Movie Monday: Knives Out

With travel, vacation, and holiday preparations, my husband and I hadn't been out together in quite a while, so we invited friends out for dinner and a movie on Friday. We went to see Knives Out, a new humorous whodunit with a great cast.

The set-up is classic detective story: a well-known mystery writer named Harlen Thrombey, played by Christopher Plummer, is found dead (throat slit) in his attic office, after an evening birthday party where his entire greedy/selfish family was in attendance. Is it suicide or murder? Two police detectives and a quirky PI, played hilariously by Daniel Craig, are investigating and interviewing the family members and staff. They soon rule out suicide, but who did this gruesome deed? Each family member seems to have a motive. Daughter Linda, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, seems upset by her father's death, but her husband Richard, played by Don Johnson, had a fight with Harlen at the party over revealing his affair with the housekeeper. Their son Ransom, played by Chris Evans, had a loud argument with his grandfather the night before, and the rest of the family thinks he was cut out of his will. Harlen's son Walt, played by Michael Shannon, runs the publishing company that his father's books made prosperous ... but what if Harlen fired him the night of the party? And Joni, played as a hippie-type by Toni Collette, is Harlan's ex-daughter-in-law, but she, too seems to have had an argument with him that fateful night. Finally, at the center of this extremely dysfunctional family is Marta, played by Ana de Armas, a kind, sweet young woman who was Harlen's beloved nurse. Each family member is interviewed by the investigators, as the audience considers one suspect after another. Suspense and secrets abound!

This is a classic whodunit but with tongue firmly in cheek. Each family member is almost like a caricature of his or her type, played with relish by this outstanding team of actors. The house itself is, as one detective describes it, "like a Clue board," filled with secrets and peculiar accents, like the large sculpture of knives that serves as a backdrop for the family interviews. It's a twisty, funny romp of a mystery that kept us guessing right till the end. As one of the hosts on Pop Culture Happy Hour (a favorite podcast of mine) described it, this movie is like Murder on the Orient Express--the way it should have been done, with its all-star cast and quirky detective. All four of us enjoyed it and laughed a lot. It's just plain fun, perfect for this holiday season and a great movie for the whole family to watch together!

Knives Out is currently in theaters and is great on the big screen, since the setting, house, and people are all filled with so much personality. See it in a local recliner theater, like we did!

 


Just watch the trailer and you'll be smiling:

It's Monday 12/16! What Are You Reading?

Best laid plans...

Yup, last week was that kind of a week! I had set Tuesday aside to finally publish my book. I had all the files ready to upload to Amazon and other platforms and the whole day set aside to work on it. I opened my laptop, and...nothing. The keyboard was locked up, and I couldn't even type in my password. So, instead, I spent the day on the phone with Apple Care, then running to the mall (the mall! Two weeks before Christmas!) to the Genius Bar at the Apple store, and finally leaving my beloved laptop with them. They called later to say they'd need to send it out to replace parts, and I'd get it back in about a week...!!

I did some quick adjusting to my plans. OK, if I can't do any writing work, at least I can get some of the holiday stuff done. Print address labels and write out cards? Address list is on the laptop. Finish shopping? My shopping and gift lists are on the laptop. Start my year-end photo books and DVD? All my recent photos are on the laptop. You get the idea - my whole LIFE is on this lovely little piece of electronics! On the plus side, they called Saturday afternoon to say it was ready, and my lovely husband braved the Saturday pre-Christmas mall crowd to pick it up for me. So, I am back in business now, though quite a bit behind on all the holiday preparations (and obviously, the book won't be published now until January).
 
The highlight of our week was decorating our Christmas tree together. By some miracle, we managed to get all five of us, including my husband's 94-year old father, together (noon on Wednesday was the only time that worked!) and enjoyed one of our favorite holiday traditions. Our tree is full of memories, with ornaments from the kids' childhoods (and mine), from our many vacations together, old family ornaments, and more. Each ornament reminds us of good times spent together or family members no longer with us, so we love going through them and putting them on the tree together.

Thank goodness for books! They are a comfort and a distraction in this hectic holiday season. Here's what we've all been reading this week:

I finished reading Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe by Jane Goodall and enjoyed it very much. This 1990 book (with a 2010 updated preface from Jane) describes her thirty years spent researching, observing, and living among the chimps in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. She alternates between sharing details of chimp research findings and studies, her own life in studying them, and (mostly) narratives of the lives of the chimps themselves, each as individual and unique as humans are. It is a fascinating book that reads sort of like a chimp soap opera! The reader gets to know the chimps as individuals and follow their lives through births, adolescence, battles for primacy among the males, and tragedies. It is clear that chimps experience joy, grief, anger, and even depression, and Jane's insights are incredible. I was inspired to read this book after reading Threatened, a YA novel about an African boy who lives among chimps in Gabon. Both are highly recommended.

I finally moved on from my Nonfiction November reading and moved back into fiction. I am reading The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, a debut novel that my husband gave me for Christmas last year (or was it the year before?). In December, my reading focuses on reading last year's gifts before Christmas when I'll get a new batch! The Nest is the story of a dysfunctional family, with four adult siblings. Their whole lives, they have waited to inherit the nest egg, affectionately known by them as "The Nest," that their father left for them years ago, with instructions for it to be dispersed when the youngest sibling, Melody, turns 40. With careful investment, The Nest has grown to a considerable amount as Melody's milestone birthday approaches, and they each have plans for that money. Then, oldest brother, Leo, does something really irresponsible and stupid, and their mother decides to use the money to make Leo's problem go away. I wasn't sure how I felt about this novel at first because I'm not usually a fan of stories of wealthy, upper-class families, but as I read, I realized that they really weren't wealthy (even though some of them lived that way outwardly), and each of the siblings really needed that expected income boost--for college tuition, mortgages, and other expenses that I could certainly relate to! Each of their lives and their relationships with each other are interesting. So, I'm enjoying it and am eager to see how things turn out for this messed-up family.

I also squeezed a graphic novel into the cracks last week! I read Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden, author of the graphic memoir, Spinning, and the graphic novel science fiction drama, On a Sunbeam. This was different than both of those. It's the fictional story of a teen girl who seems to be running away. She runs into an older woman, whom she knows from her town, who is heading out on a long roadtrip. The two pair up, and much of the story takes place in the confines of the small car and the teardrop trailer being towed behind it. Bit by bit, each of the women hesitatingly shares pieces of her story, and they each provide much-needed company to the other. Toward the end, their journey turns a bit fantastical, but at its core, it is about honesty, friendship, and healing. It was a little weird at the end, but I enjoyed it overall.

For my next audio book, I moved a novel into my iTunes Monday and was ready to upload it to my iPod Tuesday when...right, no laptop. All of my audio books (a lengthy backlog) reside on my laptop, too. Luckily, I still had a couple of nonfiction books I hadn't gotten to in November on my iPod, so I listened to a memoir I have wanted to read for many years: Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt. This award-winning writer wrote the memoir about the year following his adult daughter's unexpected death. He and his wife moved down to the DC area to help their son-in-law care for their three grandchildren. The memoir is about how the whole family copes during that difficult year and how they each begin to move forward. This is an older book, first published in 2010, so I'm not sure why it was re-released this year, but I was glad to see it since it's been on my TBR since its original release! It more than lived up to my expectations; it is warm, poignant, and yes, sad, but also very funny. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am interested in reading another memoir of his, Kayak Morning.

My husband, Ken is reading a birthday gift I gave him, The Witch Elm by Tana French. We are both huge fans of this Irish mystery/thriller author. Ken has read almost all of her Dublin Murder Squad series, and I recently read (and loved - review at the link) The Likeness (book 2) this fall. This is an unusual one for her, as it's a stand-alone suspense novel that was on lots of Best of 2018 lists. It's about a man, Toby, who is beaten and left for dead by some thieves one night. While recovering, he moves to his family's ancestral home to care for an aging uncle. Inside a tree in the yard, a human skull is discovered, and the police are called, as Toby realizes his past may not be exactly what he always thought it was. Ken is enjoying it very much, sometimes laughing out loud! He says it's different than her series but just as good.

Our son, 25, is currently reading The Mercenary Code by Emmet Moss, book 1 in The Shattering of Kingdoms series. It sounds like the kind of epic fantasy he loves, with revolutions, battles, and magic all set in an intriguing and original world. He explained to me that he won a bunch of Amazon credits playing online video games this summer ... so, of course, he's spending all those credits on books! He was visiting his girlfriend last week and traveling, so he probably didn't have much reading time.



Blog posts last week (one of the few things I could do with my old laptop!):

Nonfiction Review: In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson - powerful, fascinating, and chilling

Nonfiction review: Lost Child: The True Story of a Girl Who Couldn't Ask for Help by Torey Hayden - engrossing story by a therapist who managed to reach a child abandoned by her family

Graphic Memoir Review: Guts by Raina Telgemeier - another fabulous middle-grade graphic memoir by the talented author/artist, about childhood anxiety

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.   

What are you and your family reading this week?

Our tree, with all its memories!

 

Graphic Memoir Review: Guts

I loved Raina Telgemeier's first two middle-grade graphic memoirs about her childhood, Smile and Sisters (as well as her graphic novel, Drama), so I was excited to see a new book released, Guts. This graphic memoir is all about her experiences as a middle-grader dealing with chronic stomach problems and anxiety. Like the others, it is honest, warm, and funny, as well as a great way to talk to kids about a difficult topic.

The book starts with young Raina and her mom both getting a stomach virus, never a pleasant experience for anyone! Afterward though, Raina develops a phobia about vomit and some lingering stomach pains and upset, though the doctor can find nothing wrong. Raina tries to live her life--going to school, spending time with friends, eating meals with her family--but her symptoms get worse and worse, and her fears and anxieties expand. Now, she's worrying about friends, school, food, and just about every aspect of her life and adopting strange coping mechanisms, in a fruitless effort to have more control over her life. Eventually, she is diagnosed with IBS and anxiety, gets some help from a therapist, and finally opens up to her friends.

A sample page from Guts by Raina Telgemeier

As with all of Raina's memoirs, it is refreshing to see the matter-of-fact way that she addresses problems that many kids deal with but don't want to talk about. In fact, this book would make a great starting point for kids who themselves experience similar issues and don't know how to open up about what they're feeling. The book also provides a roadmap for healthy coping: talking to your parents, seeing a doctor, working with a therapist, and trusting your friends. And, besides, this book is also humorous and a lot of fun! As always, Raina imbues her real-life account with plenty of laughs and her trademark colorful, realistic drawings that help to bring the story to life. This is another winner from Raina Telgemeier, whether you and your kids are looking for support and encouragement or just plain old entertainment.

211 pages, Graphix (Scholastic)

You can purchase Guts from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

Or you can order Guts from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Nonfiction Review: Lost Child

After reading an intriguing review of Lost Child: The True Story of a Girl Who Couldn't Ask for Help by Torey Hayden on Helen's Book Blog, I added it to my list for Nonfiction November. I listened to it on audio last month and was engrossed by the fascinating story.

Torey Hayden is an educational psychologist and special education teacher who has written previous books about her work, each essentially a case study of a child or children in extraordinary circumstances. Here, in her first book in fifteen years, Torey describes a little girl she met while volunteering for a social services organization in Wales. The child, known here as Jessie, is considered a difficult case, tucked away in a group home at the age of ten. Her parents say they can't manage her, but she has been left on her own since a very young age, with little parental involvement. Her records are full of problems, including lying, outbursts, impulsiveness, and even violence. As Torey begins meeting with Jessie each week, she tries to get to the bottom of her antisocial behaviors, but Jessie is tough to figure out, especially since she is prone to both lying and manipulation. Their sessions, aided by games, drawing paper, and intricate puppets that Jessie loves, are filled with sharp contrasts, Jessie seeking affection one moment, having a violent outburst the next, and even describing sexual things that no 10-year-old should know. When Jessie makes a stunning accusation against an adult at the home--one of Torey's colleagues--Torey doesn't know what to believe, but she never gives up on Torey. Eventually, slowly and gradually, she discovers the shocking truth at the center of Jessie's behavior, through compassion and patience.

This was a fascinating, engaging case study. Although some of the subject matter is difficult, it is all told from Torey's perspective as she lovingly supports Jessie and works to get to know her better. Despite all her problems, it is clear that Jessie does have some redeeming qualities and is desperate for acceptance and unconditional love, which Torey provides (so there is a satisfying ending). My one minor quibble was with the audio production. Torey Hayden is American, and this is a memoir written in the first-person ("I"). But they used a British narrator, which felt discordant to me at times. True, most of the other characters are Welsh, but it still sounded odd to hear sentences like, "I was born in America and grew up in Montana," spoken in a British accent! Like I said, just a minor annoyance. Overall, the story kept me captivated from beginning to end, and I was rooting for Tory to be able to get through to Jessie and figure things out. It feels like Jessie's story is an unusual one, but I see that Torey has written nine other similar case-study memoirs about other children. I'm glad there are dedicated, caring professionals out there like Torey and her colleagues with the patience and skill to help these lost children.

352 pages, William Morrow Paperbacks
HarperAudio

Listen to a sample of the audio book or download it from Audible.

You can purchase Lost Child from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

Or you can order Lost Child from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Nonfiction Review: In the Garden of Beasts

Let's see...our copy of In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson is hardcover, so it's been sitting on our bookcase since I gave it to my husband soon after its release in 2011. He read it right away, told me it was great, and moved it to my side of the TBR bookcase, and...eight years later, I finally read it! He was right. This engrossing true story of the American ambassador (and his family) assigned to Berlin in 1933 is fascinating and chilling.

In 1933, against advice from some in the State Department, the newly-elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt chose William E. Dodd as the new ambassador to Germany. Dodd had no political experience at all; he was a mild-mannered history professor from University of Chicago. His greatest loves were his quiet farm in Virginia, not too far from where he grew up in North Carolina, and his work-in-progress and lifetime goal, a four-volume series called The Rise and Fall of the Old South. He had almost completed the first book when FDR called to ask him to take the position in Berlin. Dodd agreed and moved his family, including his wife, Mattie, and their adult children, Bill and Martha, across the ocean. At first, the family enjoyed the lovely city and its many entertainments. Dodd had lived in Germany as a young man and loved the country and its people. But they soon began to see the disturbing underside of the new Berlin, under Hitler's recent rise to power. There was one man in particular in the State Department who had been warning his colleagues of the terror growing there, but Dodd and most others thought he was exaggerating. After all, the Dodds socialized with members of the Nazi Party and the Third Reich and had them over for dinner. Martha, a young, vibrant journalist, even dated plenty of Reich men, including the first chief of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels. Little by little, though, they began to see the truth of what was happening in Germany. Dodd's warnings to his colleagues went similarly unheeded, as the family continued to experience an odd mixture of fun and horror. As the year wore on, the horror became more prominent.

As always, Larson's talent for telling a real-life story in a compelling, fiction-like way shines through. He did extensive research, including many primary sources, like the Dodds' letters back and forth to friends, family, and the State Department. Knowing from history what is going to happen in Germany and the terror that is ahead for its citizens (and the world) adds tension and suspense, as the reader wonders how long it will take the poor Dodds to figure things out and what will have to happen for the rest of the world to finally take notice. In this way, it is a chilling book. It is also fascinating, to read about the details of what was going on behind the scenes with the Nazis way back in the early 30's, the conflicts between different factions, the personalities of the highest-ranking Nazis, and the steady progression toward what we know is coming later. As with all of Larson's books I've read, this one kept me rapt. I kept interrupting my husband's reading to share astonishing facts, even though he'd already read the book himself. It's just that kind of a book. We both also highly recommend Larson's Devil in the White City, which oddly combines the World's Fair of 1893 and a serial killer loose at the same time in Chicago in parallel narratives.

What's your favorite Erik Larson book?

365 pages, Crown

Listen to a sample of the audio book, narrated by Stephen Hoye, or download it from Audible. The sample is from the beginning of the book.

You can purchase In the Garden of Beasts from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

Or you can order In the Garden of Beasts from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

It's Monday 12/9! What Are You Reading?

Whew, re-entry after vacation was extra-tough since we are suddenly in the midst of the holiday season! Last week was rush-rush-rush, putting together gift lists, online shopping on Cyber Monday, ordering cards, and getting a tree plus post-vacation catch-up like 700+ new e-mails, a big pile of mail on the counter, unpacking, and laundry. I also had a very long and exhausting out-of-state doctor's appointment for my son. The bottom line is that I was wiped out by Thursday and by Sunday, I was showing signs of the cold my family's been fighting since vacation ended. With our immune dysfunction, my older son and I rarely actually "catch" a cold or other virus, but being exposed can increase all our immune systems and make us very sick (sicker than those who catch the cold!). So, that's where I am today - trying to take it easy so I can ride out this "crash." Take-out for dinner last night, and take-out left-overs for dinner tonight!

The big question is...why don't I EVER do any of this holiday stuff ahead of time?? I am awed by people who get gifts early and are so organized that they can actually enjoy December!

One enjoyable item on my list this week is putting together a list of books I want to give as gifts and then going to our little local bookstore to order them.

In our own house, books provide comfort and escape no matter what else is going on! Here's what we've all been reading this week:

I am still reading Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe by Jane Goodall and am enjoying it very much. This 1990 book (with a 2010 updated preface from Jane) describes her thirty years spent researching, observing, and living among the chimps in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. She alternates between sharing details of chimp research findings and studies, her own life in studying them, and (mostly) narratives of the lives of the chimps themselves, each as individual and unique as humans are. It is a fascinating book that reads sort of like a chimp soap opera! The reader gets to know the chimps as individuals and follow their lives through births, adolescence, battles for primacy among the males, and tragedies. It is clear that chimps experience joy, grief, anger, and even depression, and Jane's insights are incredible. I was inspired to read this book after reading Threatened, a YA novel about an African boy who lives among chimps in Gabon. Both are highly recommended.

I squeezed in a quick middle-grade graphic novel after we got home. I had been looking forward to Sunny Rolls the Dice by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm, and it exceeded my high expectations! This series, including Sunny Side Up and Swing It, Sunny, about a pre-teen girl growing up in the 1970's is based in part on the authors' (a brother and sister team) childhoods, and the main character, Sunny, is almost the exact age I was in those years. All of the books address serious kid issues with a sense of humor and are very entertaining to read, with fun, colorful illustrations. In this one, Sunny feels baby-ish when her best friend is only interested in boys and fashion, but Sunny is learning to play Dungeons and Dragons and loving it. I also love seeing all the 70's references, including home decor, TV shows, fashions, and more. In fact, almost every outfit that Sunny wore in this latest book, I exclaimed out loud that I had the exact same shirt/sweater, etc. in middle school! Lots of fun, and a must-read for both middle-grade readers and nostalgic grown-ups like me.

I also finished The Woman I Was Before by Kerry Fisher for my neighborhood book group. I wasn't enjoying it at first because I found most of the characters unrelatable--phony and inauthentic--though it ended up growing on me, and I enjoyed the second half more. It's quite a bit lighter than our usual book group choices. The novel focuses on the differences between what people post on social media and what their real lives are like, which seems like a good topic to explore. But, at first, the women in the novel are just plain lying on Facebook. For instance, one will have be upset with her husband and then post a staged photo and #besthubbyever on Facebook. Who does that? So, as you can tell, I was annoyed with the characters at first (except for one who has a real reason for hiding her true self). Toward the end, the women evolved and grew emotionally, so that's a plus. Not surprisingly, this was not a big hit with our group, garnering mostly 6's and 7's (out of 10).

On audio, I finished listening to Becoming by Michelle Obama, which is just as wonderful as everyone said it was! The early chapters cover her childhood in Chicago's South Side, her family, and her early friendships and education. Then, it moves into her career, meeting Barack, having children, and, of course, the elections and their time in the White House ... but all from Michelle's perspective. She is honest, open, and warm, bringing the reader into her world and sharing not just the facts but also her thoughts looking back. It paints a picture of her as a person but also of the times she has lived through and the culture of the world around her. She is close to my age, so I can relate to much of that. As I heard from many people, the book is especially good on audio, read by the author in her lovely, familiar voice, and despite its long length, I enjoyed every moment of it and was sorry for it to end. I would have liked to hear about her life after the White House, but I respect that she and her family have certainly earned some privacy after their years in public life.

My husband, Ken is reading a birthday gift I gave him, The Witch Elm by Tana French. We are both huge fans of this Irish mystery/thriller author. Ken has read almost all of her Dublin Murder Squad series, and I recently read (and loved - review at the link) The Likeness (book 2) this fall. This is an unusual one for her, as it's a stand-alone suspense novel that was on lots of Best of 2018 lists. It's about a man, Toby, who is beaten and left for dead by some thieves one night. While recovering, he moves to his family's ancestral home to care for an aging uncle. Inside a tree in the yard, a human skull is discovered, and the police are called, as Toby realizes his past may not be exactly what he always thought it was. Ken is enjoying it very much, sometimes laughing out loud! He says it's different than her series but just as good.

Our son, 25, is currently reading The Mercenary Code by Emmet Moss, book 1 in The Shattering of Kingdoms series. It sounds like the kind of epic fantasy he loves, with revolutions, battles, and magic all set in an intriguing and original world. He explained to me that he won a bunch of Amazon credits playing online video games this summer ... so, of course, he's spending all those credits on books!


Not surprisingly, I didn't have much time for blog posts last week! Just one, though I hope to catch up this week:

Nonfiction Review: An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography by Paul Resesabagina, with Tom Zoellner - a stunning, powerful true story that everyone should read (the movie Hotel Rwanda was based on this book).

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.   

What are you and your family reading this week?

Son, me, and husband getting a tree! (other son away and our fave tree farm out of trees!)

 

Nonfiction Review: An Ordinary Man

I just finished reading An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography by Paul Resesabagina, with Tom Zoellner, for Nonfiction November and was blown away by this powerful, moving story. I've wanted to read this memoir about the Rwandan genocide (it inspired the movie, Hotel Rwanda) for about eight years, ever since my son read it for World Lit in high school and told me how good it was. It was worth the wait!

Paul begins his story by describing his childhood in beautiful, mountainous Rwanda. He grew up in a close-knit rural community, as do most citizens of his country, where disputes were mostly handled by a group of elder residents in quiet way focused on forgiveness and healing. But, he also summarizes Rwanda's tumultuous and often violent history, from an ancient royal bloodline of mwami ruling the country to the years when it was a Belgian colony with Tutsis in positions of power to its rocky independence. While most people know that the genocide in 1994 involved two groups of people, the Hutus and the Tutsis, Paul explains that historical evidence suggests these are not actually different races, as commonly reported, but two groups of people formed from an artificial political distinction. Against the backdrop of the history lesson, Paul continues his life story: his education, his brief foray into ministry, and his eventual hiring by a luxury hotel in Kigali, Rwanda's capital city. Paul worked his way up in the Belgian corporation until he was manager, first of the Milles Collines and later of the Diplomates, where he worked when the violence began in 1994. Both were luxury hotels mostly used by foreigners visiting the city. In 1994, as horrific acts were carried out in the streets and neighbors attacked each other with machetes, Paul gathered a group of family and friends at the Milles Collines, along with its current guests, to keep them safe. As other people--both Hutu and Tutsi--ran to the hotel for sanctuary, Paul welcomed them all. He was determined to keep the hotel and all of the people in it (more than 1200 during the 90-day siege) safe from harm. He used his upbringing, charisma, and negotiating skills to call in favors and keep the hotel from being attacked, as it was threatened again and again. Throughout this remarkable story, Paul insists he is just an ordinary man who was doing his job, protecting the hotel and its people.

I was completely blown away by this stunning true story. The history was enlightening, since I knew almost nothing about Rwanda or the genocide (my first baby was born in 1994, so I was apparently distracted from world news). In addition, Paul's personal story and the extraordinary things he did to keep so many people safe was gripping and compelling, as he recounts what happened week by week. I was glad that my son had read the book so that I had someone to talk to about it last week! He also recommended the movie, Hotel Rwanda, to me, which he watched in class after reading the book. Besides simply relating the events that occurred in 1994, Paul also muses about what led to such a bloody climax and how regular people were whipped into such a frenzy that they dismembered their friends and neighbors. He has some thought-provoking insights, like this one:

"There is no greater gift to an insecure leader that quite matches a vague "enemy" who can be used to whip up fear and hatred among the population. It is a cheap way to consolidate one's hold on power."

This powerful and thoughtful book recounts an episode of history that is absolutely horrific, though the author also brings an element of hope to the story. After reading about what this "ordinary man" did to save so many people, the reader can't help but to share his hope for humanity and a better future.

204 pages, Penguin Books

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 
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Listen to this sample from the audiobook (or order on Audible), with narrator Dominic Hoffman reading Paul Resesabagina's words, as he explains about the artificial line between Hutus and Tutsis and the impact of the genocide, from the Introduction of the book.

You can purchase An Ordinary Man from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

Or you can order An Ordinary Man from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

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It's Monday 12/2! What Are You Reading?

December? End of the year? Christmas season? Yikes, how did that happen?!

We just returned Saturday night from our dream vacation, renting a house for a week in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Two-thirds of this 20-square mile Caribbean island is a National Park, so it was right up our alley! This was our celebration with our sons of our 30th wedding anniversary this fall. We had a great trip. The scenery was breath-taking, the snorkeling was the best we've ever experienced (sea turtles, rays, tropical fish, moray eels, barracuda, and even sharks just yards off the beach!), and it was wonderful to spend time together, just the four of us. Our sons are now in their early 20's, so we are very fortunate they still want to spend a week's vacation with us. All in all, it lived up to our high expectations, and we made some great memories.

Now, it's back to reality! I have not only the usual re-entry catch-up to do (big pile of mail to sort, over 600 e-mails, etc.), but all of a sudden it's Christmas season! I'll have to make this post quick (and put off blog visits for a couple of days) to get my Cyber Monday shopping done today.

I hope everyone in the U.S. had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family. We took a guided kayak/snorkeling trip Thursday and then enjoyed the traditional Thanksgiving dinner - grilled steaks and watermelon!

As always, we all enjoyed our books, too! I'm in the odd position of being in the middle of reading three different books right now, plus an audio (I normally just read one in print at a time, with an audio on the side). I made the ultimate reader mistake of packing my current book in my checked baggage when we flew out - ugh! Airports and planes are prime reading time. Luckily, I had my Kindle with me, but I had to start a new book. Then, toward the end of the week, reality hit, and I realized I had book group this coming week, so I switched again!

Here's what we've all been reading the past two weeks:

I finished Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy by Anne Lamott for one of my book groups this week. I have enjoyed Lamott's memoirs and novels in the past so was eager to read this one. It's a memoir about mercy: what it means, how she finds it in her life, and its relationship with grace. It's all a bit ephemeral and musing (and a bit wandering), but I enjoy thoughtful books. It falls back strongly on Lamott's well-known experiences getting (and staying) sober, her religious beliefs (and those of others), and the need for "radical kindness" in our world. I missed the book group discussion, sandwiched in between a trip to my mom's to help her after surgery and our vacation. I received this book in a Yankee Book Swap at Booktopia a few years ago from a good friend and was pleased to open it up two weeks ago and realize it was signed by the author!

Next, I read another book for Nonfiction November that has been on my shelves for years, ever since my son read it in high school, about 9 years ago! I am so glad I finally got to An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography by Paul Rusesabagina, with Tom Zoellner. This is the man and the true story that inspired the movie Hotel Rwanda (which I now want to watch). It is a stunning account of how this ordinary hotel manager in Rwanda's largest city, Kigali, opened his hotel to refugees during the horrific, devastating genocide in 1994. With military, rebels, and even normal people murdering friends and neighbors in the streets, Paul steadfastly protected over 1200 people and used his considerable negotiating skills to call in favors to keep the hotel and its occupants safe for the duration of the 90-day horror, putting his own life at risk. My son and I discussed the book and its hero while I was reading it; it is a shocking, amazing story of how an ordinary man did something extraordinary. It was also an important history lesson for me. Highly recommended.

That was the book I mistakenly packed in my checked bag at the airport last Saturday, so I was without it at the airport and on the plane. I first read through Eyewitness Travel's Top 10 US and British Virgin Islands: Your Guide to the 10 Best of Everything, to find out more about where we were going and what we might see and do while there. Then, I looked through my Kindle to see what other absorbing nonfiction options I had available. I settled on The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe, all about his mother's treatment and decline with cancer and how she and Will discussed books together as a way of connecting. I absolutely loved Schwalbe's Books for Living, which I read for Booktopia several years ago, and also loved meeting him in person and getting to know him a bit. I thoroughly enjoyed starting this book on the plane and can't wait to get back to it, but once we were settled in our vacation house, I went back to the book I had been reading. I really don't like reading multiple books at once; I am a monogamous reader!

After finishing An Ordinary Man, I started Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe by Jane Goodall, since this was my planned "vacation book." This 1990 book (with an 2010 updated preface from Jane) describes her thirty years spent researching, observing, and living among the chimps in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. She alternates between sharing details of chimp research findings and studies, her own life in studying them, and narratives of the lives of the chimps themselves, each as individual and unique as humans are. It is a fascinating book that reads sort of like a chimp soap opera in parts! The reader gets to know the chimps as individuals and follow their lives through births, adolescence, battles for primacy among the males, and tragedies. I was inspired to read this book after reading Threatened, a YA novel about an African boy who lives among chimps in Gabon, and was really enjoying it and up to about page 110 (in the middle of the chapter on Sex!), when I had to set it aside because...

...I realized I had book group in a few days! I had completely forgotten about it while on vacation and towards the end of the trip, I was thinking about what to make for dessert for the book group on Wednesday, when I remembered, "Oh, right - there's a book to read, too!" So, I made an abrupt shift back to fiction and started The Woman I Was Before by Kerry Fisher (luckily, I had thought ahead at some point and downloaded it onto my Kindle!). I wasn't enjoying it at first because I found most of the characters unrelatable--phony and inauthentic--though it is growing on me. It's a bit lighter than our usual book group choices. The novel focuses on the differences between what people post on social media and what their real lives are like, which seems like a good topic to explore. But, at first, the women in the novel are just plain lying on Facebook. For instance, one will have be upset with her husband and then post a staged photo and #besthubbyever on Facebook. Who does that? So, as you can tell, I was annoyed with the characters at first (except for one who has a real reason for hiding her true self). I'm about 70% of the way through now, though, and I am liking it better. The women seem to be evolving and growing, so that's a plus. There are some surprising plot twists, too. I'll finish soon and get back to the chimps, who don't use Facebook!


On audio, I am still listening to Becoming by Michelle Obama, which is just as wonderful as everyone said it was! The early chapters cover her childhood in Chicago's South Side, her family, and her early friendships and education. Then, it moves into her career, meeting Barack, having children, and, of course, the election. I am about halfway, where they have just moved into the White House. She is honest, open, and warm, bringing the reader into her world and sharing not just the facts but also her thoughts looking back. It paints a picture of her as a person but also of the times she has lived through and the culture of the world around her. She is close to my age, so I can relate to much of that. As I heard from many people, the book is especially good on audio, read by the author in her lovely, familiar voice, and I am enjoying every moment of it (it's a long one).


My husband, Ken, finished the YA post-apocalyptic thriller, The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey. This is book 2 of the trilogy that begins with The 5th Wave, which my husband, son, and I all loved (we still need to watch the movie adaptation). I read this second book in the series for my RIP XIV Challenge this fall, and I definitely want to read book 3. My son liked book 2 even more than the first book (he liked the emphasis on action and less romance - ha ha). If you enjoyed other YA post-apocalyptic thrillers like the Divergent trilogy, you should definitely give this one a try. My husband enjoyed it, too, and we are all looking forward to reading book 3, The Last Star.

Now, Ken has moved onto a birthday gift I gave him, The Witch Elm by Tana French. We are both huge fans of this Irish mystery/thriller author. Ken has read almost all of her Dublin Murder Squad series, and I recently read (and loved - review at the link) The Likeness (book 2) this fall. This is an unusual one for her, as it's a stand-alone suspense novel that was on lots of Best of 2018 lists. It's about a man, Toby, who is beaten and left for dead by some thieves one night. While recovering, he moves to his family's ancestral home to care for an aging uncle. Inside a tree in the yard, a human skull is discovered, and the police are called, as Toby realizes his past may not be exactly what he always thought it was. Ken is enjoying it so far.

Our son, 25, has been immersed in The Sanctuary Series by Robert J. Crane. While on vacation, he finished reading book 2, Avenger; book 3, Champion; and just this morning finished book 4, Crusader. He loves epic fantasies, and is enjoying this series very much. We gave him book 1, Defender, for Christmas, but he was turned off because it was only 269 pages (the longer, the better for him). He finally read it last month and loved it, and was off on a new series! The books are getting progressively longer, with book 4 weighing in at almost 600 pages, so he is thrilled with that. He loved it and is eager to read the rest of the series.

During vacation, he also read The Blood King by Gail Z. Martin, book 2 in the Chronicles of the Necromancer series. He told me he read book 1, The Summoner, years ago and really enjoyed it. He actually started book 2 back in 2015 but set it aside for some reason so was glad to get back to it now. It's a fantasy adventure series, of the type that he loves. He finished it on vacation...and he bought a book at the airport, too. He loves to read (obviously) and did not at all mind the three hours spent waiting in the airport and the four-hour flight home on Saturday. In fact, he offered to swap to a middle seat in the back so a mother could sit with her special needs child, and his brother reassured her, "Oh, it's no problem. He won't even notice he's in a middle seat - he'll just read all the way home." ha ha Yup, that's our son!


Blog posts from two weeks ago:

Fiction Review: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, a wonderful epic family drama set in Korea and Japan

My Summary of Books Read in October - a record reading month for me!

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.   

What are you and your family reading this week?

Books Read in October

Brilliant fall color in October!

Whew, it's taken me a while to write my October reading summary because I read SO many books last month and finally finished reviewing all of them! It was a mostly dark reading month, for the RIP XIV Challenge. Here's what I finished in October:

• Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (VA) - adult mystery/legal thriller
• The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey (OH) - YA post-apocalyptic thriller
• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (UK) - adult classic mystery

• Threatened by Eliot Schrefer (Gabon) - YA suspense/thriller
• Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land (UK) - adult psychological thriller on audio
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (Korea, Japan) - adult novel

• A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (CT) - YA mystery on audio
• The Midwinter Witch by Molly Knox Ostertag - middle-grade graphic novel
• Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke - middle-grade graphic novel

• Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson (FL) - adult suspense on audio
• The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld (OR) - adult mystery/suspense
• Grimoire Noir by Vera Greentea & Yana Bogatch - YA graphic novel

• Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (CA) - adult mystery

Thirteen books?? I don't think I've ever read 13 books in a single month before (though, three of them were quick graphic novels) - no wonder it took me so long to review them all! With the focus on mystery, suspense, and thrillers, it was a very fun reading month. Of the thirteen, four of them were YA, two were middle-grade graphic novels, and the rest were adult books. I listened to three books on audio and read the rest in print. I enjoyed every one of these - so hard to pick a favorite! I really loved Pachinko, The Child Finder, A Study in Charlotte, and And Then There Were None, but if I have to pick a single favorite, I think it would be Threatened by Eliot Schrefer, about an African boy living with chimpanzees in Gabon. I was so engrossed and fascinated by this novel that I immediately got a copy of one of Jane Goodall's books for Nonfiction November!

Progress in 2019 Reading Challenges:
This is my favorite part of my monthly summary - updating my Reading Challenges:

Mount TBR Reading Challenge - The RIP Challenge is always great for my TBR Challenge! I added eight books from my own shelves last month - woohoo!

Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - October was Tricks and Trades month, and the characters in The Midwinter Witch by Molly Knox Ostertag are witches!

Back to the Classics Challenge - I finally read a classic last month, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. That brings my grand total for the year so far to ... 4!

Monthly Keyword Challenge - After eight months without meeting this challenge even once (clearly, not the best choice for me), I finally had one keyword for September and hit it again in October with The Midwinter Witch.

Nonfiction Reading Challenge 2019 - No nonfiction last month.

Diversity Reading Challenge - Five books last month had diverse characters.

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - I read several books set in the UK (nothing new there) but added Gabon, Korea, and Japan (and learned a lot about those places!).

2018 Literary Escapes Challenge - I added two new states, Florida and Oregon.

RIP XIV Challenge - Twelve of my thirteen books last month were for this challenge - so much fun!

Finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month. I filled in 20 squares in October:

Sorry for the bad photo!

Spaces Filled:

Miracle Creek - not in a series
The Infinite Sea - squad/friends, future setting, immortal creatures
And Then There Were None - read a physical book
Threatened - shelf love
Good Me, Bad Me - free book
A Study in Charlotte - romance, in a series
Pachinko - historic setting, library book, candy
The Midwinter Witch - holiday, vacation, shifter creature
Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl -  Non-human on the cover
Never Have I Ever - audio book
The Child Finder - kidnapped
Devil in a Blue Dress - reluctant hero

What was your favorite book read in October?