that ended in a fight and a long hitchhike home. Days later, when she still hasn’t returned, suspicion falls on Aaron, and when Mae is subsequently discovered dead, Aaron is arrested and set for trial on charges of first degree murder.

Faced with few choices and even fewer hopes, Bea begs Rusty to return to court one last time, to defend her son and to save their last best hope for happiness. For Rusty, the question is not whether to defend Aaron, or whether the boy is in fact innocent—it’s whether the system to which he has devoted his life can ever provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.]]> 544 Scott Turow 1538706369 Anita 4 mystery 4.24 2025
author: Scott Turow
name: Anita
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/21
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves: mystery
review:
This latest installment in the Presumed Innocent series is another excellent trial procedural. Rusty Sabich now has to defend his fiancee's son who is accused of murdering his on-again off-again girlfriend It is a fascinating look into the workings of a trial, prosecution, investigators, attorneys, and judges.
]]> 215994775 Melania��is a compelling and inspirational memoir that offers a glimpse into the life of a remarkable woman who has navigated challenges with grace and determination.��

In her memoir,��Melania��reflects on her Slovenian��childhood,��the pivotal moments that led her to the world of high fashion in��Europe and New York, and the serendipitous meeting with Donald Trump, a chance encounter that forever changed the course of her life.

Melania opens up about their courtship,��life in the spotlight, and��experiencing the joy of motherhood. She��shares behind-the-scenes stories from her time in the White House, shedding light on her advocacy work and the causes close to her heart.

Melania��offers an unprecedented look into her time as a First Lady who was born outside the United States, a role she embraced with honor and dedication.��It brings readers into��her��world and presents an in-depth account of a woman who has led a remarkable life on her own terms.

Melania��Trump's story is one of resilience and independence, showcasing her strength and unwavering commitment to��her true self.��]]> 184 Melania Trump 1510782699 Anita 2 memoir, non-fiction 3.87 2024
author: Melania Trump
name: Anita
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/17
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves: memoir, non-fiction
review:
I wanted to know more about her, but felt it was a very superficial. I did learn more about her work as first lady, Be Best, her care for Barron, the work on the White House renovations. I appreciated her concern for the separation of families at the border. She can relate to the immigrant's plight, though she does undermine it with her nervousness of arriving alone at JFK airport and getting a ride to her hotel in a limo. It was her explanations of some of the well know events that were troubling. She talks about her great attention to detail and hard work, then throws a speechwriter under the bus for her plagiarized convention speech. She worries about the terrible violence of the BLM demonstration outside the White House where she had to go to the bunker, but didn't even know about the Jan 6. insurrection at the Capitol. (I knew about it without a chief of staff, publicist, and being at work.) She was upset that the FBI searched her private residence, but never mentioned that there were boxes of confidential records found there. It is the only time I have read a book with one single blurb on the back. It was a good one though, from the 45th President of the United States.
]]> 49398072 Rear Window meets Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable author, in which the gentrification of a Brooklyn neighborhood takes on a sinister new meaning...

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she's known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community's past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block--her neighbor Theo.

But Sydney and Theo's deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.

When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other--or themselves--long enough to find out before they too disappear?

Featured in Parade, Essence, Bustle, Popsugar, Elle, Shondaland, Marie Claire, Buzzfeed, Entertainment Weekly, Good Housekeeping, Brit + Co, Real Simple, Lit Hub, Crime Reads, Blavity, Ms. Magazine, Hello Giggles, The New York Times, Town & Country, Newsweek, New York Post, Refinery29, Woman's World, Washington Post, the Skimm, Book Riot, Bookish, Huffington Post, and more!
]]> 352 Alyssa Cole 0062982656 Anita 3 audio-books, mystery 3.45 2020
author: Alyssa Cole
name: Anita
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: audio-books, mystery
review:
When gentrification in a Brooklyn neighborhood starts going at light speed, Sydney starts feeling like something is amiss with the gentrification or her own mind. It is sort of cross between The Body Snatchers and Rear Window. The tension builds towards an amazing finish.
]]> 55120630 304 Michael Easter 0593138767 Anita 4 non-fiction 4.21 2021
author: Michael Easter
name: Anita
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves: non-fiction
review:
Easter takes us through his strenuous Alaskan hunting month and explains how our lives of comfort aren't doing us a service. He discusses diet, strength, exercise, and temperature while on the excursion and gives great, researched ideas to help make us not creatures of comfort, but masters of our own lives.
]]> 26034313
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone. Alexander McCall Smith's Precious Ramotswe. Every once in a while, a detective bursts on the scene who captures readers' hearts-and imaginations-and doesn't let go. And so it was with Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs, who made her debut just two years ago in the eponymously titled first book of the series, and is already on her way to becoming a household name.

A deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton to seek the aid of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. As Maisie soon learns, Agnes Lawton never accepted that her aviator son was killed in the Great War, a torment that led her not only to the edge of madness but to the doors of those who practice the dark arts and commune with the spirit world. In accepting the assignment, Maisie finds her spiritual strength tested, as well as her regard for her mentor, Maurice Blanche. The mission also brings her together once again with her college friend Priscilla Evernden, who served in France and who lost three brothers to the war-one of whom, it turns out, had an intriguing connection to the missing Ralph Lawton.

Following on the heels of the triumphant Birds of a Feather, PARDONABLE LIES is the most compelling installment yet in the chronicles of Maisie Dobbs, "a heroine to cherish" (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review).]]> 10 Jacqueline Winspear 1427224862 Anita 4 audio-books 3.81 2005
author: Jacqueline Winspear
name: Anita
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/05
shelves: audio-books
review:
Maisie Dobbs is now looking back at the continued ravages of WWI in 1930. She has to return to France to search for the graves of fallen soldiers, defend a 13 year-old girl against a murder charge, and survive several attacks on her own life. As always, Maisie is able to navigate these troubled waters with aplomb while giving a great feel for these between the wars years.
]]> 61246273 In this spectacularly devious novel by New York Times bestselling author Peter Swanson—featuring the smart and complex Lily Kintner from his acclaimed novel, The Kind Worth Killing—a private eye starts to follow a possibly adulterous husband, but little does he know that the twisted trail will lead back to the woman who hired him.

There was always something slightly dangerous about Joan. So, when she turns up at private investigator Henry Kimball’s office asking him to investigate her husband, he can’t help feeling ill at ease. Just the sight of her stirs up a chilling memory: he knew Joan in his previous life as a high school English teacher, when he was at the center of a tragedy.

Now Joan needs his help in proving that her husband is cheating. But what should be a simple case of infidelity becomes much more complicated when Kimball finds two bodies in an uninhabited suburban home with a “for sale�� sign out front. Suddenly it feels like the past is repeating itself, and Henry must go back to one of the worst days of his life to uncover the truth.

Is it possible that Joan knows something about that day, something she’s hidden all these years? Could there still be a killer out there, someone who believes they have gotten away with murder? Henry is determined to find out, but as he steps closer to the truth, a murderer is getting closer to him, and in this hair-raising game of cat and mouse only one of them will survive.]]> 320 Peter Swanson Anita 3 mystery 3.83 2023
author: Peter Swanson
name: Anita
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/02
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: mystery
review:
Henry and Lily discover not just one serial killer, but two. This time they have to look back to high school to find the genesis of this pair.
]]> 214228671
To add insult to injury, there’s a wedding at Broken Point scheduled during her stay. Ellery remembers how it felt to be on the cusp of everything new and wonderful, with a loved and certain future glimmering just ahead. Now she isn’t certain of anything except her love for her kids and a growing realization that this place, although beautiful, is unsettling.]]> Ally Condie Anita 3 audio-books, mystery 3.15 2024
author: Ally Condie
name: Anita
average rating: 3.15
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/31
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves: audio-books, mystery
review:
A recent divorcee goes on vacation and finds the groom-to-be dead in the swimming pool. More deaths and mysteries ensue.
]]> 59606241
From the New York Times best-selling author of The Guest List comes a new locked room mystery, set in a Paris apartment building in which every resident has something to hide....

Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up �� to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? �� he’s not there.

The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.

The socialite �� The nice guy �� The alcoholic �� The girl on the verge �� The concierge

Everyone's a neighbor. Everyone's a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.]]> 11 Lucy Foley Anita 3 audio-books, mystery 3.42 2022
author: Lucy Foley
name: Anita
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/29
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: audio-books, mystery
review:
A young woman goes to visit her half-brother in Paris only to find herself involved in a search for him. Staying at his apartment, she soon runs into a cast of characters that lead you through many twists and turns.
]]> 9367479
Mary Ingles was twenty-three, happily married, and pregnant with her third child when Shawnee Indians invaded her peaceful Virginia settlement in 1755 and kidnapped her, leaving behind a bloody massacre. For months they held her captive. But nothing could imprison her spirit.

With the rushing Ohio River as her guide, Mary Ingles walked one thousand miles through an untamed wilderness no white woman had ever seen. Her story lives on—extraordinary testimony to the indomitable strength of one pioneer woman who risked her life to return to her own people.]]> 416 James Alexander Thom Anita 2 4.40 1980
author: James Alexander Thom
name: Anita
average rating: 4.40
book published: 1980
rating: 2
read at: 2024/11/25
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves:
review:
This historical fiction retelling of a true escape from Indians during the French and Indian War is inspiring, graphic, and amazing. Her 43 day journey with only the clothes on her back and a tomahawk is incredible. I was cold and hungry throughout my reading of this book.
]]> 195458052
In Nottingham, England, widow Emma Taylor finds herself in desperate need of a job to provide for herself and her beloved daughter, Olivia. But with the legal restrictions prohibiting widows with children from most employment opportunities, she’s left with only one option: persuading the manageress at Boots�� Booklover’s Library to take a chance on her.

When the threat of war becomes a reality, Olivia must be evacuated to the countryside. In her daughter’s absence, Emma seeks solace in the unlikely friendships she forms with her neighbors and coworkers, as well as the recommendations she provides to the library’s quirky regulars. But the job doesn’t come without its difficulties. Books are mysteriously misshelved and disappearing, and her work forces her to confront the memories of her late father and the bookstore they once owned together before a terrible accident.

As the Blitz intensifies in Nottingham and Emma fights to reunite with her daughter, she must learn to depend on her community and the power of literature more than ever to find hope in the darkest of times.]]> 432 Madeline Martin 1335000399 Anita 4 books-for-bibliophiles 3.96 2024
author: Madeline Martin
name: Anita
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/23
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves: books-for-bibliophiles
review:
In the vein of Dear Mrs. Bird, this book describes London during WWII. Martin describes the heartbreak of sending (or keeping) your children to the countryside to save them from the bombings. I also enjoyed learning about lending libraries. A little romance and some predictable characters make this an easy read.
]]> 62334527
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose�� (), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.

Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.

But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.

Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?]]> 390 Lisa Jewell 1797156594 Anita 4 4.00 2023
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Anita
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/22
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves: audio-books, mystery, especially-for-women
review:
A podcaster begins a series and soon finds herself a part of the story. It is creepy as a woman with a troubled background gets more and more entwined into the life of the podcaster. The audio book was excellent with different narrators and sound effects making this more like a radio play than an audio book. It is the audiobook version of a page turner.
]]> 12916581
In the first entry to the series and winner of the 1992 Anthony Boucher Award for Best Mystery Novel, Diamond must locate two missing letters attributed to Jane Austen to solve the murder of the "Lady in the Lake."

A woman’s body has been found floating in the weeds in a lake near Bath. There are no marks on her and no murder weapon. No one will identify her. It looks like Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond has his work cut out for him. Diamond is one of the last detectives of his kind, a gumshoe whose heroes solved crimes by question and answer, door stepping and deduction. To unravel this one, Diamond must locate two missing letters attributed to Jane Austen and defy his superiors in order to save a woman unjustly accused of murder.]]> 11 Peter Lovesey 079274585X Anita 4 audio-books, mystery 3.72 1991
author: Peter Lovesey
name: Anita
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/20
date added: 2025/01/20
shelves: audio-books, mystery
review:
This is the first in the series. Diamond solves a murder of a former soap star. Set in Bath, the inspector has to find the victim’s identity and figure the cause of death among a myriad of suspects and even some Jane Austen letters
]]> 102188722
Since the start of the hit TV show Swift in 2013, its cast and crew have been plagued by misfortune. First, a star actress pulls out of the show before it begins—and by 2019, there have been multiple injuries by fall, fire, or drowning; two deaths; and two missing persons cases.

The popular media around Bath, England, quickly decides it's a curse, but is it as simple as that? Is someone behind these fishy incidents? Peter Diamond, Chief Superintendent of the Avon and Somerset Murder Squad, is on the case, and he'll start by looking for the two currently missing men. But while the investigation is underway, the producer of the show goes missing, complicating already complex matters even further.

Unfortunately, Peter's boss, Georgina, is pushing retirement on him; he may be forced to retire if he can't solve the case. Will this be the end for Peter Diamond?

MWA Grand Master Peter Lovesey's 21st installment in the award-winning series delivers an enticing, fast-paced murder mystery that will leave readers guessing at every turn.]]> 9 Peter Lovesey 170507507X Anita 3 audio-books, mystery 3.20 2022
author: Peter Lovesey
name: Anita
average rating: 3.20
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/18
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: audio-books, mystery
review:
These books are great to listen to while you are doing chores. They are engaging, the characters are funny and the mystery is usually good. This time Inspector Diamond is investigating a crime show jinx that is killing many of the cast and crew. As always, Diamond bumbles along until he solves it brilliantly in the end.
]]> 204593543
And this victim is sending Scarpetta a message��

Summoned to an unnerving, abandoned theme park to retrieve a body, Dr Kay Scarpetta is devastated to learn that the victim is a man she once loved. While teaching in Rome during the early days of her career, Scarpetta had an intense love affair with Sal Giordano that led to a lifelong friendship.

The murder scene is bizarre, with a crop circle of petals around the body, and Giordano’s skin is strangely red. Scarpetta’s niece Lucy believes he was dropped from an unidentified flying craft. Scarpetta knows an autopsy can reveal the dead’s secrets, but she is shocked to find her friend seems to have deliberately left her a clue.

As the investigators are torn between suspicions of otherworldly forces, and of Giordano himself, Scarpetta detects an explanation closer to home that, in her mind, is far more evil . . .]]> 400 Patricia Cornwell 1538770385 Anita 4 mystery 3.81 2024
author: Patricia Cornwell
name: Anita
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/15
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: mystery
review:
This book is why I read this series. Scarpetta does lots of autopsies/forensic work to solve the case with all my favorite characters. This time was there an alien abduction that killed an old friend of hers? I am troubled by one thing however. What if there was some bad potato salad at their 4th of July picnic and the world would be at the mercy of serial killers, international spies, and master criminals, since Scarpetta, her husband, niece, her niece's current girlfriend and friend Marino are the only ones among the FBI, Secret Service, NSA, and Virginia police force, that are able to stop these masterminds? For crying out loud Kay and family have to fly, scuba dive, autopsy, and spelunk to solve this case on their own.
]]> 61045100
If there's one thing detective Bath Peter Diamond has no patience for, it's a dumb git trying to get involved in one of his investigations—for example, a Philip Marlowe-wannabee private investigator like the self-styled Johnny Getz (his card claims he Getz results). But fate has saddled Diamond with this trial. A Bath antiques dealer, Septimus "Seppy" Hubbard, has disappeared without a trace, and his daughter, Ruby, has hired Johnny Getz to find him. When a dead body is discovered in Seppy's locked-up store, the missing persons case becomes a murder investigation, and now Diamond has to collaborate with the insufferable private eye.]]> 9 Peter Lovesey 1705044883 Anita 4 audio-books, mystery 3.12 2021
author: Peter Lovesey
name: Anita
average rating: 3.12
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/11
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: audio-books, mystery
review:
This time Peter has to work with a local detective that speaks like Sam Spade and every other classic tough guy gumshoe from literature. It is great fun in the audio book and great fun to see how many of the classic detective fiction you know. Of course this makes the solving of an art theft, attempted murder, completed murder and a father's disappearance all the more difficult for the long-suffering Peter Diamond.
]]> 747061 1310 1592975038 Anita 0 4.33 1950
author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
name: Anita
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1950
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: books-i-don-t-presume-to-rate, lds, currently-reading
review:

]]> 35786799 Peter Lovesey Anita 4 audio-books, mystery 3.71 1992
author: Peter Lovesey
name: Anita
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/10
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: audio-books, mystery
review:
This early in the series story takes place as Diamond has lost his police job, and quickly his security job as he finds a mute Japanese girl in Harrod's. As he tries to find her parents he is led on a multi country chase with pharmaceutical companies, mobsters, special needs schools, and a beneficent sumo wrestler in tow. These are great mysteries to listen to.
]]> 65605
Narnia... a land where the woods are thick and cold, where Talking Beasts come to life—an entirely new world where adventure begins.

One cold, wet summer in London, Digory and Polly meet and become fast friends. Their lives take a sudden turn when Digory’s Uncle Andrew, who fancies himself a magician, sends them hurtling to... somewhere else. They arrive in Narnia, just as it is born from the song of the great Lion, Aslan. Along the way, they encounter the evil sorceress Jadis, whose dark magic threatens everything. After a whirlwind adventure, they finally find their way back home.]]> 221 C.S. Lewis 0060764902 Anita 4 4.06 1955
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Anita
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1955
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/09
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: books-for-bibliophiles, chapter-books, classics, young-adult-middle-grade
review:
I don't read very much fantasy, but I felt compelled to read this opening chapter in the The Chronicles of Narnia. I love his non-fiction Christian philosophies and wanted to expand my reading. The story of two children finding Aslan and Narnia was interesting and appropriate for young readers.
]]> 199116296
Martha Ratliff conceded long ago that she’d likely spend her life alone. She was fine with it, happy with her solo existence, stimulated by her job as an archival librarian, constantly surrounded by thought-provoking ideas and the books she loved. But then she met Alan, a charming and sweet-natured divorcee with a job that took him on the road for half the year. When he asked her to marry him, she said yes, even though he still felt a little bit like a stranger.

A year in and the marriage was good, except for that strange blood streak on the back of one of his shirts he’d worn to a conference in Denver. Her curiosity turning to suspicion, Martha investigates the cities Alan visited over the past year and uncovers a disturbing pattern—five unsolved cases of murdered women.

Is she married to a serial killer? Or could it merely be a coincidence? Unsure what to think, Martha contacts an old friend from graduate school for advice. Lily Kintner once helped Martha out of a jam with an abusive boyfriend and may have some insight. Intrigued, Lily offers to meet Alan to find out what kind of man he really is . . . but what Lily uncovers is more perplexing and wicked than they ever could have expected.]]> 320 Peter Swanson 006320505X Anita 4 mystery 3.82 2024
author: Peter Swanson
name: Anita
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/04
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: mystery
review:
This twisty murder mystery takes its inspiration from The Talented Mr. Ripley and continues the tale of Lily Kintner. This time she helps a friend who thinks her husband may be a serial killer.
]]> 59818558 On the 50th anniversary of the publication of his first novel, Peter Lovesey, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master and titan of the British detective novel, returns to the subject of his very first mystery—running.

Through a particularly tragic series of events, couch potato Maeve Kelly, an elementary school teacher whose mother always assured her "curvy" girls shouldn't waste their time trying to be fit, has been forced to sign up for the Other Half, Bath's springtime half-marathon. The training is brutal, but she must disprove her mother and collect pledges for her aunt's beloved charity. What Maeve doesn't know is just how brutal some of the other runners are.

As race day draws closer, an undocumented Albanian man named Spiro makes a run for freedom on the other side of town, escaping the chain gang that has held him hostage and its murderous foreman, who is known to his charges as The Finisher. The Finisher has killed for disobedience before, and Spiro knows there’s a target on his back as he tries to lose himself in the genteel medieval city of Bath.

Meanwhile Detective Peter Diamond is tasked with crowd control on the raucous day of the race—and catches sight of a violent criminal he put away a decade ago, and who very much seems to be up to his old tricks now that he is paroled. Diamond’s hackles are already up when he learns that one of the runners never crossed the finish line—disappeared without a trace. Was Diamond a spectator to the prelude to a murder?

Read by James Langton. 10.25 hours.]]> Peter Lovesey 1705032958 Anita 4 audio-books, mystery 2.88 2020
author: Peter Lovesey
name: Anita
average rating: 2.88
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/02
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves: audio-books, mystery
review:
This is my first book in the series and I will read more. Peter Diamond is a crusty, funny detective that is constantly under scrutiny from his superiors. This case involves the Bath half marathon, slave traders, and some very interesting Russian characters. Fun with lots of witty wordplay this mystery had me guessing the entire time.
]]> 216857785
Why is Miami…Miami? What does the heartbreaking fate of the cheetah tell us about the way we raise our children? Why do Ivy League schools care so much about sports? What is the Magic Third, and what does it mean for racial harmony? In this provocative new work, Malcolm Gladwell returns for the first time in twenty-five years to the subject of social epidemics and tipping points, this time with the aim of explaining the dark side of contagious phenomena.

Through a series of riveting stories, Gladwell traces the rise of a new and troubling form of social engineering. He takes us to the streets of Los Angeles to meet the world’s most successful bank robbers, rediscovers a forgotten television show from the 1970s that changed the world, visits the site of a historic experiment on a tiny cul-de-sac in northern California, and offers an alternate history of two of the biggest epidemics of our day: COVID and the opioid crisis. Revenge of the Tipping Point is Gladwell’s most personal book yet. With his characteristic mix of storytelling and social science, he offers a guide to making sense of the contagions of modern world. It’s time we took tipping points seriously.]]> 352 Malcolm Gladwell 0316575801 Anita 5 non-fiction 4.03 2024
author: Malcolm Gladwell
name: Anita
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/01
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: non-fiction
review:
This is not just an update of the Gladwell's original Tipping Point. It is an advanced course in tipping points with fascinating new examples that explain how they happen. Taking the Covid epidemic, White flight, the Holocaust, and the opioid crisis, he explains how all sorts of influences create these moments and just possibly how we need to think to stop the deadly ones. Already my favorite book of the year.
]]> 58484126
Victoria has always loved horses. But riding in competitions is high stakes, high stress, and shockingly expensive. And even though Victoria’s best friend Taylor loves competing, Victoria has lost her taste for it.

After a heartbreaking fight with Taylor, Victoria needs a new start―at a new stables. A place where she doesn’t have to worry about anything other than riding. No competition, no drama, no friends.

Just horses.

Edgewood Stables seems ideal. There are plenty of horses to ride, and Victoria is perfectly happy giving the other riders the cold shoulder.

But can she truly be happy with no friends?]]> 224 Faith Erin Hicks 1250772826 Anita 5 4.19 2022
author: Faith Erin Hicks
name: Anita
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/30
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves: graphic-novels, young-adult-middle-grade
review:
This is a great book for the young horse lovers. It is a sweet coming of age book reinforcing friendship and being true to yourself.
]]> 535513 0 Dashiell Hammett 1572703636 Anita 4 3.65 1930
author: Dashiell Hammett
name: Anita
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1930
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2024/12/29
shelves: audio-books, mystery, classics
review:
The original smart talking, hard-drinking, cynical, tough guy detective with (maybe) a heart of gold solves the mystery of the Maltese Falcon. Sam Spade is the yardstick who all others are compared. The audio book did a great job of evoking Bogart, Lorre, Greenstreet, and Astor in telling the story. It is even more noirish than the movie.
]]> 28953612 How well do you know the couple next door? Or your husband? Or even—yourself? ��

People are capable of almost anything. . .��

A domestic suspense debut about a young couple and their apparently friendly neighbors—a twisty, rollercoaster ride of lies, betrayal, and the secrets between husbands and wives. . .��

“Meticulously crafted and razor-sharp.�� THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR lingers long after you turn the final page.”—Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fool Me Once

Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all—a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story.

Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco ��soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they've kept for years.��

What follows is the nerve-racking unraveling of a family—a chilling tale of ��deception, duplicity, and unfaithfulness that will keep you breathless until the final shocking twist.]]> Shari Lapena 0735288798 Anita 3 mystery, audio-books 3.45 2016
author: Shari Lapena
name: Anita
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/28
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves: mystery, audio-books
review:
A baby is kidnapped while the parents are next door at a dinner party. Everyone is under suspicion and with enough twists and turns ala Gone Girl to keep it interesting, but I felt it a little too blatantly Gone Girlish.
]]> 222517224
Now, she’s finally free to start living her life on her terms—and to tell her own story as only she can.

Forced to use a wheelchair in public and endure a lifetime of faux illness, fraud, and exploitation, Gypsy was subjected not only to her mother’s medical, physical, and emotional abuse, but deprived of childhood milestones. Prevented from attending school or socializing, Gypsy’s formative years were defined by pain and isolation.

After serving eight years in prison for the role she played in her mother Dee Dee’s murder, Gypsy is embracing her fresh start—and reminding all of us that it’s never too late.

In this revelatory, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful memoir, Gypsy shares the painful realities she grew up with and the details of her life that only she knows, including:
The abusive cycle that began with Dee Dee’s abuse by her father
Gypsy’s fear that continued unnecessary surgery would leave her truly disabled
How she coped with guilt and accepted responsibility for her mother’s death
Memories of her final days in prison
What she learned upon reviewing her own medical records for the first time
How it felt to finally see her family again as her authentic self

Featuring new facts about Gypsy’s life that she previously kept private, My Time to Stand offers an unprecedented look at the real Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, proudly embarking on her ongoing journey to recovery and self-discovery.

6 hrs. 35 min.]]> 7 Gypsy-Rose Blanchard Anita 3 3.37 2024
author: Gypsy-Rose Blanchard
name: Anita
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/27
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: especially-for-women, memoir, non-fiction, audio-books
review:
This is a difficult book to listen to. Such a lot of evil, mental health issues, and exploitation to hear about. Her story of Munchausen by Proxy does give you pause to think if murder can sometimes be the answer, but overall a troubling read.
]]> 175336505 For the first time, discover the unedited truth about the Duggars, the traditional Christian family that captivated the nation on TLC’s hit show 19 Kids and Counting. Jill Duggar and her husband Derick are finally ready to share their story, revealing the secrets, manipulation, and intimidation behind the show that remained hidden from their fans.

Jill and Derick knew a normal life wasn’t possible for them. As a star on the popular TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting, Jill grew up in front of viewers who were fascinated by her family’s way of life. She was the responsible, second daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle’s nineteen kids; always with a baby on her hip and happy to wear the modest ankle-length dresses with throat-high necklines. She didn’t protest the strict model of patriarchy that her family followed, which declares that men are superior, that women are expected to be wives and mothers and are discouraged from attaining a higher education, and that parental authority over their children continues well into adulthood, even once they are married.

But as Jill got older, married Derick, and they embarked on their own lives, the red flags became too obvious to ignore.

For as long as they could, Jill and Derick tried to be obedient family members—they weren’t willing to rock the boat. But now they’re raising a family of their own, and they’re done with the secrets. Thanks to time, tears, therapy, and blessings from God, they have the strength to share their journey. Theirs is a remarkable story of the power of the truth and is a moving example of how to find healing through honesty.]]> 8 Jill Duggar 1797171097 Anita 3 4.01 2023
author: Jill Duggar
name: Anita
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/26
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves: audio-books, especially-for-women, memoir, non-fiction
review:
This is a behind the scenes memoir about the Duggar family reality series. Even though I never watched it, I did know a little about it. This description of the blessings and difficulties of being in a big, public family is both a cautionary tale and a sometimes triumphant conquest of growing beyond your childhood.
]]> 34460542 ’Twas the evening of Christmas,
When all through the town,
Every inn was so crowded,
No room could be found.

For over 200 years, families have gathered on Christmas Eve to hear the much loved words of Dr. Clement C. Moore’s 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. This year, families can gather together to share the real Christmas story—the story of Jesus�� birth.]]> 32 Glenys Nellist 0310745535 Anita 5 picture-books, christmas 4.28 2017
author: Glenys Nellist
name: Anita
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/25
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves: picture-books, christmas
review:
I worried that this retelling of the Christmas story in the form of Twas the Night before Christmas would be hokey. It is not. It is well done with beautiful illustrations.
]]> 206119058 In an industry dominated by white men, Connie Chung stood alone, the first and only Asian woman to break into the television news industry. This is her extraordinary story, told with incisive wit and remarkable candor. �� Connie Chung is a pioneer.��In 1969 at the age of 23, this once-shy daughter of Chinese parents took her first job at a local TV station in her hometown of Washington, D.C. and soon thereafter began working at CBS news as a correspondent.��Profoundly influenced by her family’s cultural traditions,��yet growing up completely Americanized in the United States, Chung describes her career as an Asian woman in a white male-centered world.��Overt sexism was a way of life,��but Chung was tenacious in her pursuit of stories �� battling rival reporters to secure scoops that ranged from interviewing Magic Johnson to covering the Watergate scandal �� and quickly became��a household name. She made history when she achieved her dream of being the first woman to co-anchor the��CBS Evening News��and the first Asian��to anchor any news program in the U.S. �� Chung pulls no punches as she provides a behind-the-scenes��tour of��her singular life. From��showdowns with��powerful men in and out of the newsroom to the stories behind some of her career-defining reporting and the unwavering support of her husband, Maury Povich, nothing is off-limits �� good, bad, or ugly. So be sure to tune in for an irreverent and inspiring this is CONNIE like you’ve never seen her before.]]> 336 Connie Chung 1538766981 Anita 4 4.11 2024
author: Connie Chung
name: Anita
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/25
date added: 2024/12/25
shelves: especially-for-women, memoir, non-fiction
review:
Connie names names, tells behind the scenes tales, and marries Maury Povich! She reveals the following: The news business is as cutthroat as you imagined. The white, male anchors are as petty and sexist as you imagined. When someone butts her head against the glass/bamboo ceiling and finally smashes it, she is both castigated and venerated, and eventually proves true the adage that people can't become what they can't see, as witnessed by a generation of Asian-American Connies making their marks.
]]> 207293782 Joan Didion is revealed at last in this outrageously provocative and profoundly moving new work on the mutual attractions—and mutual antipathies—of Didion and Didion’s fellow literary titan, Eve Babitz. “Could you write what you write if you weren’t so tiny, Joan?�� —Eve Babitz, in a letter to Joan Didion, 1972 Eve Babitz died on December 17, 2021. Found in a closet in the back of an apartment full of wrack, ruin, and filth was a stack of boxes packed by her mother decades before. These boxes were pristine, the seals of duct tape unbroken. journals, photos, scrapbooks, manuscripts, letters. inside a lost world. This world turned for a certain number of years in the late sixties and early seventies, and was centered on a two-story house rented by Joan Didion and her husband, writer John Gregory Dunne, in a down-at-heel section of Hollywood. 7406 Franklin Avenue, a combination salon-hotbed-living end where writers and artists mixed with movie stars, rock n�� rollers, drug trash. 7406 Franklin Avenue was the making of one great American Joan Didion, cool and reserved behind her oversized sunglasses and storied marriage, a union as tortured as it was enduring. 7406 Franklin Avenue was the breaking and then the remaking—and thus the true making—of another great American Eve Babitz, goddaughter of Igor Stravinsky, nude of Marcel Duchamp, consort of Jim Morrison (among many, many others), who burned so hot she finally almost burned herself alive. The two formed a complicated a friendship that went bad, amity turning to enmity; a friendship that was as rare as true love, as rare as true hate. Didion, in spite of her confessional style, her widespread fame, is so little known or understood. She’s remained opaque, elusive. Until now. With deftness and skill, journalist Lili Anolik uses Babitz—Babitz’s brilliance of observation, Babitz’s incisive intelligence, and, most of all, Babitz’s diary-like letters—as the key to unlocking the mighty and mysterious Didion.]]> 352 Lili Anolik 1668065487 Anita 0 currently-reading 3.21 2024
author: Lili Anolik
name: Anita
average rating: 3.21
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/24
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 209036163 The heartwarming, true story about the transformative power of love and good works, nurtured in the home of Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables.

Guernsey, Channel Islands, 1860

At the marketplace, a five-year-old girl is carrying a baby and crying, hungry for food. She is just one of the many needy children in the streets, and Adèle Hugo, wife of author Victor Hugo, is moved to make a difference. Victor is equally determined. Two years later, convinced that a good meal is what the children need, Victor and Adèle begin inviting them to the Hugo mansion for weekly dinners.

That first year culminates with a Christmas feast for up to forty children as well as parents and guests. It’s a wondrous gathering of the human family, promoting friendship among people from all walks of life. For seven more years—week in, week out—children and adults come to the mansion, eager to take part in dinners that will inspire the world to love.

This timeless, true story with beautiful illustrations will inspire young hearts to be inclusive, to embrace empathy, and to do good works, especially during the holidays. Victor Hugo’s Wondrous Feast teaches that “to love is to act�� and reminds us that it only takes one person to make a difference.]]> 32 David T. Warner 1639933247 Anita 4 4.30
author: David T. Warner
name: Anita
average rating: 4.30
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/24
shelves: christmas, picture-books, non-fiction
review:
A beautiful picture book telling the true life story of the the charitable works of Victor Hugo. I had never known any of this before.
]]> 6883232 32 Lloyd Newell 1606411543 Anita 3 christmas, picture-books 4.36 2009
author: Lloyd Newell
name: Anita
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/20
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves: christmas, picture-books
review:
The book has lovely pictures, but the text is so-so. The better text is on the last page of the book where the script from the Tabernacle Choir Christmas program is reprinted.
]]> 207300872
Combining realistic thrills with sophisticated spycraft and witty dialogue, The Collaborators delivers a gut-punch answer to the biggest geopolitical question of our time: how, exactly, did post-Soviet Russia turn down the wrong path?

Crisscrossing the globe on the way to this shocking revelation are disaffected millennial CIA officer Ari Falk, thrown into a moral and professional crisis by the death of his best asset; and brash, troubled LA heiress Maya Chou, spiraling after the disappearance of her Russian American billionaire father. The duo’s adventures take us to both classic and surprising locales—from Berlin, to Latvia, Belarus, and a 1980s Jewish refugee camp near Rome.

Dynamic, fast-paced, and filled with captivating details that provide a window into a secretive world, The Collaborators is a first-rate thriller that pays homage to both meanings of “intelligence.”]]> 272 Michael Idov 1668055570 Anita 3 mystery 3.75 2024
author: Michael Idov
name: Anita
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves: mystery
review:
A thriller that explores a faked suicide, Russian dissidents, a CIA operative, and an estranged daughter trying to figure it all out. It is a fast read, but not terrific.
]]> 34228296
Cynthia Rylant takes the beloved text of the nativity story, as told in the King James Bible, and lovingly illustrates it in her simple but bold style that has been called “stunning�� by School Library Journal . As she did with the creation story, Rylant has created a sublime take on a classic story that will appeal to readers of all ages.]]> 40 Cynthia Rylant 1481470418 Anita 3 christmas, picture-books 3.82 2017
author: Cynthia Rylant
name: Anita
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/22
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves: christmas, picture-books
review:
Simple, childlike illustrations tell the story effectively.
]]> 43874133
Mary's baby has arrived, and she can't contain her joy! As Joseph sleeps, she examines her newborn's tiny mouth, his wild hair, his little hands. Yet what's most wondrous is that this child is not just Mary's own but a gift that God has shared with everyone.

Poetic text by Newbery Medalist Katherine Paterson and striking images by Lisa Aisato reveal the intimacy of that unforgettable night long ago, when the mother of Jesus was the first to welcome him into a world he would change forever.]]> 32 Katherine Paterson 1947888129 Anita 4 christmas, picture-books 4.13
author: Katherine Paterson
name: Anita
average rating: 4.13
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/21
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: christmas, picture-books
review:
The Nativity told from Mary's perspective. Beautiful illustrations and well told.
]]> 59109077 A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history

Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamor of any racetrack.

New York City, 1954. Martha Jackson, a gallery owner celebrated for taking risks on edgy contemporary painters, becomes obsessed with a nineteenth-century equestrian oil painting of mysterious provenance.

Washington, DC, 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, find themselves unexpectedly connected through their shared interest in the horse--one studying the stallion's bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success.

Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a novel of art and science, love and obsession, and our unfinished reckoning with racism.]]> 401 Geraldine Brooks 0399562966 Anita 5 4.17 2022
author: Geraldine Brooks
name: Anita
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/20
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves:
review:
This historical fiction based on the famous mid 1800 racehorse Lexington is amazing. I didn't know I wanted to know all about horse breeding, anatomy, training, portraiture, and racing. Not to mention the fact that I also needed to know about the art of displaying skeletons. Set in both the mid 1800s and current day, Brooks weaves her characters through history, race relations and the Civil War. This is an exceptionally good book.
]]> 302619 32 Stephen Wunderli 1590381661 Anita 4 non-fiction, christmas 4.68 2003
author: Stephen Wunderli
name: Anita
average rating: 4.68
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/20
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves: non-fiction, christmas
review:
A nice retelling of the WWI Christmas ceasefire.
]]> 11522462
The three wise men, or the three kings, are familiar figures in the Christmas tradition. Newbery medalist Linda Sue Park has taken the brief biblical references to the three as the starting point for a new story. In it we meet a boy who is learning his father’s trade; a man who gathers resin from certain trees; a merchant in the marketplace; and three strangers in brightly colored robes who are shopping for a gift for a baby. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline with exquisite paintings, this simple, moving tale of ordinary people involved in an extraordinary event brings new resonance to the well-known gift list of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Includes an author’s note.]]> 32 Linda Sue Park 0547201958 Anita 4 picture-books, christmas 4.09 2011
author: Linda Sue Park
name: Anita
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/19
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves: picture-books, christmas
review:
A lovely Christmas book with a story you haven't read before. A favorite Christmas book with a great lesson on myrrh.
]]> 27832904 32 Anne Booth 085763741X Anita 5 christmas, picture-books 4.17 2015
author: Anne Booth
name: Anita
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves: christmas, picture-books
review:
Excellent story of the Nativity after the kings visit. One of my favorite Christmas stories.
]]> 2305227 80 Tim Slover 1934393053 Anita 3 christmas, non-fiction 3.67 2006
author: Tim Slover
name: Anita
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: christmas, non-fiction
review:
This is the interesting back story of The Messiah, and its redemption of Handel's and its original contralto's careers.
]]> 2529428 80 Barbara Robinson 0842301372 Anita 5 The plot is simple. A well-meaning mom gets put in charge of the Christmas pageant when a family of troublemaking kids become part of it. If you've ever had the pleasure of putting on a pageant you know this could really happen. I once had to stop fights with a group of three-year old angels whose stars had become entangled during the performance, so I know it happens.
If I haven't convinced you to spend the hour reading this yet, consider this: You will think about the Nativity differently. You will look at it with fresh eyes and remember that real people were involved in an event that we too often think of as a tableau instead of real life. You will, like me, always think of Mary and Joseph scared and unsure, an angel shouting the good news at the shepherds, and Leroy and his brothers bearing ham.]]> 4.40 1972
author: Barbara Robinson
name: Anita
average rating: 4.40
book published: 1972
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/14
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: young-adult-middle-grade, christmas
review:
I just read this for the 50th time. There is not another book, not counting picture books like Caps for Sale, that I have read more often. Not even Jane Eyre or Rebecca top out at more than five. When I read it when I taught junior high, I wouldn't let the kids read certain sections, I wanted to read it to them, six times a day, and looked forward to it every time. I still read this every Christmas to check in on the Herdmans to get into the Christmas spirit. Even after all this time I still chuckle. The scenes in school are priceless, cooties and a show-and-tell gone horribly wrong, warm the heart/frighten any teacher.
The plot is simple. A well-meaning mom gets put in charge of the Christmas pageant when a family of troublemaking kids become part of it. If you've ever had the pleasure of putting on a pageant you know this could really happen. I once had to stop fights with a group of three-year old angels whose stars had become entangled during the performance, so I know it happens.
If I haven't convinced you to spend the hour reading this yet, consider this: You will think about the Nativity differently. You will look at it with fresh eyes and remember that real people were involved in an event that we too often think of as a tableau instead of real life. You will, like me, always think of Mary and Joseph scared and unsure, an angel shouting the good news at the shepherds, and Leroy and his brothers bearing ham.
]]> 55711620
Most of us have had this browsing through countless options on Netflix, unable to commit to watching any given movie—and losing so much time skimming reviews and considering trailers that it’s too late to watch anything at all. In a book inspired by an idea first articulated in a viral commencement address, Pete Davis argues that this is the defining characteristic of the keeping our options open. We are stuck in “Infinite Browsing Mode”—swiping through endless dating profiles without committing to a single partner, jumping from place to place searching for the next big thing, and refusing to make any decision that might close us off from an even better choice we imagine is just around the corner. This culture of restlessness and indecision, Davis argues, is causing tension in the lives of young people We want to keep our options open, and yet we yearn for the purpose, community, and depth that can only come from making deep commitments.

In Dedicated , Davis examines this quagmire, as well as the counterculture of committers who have made it to the other side. He shares what we can learn from the “long-haul heroes�� who courageously commit themselves to particular places, professions, and causes—who relinquish the false freedom of an open future in exchange for the deep fulfillment of true dedication. Weaving together examples from history, personal stories, and applied psychology, Davis’s “insightful without being preachy…guide to commitment should be on everyone’s reading list�� ( Booklist , starred review).]]> 272 Pete Davis 1982140909 Anita 3 3.75 2021
author: Pete Davis
name: Anita
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/09
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: r-s-study-group-books, non-fiction
review:
Why don't we commit to clubs, churches, careers, and communities any more? Pete Davis studies this and shows the advantages of commitment and the destruction of the "keep my options open" culture.
]]> 219632362
From beloved author Adam Miller, The Christ Child is a Christmas meditation that examines the scriptural accounts of Jesus’s birth, the characteristics of children, and invites us to consider how we can become more like them during the holiday season and throughout the year.]]> 96 Adam S. Miller 1639933387 Anita 4 lds, non-fiction, christmas 4.14
author: Adam S. Miller
name: Anita
average rating: 4.14
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: lds, non-fiction, christmas
review:
We've all heard that we need to become as little children, but what does that really mean. Through a series of Christmas photographs and scriptures Adam Miller once again explains difficult concepts that are much deeper than we once supposed in simple language. Deep thinking is required.
]]> 323355 From the Introduction:

The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fulness of the everlasting gospel.

The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. Thsi group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians.

The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after his resurrection. It puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come.

After Mormon completed his writings, he delivered the account to his son Moroni, who added a few words of his own and hid up the plates in the hill Cumorah. On September 21, 1823, the same Moroni, the a glorified, resurrected being, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and instructed him relative to the ancient record and its destined translation into the English language.

In due course the plates were delivered to Joseph Smith, who translated them by the gift and power of God. The record is now published in many languages as a new and additional witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that all who will come unto him and obey the laws and ordinances of his gospel may be saved.

Concerning this record the Prophet Joseph Smith said: "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."

In addition to Joseph Smith, the Lord provided for eleven others to see the gold plates for themselves and to be special witnesses of the truth and divinity of the Book of Mormon. Their written testimonies are included herewith as "The Testimony of Three Witnesses" and "The Testimony of Eight Witnesses."

We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course an ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10: 3-5)

Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah.]]> 531 Joseph Smith Jr. 0967686563 Anita 0
This time I read it marking all the scriptures that spoke of Christ. It made me read it in a new way that gave me great insight.

This time I marked all the scriptures dealing with the atonement. It has helped having a purpose for reading.

This makes the second time this year--once marking it for our Relief Society challenge and once for Pres. Nelson's challenge. Reading quickly gives a better vision of the big picture.

2020, Read with Come Follow Me curriculum]]> 4.22 1830
author: Joseph Smith Jr.
name: Anita
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1830
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/06
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves: books-i-don-t-presume-to-rate, lds
review:
Another time through--I don't rate scriptures.

This time I read it marking all the scriptures that spoke of Christ. It made me read it in a new way that gave me great insight.

This time I marked all the scriptures dealing with the atonement. It has helped having a purpose for reading.

This makes the second time this year--once marking it for our Relief Society challenge and once for Pres. Nelson's challenge. Reading quickly gives a better vision of the big picture.

2020, Read with Come Follow Me curriculum
]]> 203956647 A brand new series. An iconic new detective duo. And a puzzling new murder to solve...

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job...

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 059365322X.]]> 400 Richard Osman Anita 5 4.07 2024
author: Richard Osman
name: Anita
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves:
review:
Osman has created another endearing cast of characters that come together to jet-set across the world solving a murder-for-hire/money smuggling crime spree. A millionaire mystery author, a tough as nails female bodyguard, and a retiring widower who just wants to find missing cats and go to the pub quiz each week find themselves evading assassins while trying to figure out what is going on. This book goes a mile a minute and evokes smiles with every page. i'm looking forward to the next one.
]]> 30753738
The horrors of the Holocaust didn’t break Edith. In fact, they helped her learn to live again with a life-affirming strength and a truly remarkable resilience. The Choice is her unforgettable story.]]> 289 Edith Eger 1501130781 Anita 4 memoir, non-fiction 4.59 2017
author: Edith Eger
name: Anita
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/06
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: memoir, non-fiction
review:
This is more than a Holocaust memoir. it is also a self-help volume that has real life experiences that makes use of Dr. Eger's horrific experiences. Her honest evaluation of herself and how all of us can make choices to live better lives is truly inspirational.
]]> 58662236
Already an international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.]]> 128 Claire Keegan 0802158749 Anita 5 christmas 4.14 2021
author: Claire Keegan
name: Anita
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/27
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: christmas
review:
A novella of quiet heroism and love as a man confronts his past and the presence of a Magdalen laundry at Christmas time.
]]> 127305853 From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie�� McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.]]> 471 Kristin Hannah 1250178630 Anita 5 4.59 2024
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Anita
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/04
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves:
review:
This is an incredible historical novel of the Vietnam war era told through the eyes of an Army nurse. Gritty details of life and death, war and peace, trauma and remembrance make you feel the truth of those times. Suffering through war and then coming home to a not only thankless, but angry nation made for impossible conditions for our veterans. Add on to the the invisibility of the women there makes for a true and harrowing story.
]]> 200055052 228 Thomas Wirthlin McConkie 1953677169 Anita 4 r-s-study-group-books 4.53
author: Thomas Wirthlin McConkie
name: Anita
average rating: 4.53
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/17
date added: 2024/11/01
shelves: r-s-study-group-books
review:
A very deep look at meditation, brain development, spiritual development, and Christ that brings a greater peace. He walks you through developing an inner quietness that leads to greater spirituality. His unique blend of Buddhist sensibility with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint theology creates a better whole person.
]]> 90192 225 Nathaniel Hawthorne 0393924769 Anita 3 classics 3.46 1851
author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
name: Anita
average rating: 3.46
book published: 1851
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/28
date added: 2024/11/01
shelves: classics
review:
This is a book that I always thought I should read. I know lots of students read it in high school, but as an English teacher today I couldn't imagine doing it. Do the sins of the father punish the next generations? The story is interesting, but the constant description, bogged it down. I appreciate Hawthorne, enjoyed The Scarlet Letter, and do teach his short stories Rapaccini's Daughter and Dr. Heidegger's Experiment (both great October "mad scientist" stories), but this novel is more suited to American Literature scholars.
]]> 6898874
In order to save their lives, Anthony took them in. In the years that followed he became a part of their family. And as he battled to create a bond with the elephants, he came to realize that they had a great deal to teach him about life, loyalty, and freedom.

The Elephant Whisperer is a heartwarming, exciting, funny, and sometimes sad memoir of Anthony's experiences with these huge yet sympathetic creatures. Set against the background of life on an African game reserve, with unforgettable characters and exotic wildlife, Anthony's unrelenting efforts at animal protection and his remarkable connection with nature will inspire animal lovers and adventurous souls everywhere.]]> 384 Lawrence Anthony 031256578X Anita 5 non-fiction 4.46 2009
author: Lawrence Anthony
name: Anita
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2018/11/13
date added: 2024/10/06
shelves: non-fiction
review:
Fascinating history of a game preserve in Zululand that received a herd of rogue elephants. This is a fast read and I learned a lot about elephants, their communication, and the issues and problems with running a conservation animal preserve.
]]> 61053897
A riveting novel based on the true story of the woman who stopped a pandemic, from the bestselling author of Mrs. Poe.

In 1940s and ��50s America, polio is as dreaded as the atomic bomb. No one’s life is untouched by this disease that kills or paralyzes its victims, particularly children. Outbreaks of the virus across the country regularly put American cities in lockdown. Some of the world’s best minds are engaged in the race to find a vaccine. The man who succeeds will be a god.

But Dorothy Horstmann is not focused on beating her colleagues to the vaccine. She just wants the world to have a cure. Applying the same determination that lifted her from a humble background as the daughter of immigrants, to becoming a doctor –often the only woman in the room--she hunts down the monster where it lurks: in the blood.

This discovery of hers, and an error by a competitor, catapults her closest colleague to a lead in the race. When his chance to win comes on a worldwide scale, she is asked to sink or validate his vaccine—and to decide what is forgivable, and how much should be sacrificed, in pursuit of the cure.]]> 400 Lynn Cullen 059343806X Anita 5 I thought I knew this story, but I had never heard of Dorothy Horstmann. In my mind Sister Kenney was the only female fighter in this cause Horstmann's research paved the way to create the live vaccine, and her field work oversaw the 77 million person vaccine trial in the USSR that proved not only its safety, but its efficacy. Other women played vital roles in this fight who have been overlooked until this book. This story of brilliant, hardworking, researchers who fought tirelessly to create a world without polio is a heroic tale.
It is also a very personal story to me. As the daughter of a polio survivor I saw first hand the cruelties of this disease years after its initial infection. One of my earliest memories is getting in the car with the family to go to William Penn Elementary school (and later the Highland Drive-in) to have a sugar cube with the Sabin vaccine in it. It was a momentous day in our lives. Thanks to Lynn Cullen for telling this story so well.]]> 3.89 2023
author: Lynn Cullen
name: Anita
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/05
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves:
review:
This historical novel chronicles the famous rivalry of Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin as they rush to find a vaccine for polio. Cullen reveals the many women who have largely been forgotten who also dedicated their lives to this cause.
I thought I knew this story, but I had never heard of Dorothy Horstmann. In my mind Sister Kenney was the only female fighter in this cause Horstmann's research paved the way to create the live vaccine, and her field work oversaw the 77 million person vaccine trial in the USSR that proved not only its safety, but its efficacy. Other women played vital roles in this fight who have been overlooked until this book. This story of brilliant, hardworking, researchers who fought tirelessly to create a world without polio is a heroic tale.
It is also a very personal story to me. As the daughter of a polio survivor I saw first hand the cruelties of this disease years after its initial infection. One of my earliest memories is getting in the car with the family to go to William Penn Elementary school (and later the Highland Drive-in) to have a sugar cube with the Sabin vaccine in it. It was a momentous day in our lives. Thanks to Lynn Cullen for telling this story so well.
]]> 8886579
The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.]]> 384 Ally Condie 1101445440 Anita 3 3.56 2010
author: Ally Condie
name: Anita
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2012/01/31
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: young-adult-middle-grade, speculative-fiction
review:
Why is is that so many young adult books are dystopian views of the future? Don't they know that it is teenagers that make life miserable?
]]> 8498147 From New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor-winning author Shannon Hale comes a Brothers Grimm fairy tale retelling about mistaken identity and love gone awry.When Lady Saren refuses to marry a man she fears, she and her maid, Dashti, are locked in a tower with just a tiny flap open to the outside world. As food runs low and the weather changes from broiling hot to unbearably cold, it is all Dashti can do to make them comfortable in their dark prison.Not long after their confinement begins, Saren's suitors arrive--one welcome, the other less so--and she orders Dashti to speak to them. Impersonating Lady Saren is a crime punishable by death, but Dashti will have to play the role many times if she is to save them both from the tower and the dangers outside. As she takes control of their desperate situation, Dashti begins to understand her own astonishing talents and believe that even a low-born maid can find true love.Don't miss any of these other books from New York Times bestselling author Shannon The Books of BayernThe Goose GirlEnna BurningRiver SecretsForest BornThe Princess Academy trilogyPrincess AcademyPrincess Palace of StonePrincess The Forgotten SistersBook of a Thousand DaysDangerousGraphic Novelswith Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathan HaleRapunzel's Revenge Calamity JackFor AdultsAustenlandMidnight in AustenlandThe Actor and the Housewife]]> 324 Shannon Hale 159990411X Anita 3 young-adult-middle-grade 4.17 2007
author: Shannon Hale
name: Anita
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2014/07/08
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: young-adult-middle-grade
review:
A nicely told fairy tale with a happily ever after ending. I now want to read the original by the Brothers Grimm.
]]> 6218281
For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.”]]> 374 Alan Bradley 0385342306 Anita 5 young-adult-middle-grade 3.81 2009
author: Alan Bradley
name: Anita
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2012/02/12
date added: 2024/09/25
shelves: young-adult-middle-grade
review:
An 11 year-old chemist specializing in poisons, living in 1950 England is my new favorite detective. This book is funny, charming, and has the best philatelic mystery since Charade (the movie with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn). I love the fact that is is told through the eyes of 11 year-old Flavia who doesn't get along with her sisters and has a seriously impressive vocabulary. Add to all of that, this is the author's first book--published at age 70! It is an adult book that is suitable for the young adult crowd. Or maybe it's a young adult book that is sophisticated enough for the adult crowd. Either way it is a great read. I'll be reading the rest of these.
]]> 199798896 A near-fatal health emergency leads to this powerful reflection on death—and what might follow—by the bestselling author of Tribe and The Perfect Storm.

For years as an award-winning war reporter, Sebastian Junger traveled to many front lines and frequently put his life at risk. And yet, the closest he ever came to death was the summer of 2020 while spending a quiet afternoon at the New England home he shared with his wife and two young children. Crippled by abdominal pain, Junger was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Once there, he began slipping away. As blackness encroached, he was visited by his dead father, inviting Junger to join him. “It’s okay,�� his father said. “There’s nothing to be scared of. I’ll take care of you.�� That was the last thing Junger remembered until he came to the next day when he was told he had suffered a ruptured aneurysm that he should not have survived.

This experience spurred Junger—a confirmed atheist raised by his physicist father to respect the empirical—to undertake a scientific, philosophical, and deeply personal examination of mortality and what happens after we die. How do we begin to process the brutal fact that any of us might perish unexpectedly on what begins as an ordinary day? How do we grapple with phenomena that science may be unable to explain? And what happens to a person, emotionally and spiritually, when forced to reckon with such existential questions?

In My Time of Dying is part medical drama, part searing autobiography, and part rational inquiry into the ultimate unknowable mystery.]]> 176 Sebastian Junger 1668050838 Anita 3 3.77 2024
author: Sebastian Junger
name: Anita
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/23
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves:
review:
This is a slightly different take on a near death experience. In trying to explain his own nde, Junger goes into philosophy and quantum physics. The quantum physics was more difficult for my brain than a near death experience.
]]> 40605285 386 Alan Bradley 0440338468 Anita 5 3.86 2009
author: Alan Bradley
name: Anita
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves:
review:
An 11 year-old chemist specializing in poisons, living in 1950 England is my new favorite detective. This book is funny, charming, and has the best philatelic mystery since Charade (the movie with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn). I love the fact that is is told through the eyes of 11 year-old Flavia who doesn't get along with her sisters and has a seriously impressive vocabulary. Add to all of that, this is the author's first book--published at age 70! It is an adult book that is suitable for the young adult crowd. Or maybe it's a young adult book that is sophisticated enough for the adult crowd. Either way it is a great read. I'll be reading the rest of these.
]]> 8179720 226 Chelsea Handler 1596916710 Anita 1 non-fiction 3.68 2004
author: Chelsea Handler
name: Anita
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2004
rating: 1
read at: 2011/12/16
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: non-fiction
review:
Just as annoying as the Sarah Silverstein book.
]]> 16124244 337 Peter Heller Anita 4 speculative-fiction 4.16 2012
author: Peter Heller
name: Anita
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2013/01/30
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: speculative-fiction
review:
Another post-apocolyptic, dystopian novel that rises above the others. This time flu and disease wipes out everything with just a few survivors. Nine years later, Hig is one of the few, who along with his doomsday prepper cohort hunker down in an airport. It is kill or be killed with the remaining folks. I won't spoil anything, but this book is more than a just "ain't we awful" Lord of the Flies scenario. The acute loneliness, moral quandries, and just day-to-day survival are well chronicled. I really liked these characters, they felt real. It is written with a stream of conscious, little punctuation style that took a few pages to get used to and then I felt it contributed to a real Vulcan mind-meld (wrong genre I know) with the narrator. Cue the announcer. In a world where there is no society--just gun-toting preppers and accidental survivors, can you find family, love and a reason for living?
]]> 85148114
��������As these characters�� stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town’s white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community—heaven and earth—that sustain us.]]> 400 James McBride 0593422961 Anita 4 4.25 2023
author: James McBride
name: Anita
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/12
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves:
review:
This is a sprawling tale with dozens of amazing characters: immigrant Jews, all sorts of Black folk, villains and heroes in a story that keeps you guessing until the final pages.
]]> 60285861
This new edition features a critical introduction, chronology, suggestions for further reading, explanatory notes, and appendixes, including an abridged extract from "A Chapter on Dreams" and an essay on the scientific context of Jekyll and Hyde.]]> 88 Robert Louis Stevenson Anita 3 books-for-english-teachers 3.39 1886
author: Robert Louis Stevenson
name: Anita
average rating: 3.39
book published: 1886
rating: 3
read at: 2023/08/05
date added: 2024/08/16
shelves: books-for-english-teachers
review:
It is always interesting to read the original and see the differences between it and the popular interpretations. The original is much more cerebral and much less horror.
]]> 196809284 Sacred Struggle: Seeking Christ on the Path of Most Resistance, author and scholar Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye explores her own personal experiences within her church community, her profession, and her battle with cancer to provide some answers about how we can learn to love and appreciate the diverse collection of experiences we’re surrounded by and subjected to. Through her faithful, compassionate lens and supported by the words of academics, scripture, and Latter-day prophets and apostles, Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye shares her personal testimony of the power of Christ to understand―and relieve―our suffering while inviting us to love and support those who might sometimes be the cause of it.]]> 224 Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye 1639931872 Anita 5 4.56
author: Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye
name: Anita
average rating: 4.56
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/13
date added: 2024/08/13
shelves: r-s-study-group-books, lds, non-fiction
review:
Dr. Melissa has left a great legacy in this book. She goes deep into what it means to be a Latter-day Saint on earth. She uses great examples from others and her own life to explain deep theological truths. She not only explains why struggle is so hard in this world, but showed us with her life how it can influence so many. She is already missed.
]]> 65214162
Airplane! premiered on July 2nd, 1980. With a budget of $3.5 million it went on to make nearly $200 million in sales and has influenced a multitude of comedians on both sides of the camera.

Surely You Can’t Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) �� charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere night. The directors explain what drew them to filmmaking and in particular, comedy. With anecdotes, behind the scenes trivia, and never-before-revealed factoids �� these titans of comedy filmmaking unpack everything from how they persuaded Peter Graves to be in the movie after he thought the script was a piece of garbage, how Lorna Patterson auditioned for the stewardess role in the back seat of Jerry’s Volvo, and how Leslie Nielsen’s pranks got the entire crew into trouble, to who really wrote the jive talk. The book also features testimonials and personal anecdotes from well-known faces in the film, television, and comedy sphere �� proving how influential Airplane! has been from day one.

Four decades after its release, Airplane! continues to make new generations laugh. Its many one-liners and visual gags have worked their way into the mainstream culture. This fully organic expansion of the ZAZ trio’s fan-base, prompted solely by word-of-mouth, comes as no surprise to longtime fans. When all around us is in flux �� laughter is priceless.]]> 352 David Zucker 1250289319 Anita 4 4.08 2023
author: David Zucker
name: Anita
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/10
date added: 2024/08/10
shelves: audio-books, memoir, non-fiction
review:
This entertaining remembrance of all the major players in Airplane, was fun. I learned a lot about the team that changed comedies as we knew them. I loved learning abut the career boost that it gave those great B actors, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Leslie Nielsen, Barbara Billingsley, and Peter Graves. In addition to the new stars it created. These three friends from Milwaukee never forgot their friendship and goals, and took their fame to not only make great movies, but changed the world for the better with their money and fame.
]]> 201319612 The bestselling author of Lost Connections and Stolen Focus offers a revelatory look at the drugs upending weight loss as we knew it—from his personal experience on Ozempic to what these drugs mean for our society’s deeply dysfunctional relationship with food, weight, and our bodiesIn January 2023, bestselling author Johann Hari started to inject himself once a week with Ozempic, the diabetes drug that produces significant weight loss. He��wasn’t alone—credible predictions suggest that in two years, a quarter of the U.S. population will be taking this class of drug. Proponents say that this is a biological solution to a biological problem. While 95 percent of diets fail, the average person taking one of the new drugs will lose a quarter of their body weight in six months, and keep it off for as long as they take it. Here is a moment of liberation from an illness that massively increases your chances of diabetes, dementia, and cancer, and causes 10 percent of all deaths.��Still, Hari was wildly conflicted. The massive rise in obesity rates around the world in the last half century didn’t happen because something went wrong with human biology. It happened because something went disastrously wrong with our We began to eat food designed to be maximally addictive. We built cities that are impossible to walk or bike around. We became much more stressed, making us seek out more comfort snacks. From this perspective, the new weight loss drugs arrive at a moment of madness. We built a food system that poisons us, then decided en masse to inject ourselves with a different potential poison that puts us off all food.A personal journey through weight loss combined with scientific evidence from experts, Magic Pill explores, as only Hari can, questions How did we get to this point? What does it reveal about our society that we couldn’t solve this problem socially, and instead turned to potentially risky pharmaceutical solutions? And will this free us from social pressure to conform to an ideal body type—or make that pressure even more dangerously intense?]]> 320 Johann Hari 0593728637 Anita 4 non-fiction 4.27 2024
author: Johann Hari
name: Anita
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/09
shelves: non-fiction
review:
This is a very interesting, researched, and evenhanded discussion about how Ozempic works and should we be taking it. The author discusses the benefits and risks realistically, and though he has opted to take it, he explains his personal experience without cheerleading. It is also an eyeopening study of processed foods, school lunches, and what's the deal with Japan. With the sudden rise in use, it is good to know what you are getting into.
]]> 43261155 Kwame Alexander's The Crossover��is brought to life as a graphic novel with illustrations by Dawud Anyabwile.��

"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . . The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering.��’Cuz tonight I’m delivering," raps twelve-year-old Josh Bell. Thanks to their dad, he and his twin brother, Jordan, are kings on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood—he's got mad beats, too, which help him find his rhythm when it’s all on the line.

See the Bell family in a whole new light through Dawud Anyabwile's illustrations as the brothers'��winning season unfolds, and the world as they know it begins to change.]]> 224 Kwame Alexander 1328575497 Anita 5 4.39
author: Kwame Alexander
name: Anita
average rating: 4.39
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/08/28
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: graphic-novels, young-adult-middle-grade
review:
Twin brother basketball phenoms work through their talent and troubles in middle school. Lots of fun raps and pictures in this adaptation of a Newbery book.
]]> 226423 384 Richard L. Bruno 0446690694 Anita 5 non-fiction 4.38 2003
author: Richard L. Bruno
name: Anita
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2002/08/09
date added: 2024/07/24
shelves: non-fiction
review:
This gets an extra star because of its meaning to me personally. This fascinating study of how and what polio did and is doing today. It describes my mother's experience exactly and she has evangelized its message to many doctors and physical therapist: a one woman missionary force.
]]> 144743829 Discover the work of the greatest writer in the English language as you've never encountered it before by ordering internationally renowned actor Dame Judi Dench's SHAKESPEARE: The Man Who Pays The Rent—a witty, insightful journey through the plays and tales of our beloved Shakespeare.

Taking a curtain call with a live snake in her wig...

Cavorting naked through the Warwickshire countryside painted green...

Acting opposite a child with a pumpkin on his head...

These are just a few of the things Dame Judi Dench has done in the name of Shakespeare.

For the very first time, Judi opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra. In a series of intimate conversations with actor & director Brendan O'Hea, she guides us through Shakespeare's plays with incisive clarity, revealing the secrets of her rehearsal process and inviting us to share in her triumphs, disasters, and backstage shenanigans.

Interspersed with vignettes on audiences, critics, company spirit and rehearsal room etiquette, she serves up priceless revelations on everything from the craft of speaking in verse to her personal interpretations of some of Shakespeare's most famous scenes, all brightened by her mischievous sense of humour, striking level of honesty and a peppering of hilarious anecdotes, many of which have remained under lock and key until now.

Instructive and witty, provocative and inspiring, this is ultimately Judi's love letter to Shakespeare, or rather, The Man Who Pays The Rent.]]> Judi Dench Anita 5 4.56 2023
author: Judi Dench
name: Anita
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/21
date added: 2024/07/23
shelves: books-for-english-teachers, non-fiction
review:
This is a wonderful book for actors and English teachers. I have loved her as an actor, but didn't realize how much Shakespeare she has done. Judi Dench has played multiple parts in multiple Shakespeare plays and remembers them all! Each play she's been in has a section where she goes through a wonderful summary of the play as she tells of her experiences in it. She dives deeply into the characters she played and shows you the work she goes through to give the performances she does. She tells many fun anecdotes about mishaps on stage, working with all the greats, and her own personal life. Truly Shakespeare has been the man who pays the rent in her life. Now excuse me; I need to go watch a bunch of her movies.
]]> 62047984
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? This piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller. That is what June believes, and The New York Times bestseller list agrees.

But June cannot escape Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens her stolen success. As she races to protect her secret she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.]]> 319 R.F. Kuang 000853277X Anita 5 3.69 2023
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Anita
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/16
date added: 2024/07/16
shelves: books-for-english-teachers, books-for-bibliophiles
review:
I don't know how Kuang did it, but I was mesmerized from the first page until the last. This story of the world of publishing, literary theft, racism and reverse racism, life on social media, and lots of lying kept me thinking. This is an excellent read.
]]> 205519986 302 Amy Wadsworth 1771806796 Anita 5 especially-for-women, lds ]]> 5.00
author: Amy Wadsworth
name: Anita
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/13
date added: 2024/07/13
shelves: especially-for-women, lds
review:
This gets an extra star for being written by a fellow Granitian. The story of a polygamist family in Millcreek (then Mill Creek) from 1868-1918 succeeds in evoking a truer perspective of polygamy other than the sensationalist terror or faith-promoting, wasn't it wonderful, picture we often see. using journals of her ancestors Amy portrays life in those times with all the warts and conflicts. I enjoyed the local color of going up 13th east to Sugarhouse and the three dimensional characters evoking a sense of the time and place.

]]> 195967140 A mind-bending, psychological thriller from Freida McFadden, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Housemaid!

Lesson #1: trust no one

Eve has a good life. She gets up each day, gets a kiss from her husband Nate, and heads off to teach math at the local high school. All is as it should be. Except��

Last year, Caseham High was rocked by a scandal involving a student-teacher affair, with one student, Addie, at its center. But Eve knows there is far more to these ugly rumors than meets the eye.

Addie can't be trusted. She lies. She hurts people. She destroys lives. At least, that's what everyone says.

But nobody knows the real Addie. Nobody knows the secrets that could destroy her. And Addie will do anything to keep it quiet.

From the New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden comes a story of twisting secrets and long-awaited revenge.]]> 379 Freida McFadden 1728296218 Anita 1 books-for-english-teachers 3.82 2024
author: Freida McFadden
name: Anita
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/07/06
date added: 2024/07/06
shelves: books-for-english-teachers
review:
I do not recommend this for anybody-teachers or not. Two married teachers in a loveless marriage act as immaturely as the students they teach. In an attempt to "Gone Girl" up the plot, it takes lots of twists. Too bad I didn't care about any of the characters. Its biggest plus? It reads very quickly.
]]> 199797837
In May 1954, Lionel Kane witnesses his apartment engulfed in flames with his lover and writing partner, Roger Raymond, inside. Police declare it a suicide due to gas ignition, but Lionel refuses to believe Roger was suicidal.

A month earlier, Judy Nightingale and Philippa Watson—the tenacious and troubled heroines from The Savage Kind —attend a lecture by Roger and, being eager fans, befriend him. He has just been fired from his day job at the State Department, another victim of the Lavender Scare, an anti-gay crusade led by figures like Senator Joseph McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover, claiming homosexuals are security risks. Little do Judy and Philippa know, but their obsessive manhunt of the past several years has fueled the flames of his dismissal.

They have been tracking their old enemy Adrian Bogdan, a spy and vicious serial killer protected by powerful forces in the government. He’s on the rampage again, and the police are ignoring his crimes. Frustrated, they send their research to the media and their favorite mystery writer anonymously, hoping to inspire someone, somehow, to publish on the crimes—anything to draw Bogdan out. But has their persistence brought deadly forces to the writing team behind their most beloved books?

In the wake of Roger’s death, Lionel searches for clues, but Judy and Philippa threaten his quest, concealing dark secrets of their own. As the crimes of the past and present converge, danger mounts, and the characters race to uncover the truth, even if it means bending their moral boundaries to stop a killer.]]> 336 John Copenhaver 1639366504 Anita 3 mystery 3.69
author: John Copenhaver
name: Anita
average rating: 3.69
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/02
date added: 2024/07/02
shelves: mystery
review:
This is the second installment of the Judy and Phillipa mystery series. Set in the 1950's Washington D.C., this moody period piece follows the lives of Judy and Phillipa as they become young women still reeling from their previous encounters with a serial child killer and the mystery of Judy's past. I will be reading the sequel when it comes out.
]]> 56897678
Two lonely teenage girls in 1940s Washington, DC, discover they have a penchant for solving crimes—and an even greater desire to commit them—in the new mystery novel by Macavity Award-winning novelist John Copenhaver.

Philippa Watson, a good-natured yet troubled seventeen-year-old, has just moved to Washington, DC. She’s lonely until she meets Judy Peabody, a brilliant and tempestuous classmate. The girls become unlikely friends and fashion themselves as intellectuals, drawing the notice of Christine Martins, their dazzling English teacher, who enthralls them with her passion for literature and her love of noirish detective fiction.

When Philippa returns a novel Miss Martins has lent her, she interrupts a man grappling with her in the shadows. Frightened, Philippa flees, unsure who the man is or what she’s seen. Days later, her teacher returns to school a dark shell of herself. On the heels of her teacher’s transformation, a classmate is found dead in the Anacostia River—murdered—the body stripped and defiled with a mysterious inscription.

As the girls follow the clues and wrestle with newfound feelings toward each other, they suspect that the killer is closer to their circle than they imagined—and that the greatest threat they face may not be lurking in the halls at school, or in the city streets, but creeping out from a murderous impulse of their own.]]> 352 John Copenhaver 164313809X Anita 4 mystery 3.53 2021
author: John Copenhaver
name: Anita
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/15
date added: 2024/06/15
shelves: mystery
review:
This period piece set in 1952 where two misfit teenage girls stumble into mystery upon mystery . As they peel back the layers of the this onion, the twists and turns are never ending and life changing for both. Child murder, sexual predation, social classes in Washington D.C., and more keep you guessing the entire book.
]]> 62971668 A story of mix-ups, mess-ups and making the most of second chances, this is the new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You and The Giver of Stars.

Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else’s shoes?

Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope--she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.

That’s because Sam Kemp �� in the bleakest point of her life �� has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag--she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change—and that thing is herself.

Full of Jojo Moyes�� signature humor, brilliant storytelling, and warmth, Someone Else’s Shoes is a story about how just one little thing can suddenly change everything.]]> 438 Jojo Moyes 1984879294 Anita 3 3.88 2023
author: Jojo Moyes
name: Anita
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/07
date added: 2024/06/09
shelves:
review:
Frothy, summer read. Two very different women mistakenly take the other's shoes at the gym. Crises and hilarity ensues. Fun and mostly mindless.
]]> 60838158 “[A] brave and heartfelt book of truths.”��New York Times Book Review (A Group Text Pick and Editors' Choice)

From bestselling author Laura Zigman comes a heartfelt novel about two offbeat and newly divorced sisters who move in together as adults—and finally reckon with their childhood

A year after her divorce, Joyce is settling into being single again. She likes her job archiving family photos and videos, and she’s developed a secret comforting hobby: trolling the neighborhood social networking site, Small World, for posts that help solve life’s easiest problems. When her older sister, Lydia, also divorced, calls to tell her she’s moving back east from Los Angeles after almost thirty years away, Joyce invites Lydia to move into her Cambridge apartment. Temporarily. Just until she finds a place of her own.

But their unlikely cohabitation—not helped by annoying new neighbors upstairs—turns out to be the post-divorce rebound relationship Joyce hadn’t planned on. Instead of forging the bond she always dreamed of having with Lydia, their relationship frays. And they rarely discuss the loss of their sister, Eleanor, who was significantly disabled and died when she was only ten years old. When new revelations from their family’s history come to light, will those secrets further split them apart, or course correct their connection for the future?

Written with wry humor and keen sensitivity, Small World is a powerful novel of sisterhood and hope—a reminder that sometimes you have to look back in order to move ahead.]]> 304 Laura Zigman 0063088282 Anita 4
Merged review:

Two sisters are trapped by their past: the life and death of a disabled third sister and their activist mother. They come together after deaths and divorces to discover how small their world are.]]> 3.46 2023
author: Laura Zigman
name: Anita
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/07
date added: 2024/06/05
shelves:
review:
Two sisters are trapped by their past: the life and death of a disabled third sister and their activist mother. They come together after deaths and divorces to discover how small their world are.

Merged review:

Two sisters are trapped by their past: the life and death of a disabled third sister and their activist mother. They come together after deaths and divorces to discover how small their world are.
]]> 19980745 292 Brent Top 162108180X Anita 2 4.26 2012
author: Brent Top
name: Anita
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2024/06/02
date added: 2024/06/05
shelves: r-s-study-group-books, lds, non-fiction
review:
This is a study of the many near-death survivors accounts and how they support the LDS doctrine of the afterlife. The most interesting takeaway from the book for me was learning about Emmanuel Swedenborg, an 1800's author/religious leader who had many near-death experiences. Overall I found the book too repetitive, too long, and too speculative-thus two stars.
]]> 177185976
Javier Perez is a hustler from a family of hustlers. He learns from an early age how to play the game to his own advantage, how his background—murdered drug dealer dad, single cash-strapped mom, best friend serving time for gang activity—can be a key to doors he didn’t even know existed. This kind of story, molded in the right way, is just what college admissions committees are looking for, and a full academic scholarship to a prestigious university brings Javi one step closer to his dream of becoming a famous writer.

As a college student, Javi embellishes his life story until there’s not even a kernel of truth left. The only real connection to his past is the occasional letter he trades with his childhood best friend, Gio, who doesn’t seem to care about Javi’s newfound awareness of white privilege or the school-to-prison pipeline. Soon after Javi graduates, a viral essay transforms him from a writer on the rise to a journalist at a legendary magazine where the editors applaud his “unique perspective.�� But Gio more than anyone knows who Javi really is, and sees through his game. Once Gio’s released from prison and Javi offers to cut him in on the deal, will he play along with Javi’s charade, or will it all come crumbling down?

A satirical sendup of tear-jerking trauma plots with a tender portrait of friendship at its core, Victim asks what real diversity looks like and how far one man is willing to go to make his story hit the right notes.]]> 276 Andrew Boryga 0385549970 Anita 3 3.83 2024
author: Andrew Boryga
name: Anita
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/04
date added: 2024/06/04
shelves:
review:
What happens when you can go further by being a victim than by being yourself? Javi starts down the slippery slope of political correctness and victimhood until he loses himself. Funny and tragic this book made me pay close attention to what is being written or displayed. Is it truth or simply what I want to hear?
]]>