Books Read in March

Forsythia and daffodils in bloom!

Life was strange and nerve-wracking in March, but at least the reading was good! Here are the books I finished last month:

• The Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard (TN) - adult fiction on audio
• Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht (Argentina) - adult fiction
• Black Is the Body: Stories from my Grandmother's Time, my Mother's Time, and Mine by Emily Bernard (VT) - adult nonfiction/memoir

• OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu (MA) - teen/YA fiction
• The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata (LA) - adult fiction on audio
• Women Rowing North: Navigating Life's Currents and Flourishing as We Age by Mary Pipher (KS) - adult nonfiction/memoir

• For Once in My Life by Colleen Coleman (UK) - adult fiction

I finished seven books in all in March, which is a good month for me. I read a nice mix of fiction and nonfiction, including one YA novel (though no middle-grade books), and two of my books were on audio. It's unusual for me to read two nonfiction books in one month when it's not Nonfiction November! It was an excellent reading month, and I enjoyed all of these and the variety. I think OCD Love Story was my favorite--the book that most grabbed me.

Progress in 2020 Reading Challenges:
You can see all of the reading challenges I am participating in and full lists of the books read for each at the challenges link. I have some fun ones going this year! Here's how March stacked up:

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2020 - I only read 2 books from my own shelves last month, but with the libraries all shut down and no book groups or events, my TBR reading should ramp WAY up!

2020 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - March was Sub-Genre Sound-Off, so I chose The Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard, which is WWII historical fiction.

Back to the Classics 2020 - no classics yet this year, but I did kick off April with one!

PopSugar Reading Challenge - this is a unique one! I fit six of my seven books into categories in March, filling in 17 categories so far this year:

1. A book that won an award in 2019: Black Is the Body: Stories from my Grandmother's Time, my Mother's Time, and Mine by Emily Bernard
2. A book on a subject you know nothing about: The Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard
3. A book that has a book on the cover: The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata
4. A book with a three-word title: Women Rowing North by Mary Pipher
5. A book with a pink cover: OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu
6. A book by or about a journalist: For Once in My Life by Colleen Coleman

2020 Nonfiction Reader's Challenge - I read two nonfiction books in March, fitting into the categories for Social Science (Black Is the Body: Stories from my Grandmother's Time, my Mother's Time, and Mine by Emily Bernard) and Feminism (Women Rowing North: Navigating Life's Currents and Flourishing as We Age by Mary Pipher), for a total of four nonfiction books so far this year.

2020 Diversity Reading Challenge - Six of my seven books were diverse last month and Women Rowing North: Navigating Life's Currents and Flourishing as We Age by Mary Pipher fit into the monthly theme of gender/woman author.

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - I added just one new country in March, Argentina.

2020 Literary Escapes Challenge - I read books set in four new states: Kansas, Tennessee, Vermont, and Louisiana.

And finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! Stop by to print out this month's Bingo card and play along. In March, I filled 18 spaces on my bingo card:

Spaces Filled in:

The Atomic City Girls - secrets, enemies/frenemies, audiobook
Who Is Vera Kelly? - suspense/thriller, library book, military, in a series, set in a city
Black Is the Body - dark past/history
OCD Love Story - free book, children's book, shelf love
The Lost Book of Adana Moreau - diverse characters, luck
Women Rowing North - not in a series
For Once in My Life - read a physical book, blue on the cover
Free Space

What was your favorite book read in March?

Fiction Review: The Lost Book of Adana Moreau

One of the selections for Booktopia 2020 this year was The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata. This unique novel has a fairy-tale like feel as it chronicles the lives of generations of two immigrant families and how one book brought them together.

The novel begins in the early decades of the 20th century, when a pirate moves to New Orleans and marries a woman who is an orphan from the Dominican Republic. The two of them love each other very much and have a son named Maxwell. Maxwell grows up in New Orleans in his early years, walking the streets of the city. His mother loves to read science fiction and writes her own sci fi novel called Lost City that deals with multiple universes and alternative timelines. She publishes the book and writes a sequel, A Model Earth, but on her deathbed, she and Maxwell burn the only copy of the second book. Shortly afterward, Maxwell's father, the pirate, leaves, and Maxwell, left on his own, eventually sets off in search of him.

Then, the action shifts to 2005. Saul, a Jewish immigrant, is cleaning out his beloved grandfather's apartment in Chicago after his death. An envelope is delivered to the apartment that has been returned in the mail, addressed to Maxwell Moreau, that his grandfather had tried to send. Inside is the manuscript for A Model Earth, which had supposedly been destroyed (though Saul knows nothing of that). With a bit of research, he realizes that Maxwell's mother wrote the book, and his grandfather had been trying to return it to him. Saul takes on his grandfather's mission of trying to find Maxwell and sets off with a childhood friend who is a journalist. Their search takes them to post-Katrina New Orleans.

This is a fascinating and convoluted story of multiple generations of two families who are interrelated. With a lyrical writing style, it has dream-like feel to it. For instance, in those early chapters, Maxwell's parents are referred to as the pirate and the Dominicana, sounding a bit like a fairy tale. The novel is also packed full of historical, literary, and scientific references, including dinosaurs, the Holocaust, astronomy, Greek mythology, and more. Plus, Adana's novels are described in the midst of this novel, with a book-within-a-book set-up that connects in some ways to the real-life stories surrounding them. I always enjoy novels with two intertwined stories, and this one takes a long time to finally show how Maxwell and Saul's grandfather were connected, along the way delving into each of their family's histories, which both center around immigrants. The author weaves a complicated but intriguing story that is compelling and engrossing, filled with interesting facts and thoughtful concepts that will keep you thinking long after you finish the book.

272 pages, Hanover Square Press

Listen to a sampleof the audiobook here, where you can hear the dreamlike quality of the narration of Coral Peña, and/or download it from Audible.

You can purchase The Lost Book of Adana Moreau from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

You can also buythrough indie bookstores using Bookshop.

Or you can order The Lost Book of Adana Moreau from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

TV Tuesday: Miracle Workers: Dark Ages

In need of some good belly laughs and all-around silliness? Who isn't right now! We are finding that Miracle Workers: Dark Ages is the perfect answer when we need a lift, with an all-star cast and a sense of humor that reminds us of Monty Python or Norsemen. First, a quick explanation (it's a bit confusing and I had to look this part up!). The first season of Miracle Workers was an entirely different premise; the one we are watching, Dark Ages, is season 2. Apparently, the overall show is based on the writings of humorist Simon Rich. Season 1, just titled Miracle Workers, was based on his novel, What in God's Name, and is about two low-level angels that must save Earth by helping two humans fall in love. Season 2, Dark Ages, is an entirely different story, with the same cast playing different roles, based on Rich's short story, Revolution, and set in Medieval times.

In season 2, Daniel Radcliffe (of Harry Potter fame) hilariously plays Prince Chauncley, the very clueless son of a cruel king in a small town in the Middle Ages. Karan Soni plays Lord Vexler, the king's top advisor. Out in the village, the focus is on the Shitshoveler family (you see, people are named after their occupation). Steve Buscemi plays Edward, the head of the Shitshoveler family, and the town's ...you guessed it ... shit shoveler. His younger son, Mikey, is played by Jon Bass, and his daughter, Alexandra, is played by Geraldine Viswanathan. The first episode opens on graduation day, when Al and her friends are talking about what they will do next. Al is super smart and one of the few townspeople who knows how to read, but she must follow in her father's footsteps and learn the shit shoveler trade. Her best friend, Maggie (played by Lolly Adefope), joins the local convent, but the two young women remain close and often end their days up on a roof overlooking the town and drinking mead. Prince Chauncley is pretty much a screw-up because he's never had to do anything for himself, but he has eyes for Al and wants to be a better person to impress her. That's the basic set-up, but of course, each episode presents a new problem and digs deeper into the characters.

It's impossible to describe the humor of this show--you just have to watch the first episode to see for yourself! If you are a fan of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you'll love this show. The approach of the show is also very similar to Norsemen, a Viking comedy. Both shows are set long ago but include hilarious references to modern times planted here and there, ready to surprise a laugh out of you (to see what I mean, check out the trailer below; the last scene in it features Chauncley setting out on a road trip). Each episode is just 30 minutes long, so it is perfect when you need a short escape from the sobering news ... or for binging, if you prefer! The cast is amazing; all of them are perfect in their roles, acting straight while making you laugh. The show also has plenty of heart. Radcliffe as Chauncley has this adorably vacant stare, as he fumbles through his life, trying to attract Al's attention. Viswanathan is smart and clever, and Buscemi as her father plays the straight man hilariously. Are you getting the idea? This show will make you laugh!

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages just wrapped up season 2 on TBS, so all of the episodes are available On Demand or at TBS's website (as are season 1 episodes). We are up to episode 6 of 10 in season 2 (and still need to watch season 1). I believe it is also available on Hulu.

It's Monday 4/13! What Are You Reading?

What day is it? What month is it? ha ha Just kidding, though the days are starting to run together a bit. We enjoyed a very nice Easter. We video chatted with the whole family (who would normally be together for Easter) then had our traditional Ukrainian feast here with just us. My son and his girlfriend joined us for a socially distant dinner - we set up a card table for them away from the dining room table! It was a lot of work for me, but we all had a great day and enjoyed being together (and eating all that yummy food!). Hoping the pierogies didn't have too bad an effect on my gluten-intolerant son, who splurged on them - they're his favorite! I hope all of you also managed to have a nice holiday and/or weekend in these odd times we're living in.

A social distancing Easter dinner

I continued to struggle with my health last week. My chronic illness has been flared up for the past two weeks or so, causing super-low stamina and occasional severely bad days (I had another of those last week). But this weekend was very busy and far too exerting for me, with lots of time standing in the kitchen yesterday and a walk, and so far, I am feeling OK this morning! Fingers crossed that I might be getting back to my usual normal baseline, though I am being cautious today (sometimes there is a delayed reaction to exertion). I hope to get back to more typical functioning for me this week and also try some more book videos - I have a lot more bookcases here to share with you! To check out the mini tour of our To-Be-Read Bookcase, visit my Facebook page at the link - like the page to see other posts and get updates.

Wow, we are all really loving our books right now! The three of us are enjoying the extra reading time and indulging in some good fiction, for the most part. Here's what we've been reading this past week:

This weekend, I finished reading The Late Show by Michael Connelly because I felt in the mood for fast-paced escapism (as I think many people are right now). I haven't read a Connelly novel in ages, but my husband and I both love his Harry Bosch series (and the TV show adapted from it). I gave this one to my husband for Christmas a few years ago. It's the first book in a new Connelly series, featuring female LAPD detective Renee Ballard. She works the midnight shift ("the late show") in Hollywood, which means she and her partner respond to calls all night, collecting evidence and writing reports, but then turn their cases over to the day shift. This novel begins with a long night of new cases, including one that Ballard really wants to be able to investigate herself instead of turning it over, plus a multiple shooting in a club that her old partner is helping to investigate. It was great, as all his novels are, and I really enjoyed the immersive suspense.

Now, I have moved onto another book from deep in my TBR bookcase (one advantage of the libraries being closed), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. This is the first Foer novel I have read, though I saw the movie adaptation (starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock) of this one years ago. I remember the general premise and that I loved the story (it's a great movie), but I don't remember all the details. It's about an extremely smart and precocious nine-year-old boy named Oskar who lost his dad in 9/11. It's only been a few months, and he hasn't fully processed the trauma and grief yet. Oskar finds a key that belonged to his father, and he goes on a mission (much like the secret missions his dad used to send him on) to find the lock that fits the key. He's got all of New York City to search, so this is a big mission, but it's just what Oskar needs to help him heal and move forward. Although that perhaps sounds a bit dark, I remember the movie being funny, uplifting, and full of joy. I just started the novel yesterday, but I am already enjoying it and laughing out loud.

I forgot to mention last week that I've also been squeezing some graphic novels between the cracks in my available time. I finished Snapdragon by Kat Leyh, a middle-grade graphic novel, and really enjoyed it. It's an original story about a girl named Snapdragon who feels like she doesn't fit in. She befriends Louis next door, who listens to his heart and soon begins to transform into Lulu, with Snap's encouragement. She also meets an old woman named Jacks, whom everyone thinks is a witch, in the woods. As Snap gets to know her better, the two of them spend more and more time together and begin to bond. Though Snap now knows that Jacks is just a lonely old woman, she soon learns some secrets that could indicate that Jacks actually does know some real magic, plus a possible connection with Snap's own family. It's a warm, smart, unique story about kindness, acceptance, friends, and family (and a touch of magic).

I also read an adult graphic memoir, Go To Sleep (I Miss You): Cartoons from the Fog of New Parenthood by one of my favorite artist/authors, Lucy Knisely (who also wrote graphic memoirs like Relish: My Life in the Kitchen and Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride. If, like me, you have followed her life as depicted in these warm, fun, entertaining books, then this one about being a new parent fits perfectly into the timeline. And if you're new to Knisely, then this is a good introduction. The book is all about the joys and stresses of being a new parent, from sleep deprivation to worries to first smiles, all captured in Knisely's wonderful drawing style. Anyone who has been a parent can relate and feel her love for her baby come off the page and into your heart.

On audio, I am still listening to Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore, a newly released novel. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve 1982, a young woman named Oona who is celebrating her nineteenth birthday is suddenly transported 32 years into the future, where she is a 51-year-old woman, living in a gorgeous house and greeted warmly by a man she's never seen before. From then on, each year at the same time, Oona jumps to another age and time in her life. This plot is right up my alley! As I've mentioned, I love time travel and alternate timeline plots in novels, so this is a perfect escape for me right now. I am loving it so far. It's pretty mind-bending as Oona jumps from one age/time into another, but that's exactly what I love about these kinds of plots. She approaches each year very differently and it takes her a while to get the hang of this bizarre life she's leading. I am just starting Part 4, as she makes her third jump, from age 27 to ... I need to go listen to more to find out!

My husband, Ken, just finished a novel I gave him as a gift, Live to Air by Jeffrey L. Diamond. This is a thriller about a television news producer named Ethan Benson. Although he hates crime stories, he gets pulled into a big one when his boss assigns him to cover a bloody murder in the meatpacking district that grabs headlines. As he investigates the story, which has ties to organized crime, he criss-crosses New York, from one borough to another, as things get more and more dangerous. His wife and son have to go into hiding, and his own life is in danger, as he follows the story to its end. This sounds like a suspenseful, tense thriller. Ken enjoyed its inside view of television journalism and said it kept him guessing right up till the end.

Now, Ken has made a big switch after a bunch of fast-paced thrillers to The Pioneers by David McCoullough, a nonfiction history book. I received this one as an Advanced Reader Copy last year, and though I didn't review it, we hung onto it. It's about the part of American history that includes the settling of the Northwest Territory, beginning in 1788, as a band of pioneers set out after ther Revolutionary War seeking the freedom of religion, free education, and prohibition of slavery that existed further west from the original 13 colonies. McCoullough is an outstanding and award-winning writer, so I'm sure this is an amazing book, though I wonder if I would have trouble reading about pioneers and westward expansion after reading An Indigenous People's History of the United States earlier this year!

Our son, 25, finished reading Master, book 5 in the Sanctuary series by Robert J. Crane. We gave him book 1, Defender, for Christmas 2018, and he loved the series so much that he quickly read books 2, 3, and 4, also. So, this past Christmas, we gave him book 5. The series is epic fantasy about a world called Arkaria and features dragons, titans, goblins, and more. He loves the series, and thoroughly enjoyed this next book. He said this series has lots of action and suspense. Staying homebound is giving him some much-needed downtime to take care of his health and finally get to some of these tomes he's been wanting to read!

Speaking of tomes, he has now turned his attention to The Sixth Strand by Melissa McPhail, book 5 in her A Pattern of Shadow and Light series. He loves this series and even gave his dad book 1 for Christmas last year, so he could share it with him. This is another giant book (900 pages), so it looks like he's reading a big encyclopedia when he carries it around the house! (Am I dating myself with that reference?) He read 100 pages in the first day, and is loving being immersed back in this complex fantasy world.





Just one additional blog post last week (I have some catching up to do):

Nonfiction Review: Women Rowing North: Navigating Life's Currents and Flourishing as We Age by Mary Pipher - a warm and thoughtful look at the experiences of women aging

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?

Nonfiction Review: Women Rowing North

One of the many library books I have stacked here at home, awaiting the re-opening of libraries, is Women Rowing North: Navigating Life's Currents and Flourishing as We Age by Mary Pipher. This was my neighborhood book group's pick for March 31, though of course, we had to postpone our meeting (which was also a nice dinner out to celebrate our 175th book!). I waffled a bit about whether or not to finish the book right away, when I realized we wouldn't be able to discuss it now, because I was in the mood for some nice fictional escape, but I ended up enjoying this interesting and thoughtful book about women aging.

The author writes about her own experiences, as well as those of a diverse range of other older women, using the metaphor of rowing north for aging. She's divided the book into four parts: Challenges of the Journey, covering cultural, physical, and developmental challenges of aging; Travel Skills, with advice for living a happy and fulfilling life; The People on the Boat, with a focus on relationships; and The Northern Lights, about some of the joys of aging. Within each section, she includes multiple chapters covering specific topics, and each chapter shares stories from many different women's lives, most of whom she returns to again and again throughout the book. She also weaves her own experiences throughout the book. Some of the topics she tackles include loneliness and isolation, caregiving, changes in our bodies, creating community, learning to be grateful, grief, and much more. Her writing is engaging and insightful, as in this excerpt from the first chapter:

"Those who do not suffer become insufferable. Our depth comes from experiencing a wide range of emotions, including profound tragedy, and our strength comes from that which could destroy us. As we grow from heartbreak, we increase our pain tolerance. As my friend Nora put it, "Leona's death prepared me for my son's burn accident, and that prepared me for this terrible moment when my sister is dying. I know how hard life can be, so I enjoy every good day."

Without suffering, too much is taken for granted. With a transcendent response to suffering, nothing is too small to appreciate. We can enjoy every fresh apricot, blazing October day, and visit with a friend. We can be awake and whole.

Of course, all of this is easier said than done. None of us manages a transcendent response with everything. This book is not promoting perfection, but rather engagement in a process that will make us happier."

I have to admit, I didn't have a great attitude about this book when I started reading it! While my book group chose it by vote, it was not the book that I voted for, and as I said, with the news getting more grim each day, I was more in the mood for fiction. Then, as I began reading it, I realized that it was actually quite similar to and covered many of the same topics as my own book that was just published, Finding a New Normal: Living Your Best Life with Chronic Illness; just substitute aging for chronic illness! But, this beautifully written and lovingly researched book won me over. I ended up tabbing dozens of pages throughout the book with quotes that I want to write in my Quote Journal, so it must have had some interesting things to say! I also very much enjoyed the stories of the women that Pipher shares throughout, providing a broad range of views and experiences. Because of becoming chronically ill at age 37, I have dealt with many typical "aging challenges" at a young age (and probably, as she says in that passage above, learned and grew from those experiences), but there was still a lot here to engage, entertain, and edify me.

251 pages, Bloomsbury Publishing

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.

Listen to a sampleof the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

You can purchase Women Rowing North from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

You can also buythrough indie bookstores using Bookshop.

Or you can order Women Rowing North from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

It's Monday 4/6! What Are You Reading?

I hope everyone is safe and healthy and coping well with the current stay-at-home orders! We had a little scare last week but are fine. My chronic illness has been acting up lately; for the past two weeks, my stamina has just been a bit lower, and I am often a bit achy. I know that sounds frightening right now, but it is a "normal" symptom of my immune system disorder, a sign that my immune system is over-reacting. But, on Friday, I woke up seriously relapsed (what we call "crashed") - exhausted, severe aches, mild sore throat. Again, all within the realm of normal for me, though pretty rare these days with the treatments I am on. So, of course, we got a little worried. The thing is that if I over-exerted (it doesn't take much) or was exposed to an ordinary cold or was exposed to coronavirus, it would probably feel the same way for me - my immune system over-responds, and I get exhausted, achy, and a sore throat (if I actually caught COVID-19, it would be different, with the fever, cough, etc.). Luckily, after a day of serious resting, I felt a lot better this weekend. I'm still a bit achy today, even though I woke up feeling great. Our latest theory is that the bad allergy season (my nose has been running and my eyes watering nonstop for weeks) could be triggering this slight downturn for me. Who knows? My usual guessing game is a bit more complicated these days! This is a time of uncertainty for us all. But, I am OK, just slightly more symptomatic that my usual these days.

I have been trying something new for both this blog and my chronic illness blog and posting videos on my Facebook pages (the Facebook page for this blog is here). Last week, I did a mini tour of our To-Be-Read Bookcase. I figured we could all use a bit more personal interaction, even if it's virtual, right now!

Thank goodness for books during this challenging time. Here's what we've all been reading this past week:

I finished reading For Once In My Life by Colleen Coleman, a British romcom, as I was in the mood for something light. I was very surprised when my husband gave it to me for my birthday last year, since it is so different from what I normally read, but this was the perfect time for it. Lily is a young woman who was left at the altar when her soon-to-be-husband revealed he was in love with her best friend (while an entire church waited for them to exchange vows), and she loved him, too. Flash-forward three years later, and Lily is clearly still damaged from the experience, though she is happy working as a journalist for the local newspaper and living in her cozy little cottage. Upper management visits from the head office and threatens to shut down the paper unless there is a huge turn-around in ad sales and readership. Lily is now at the helm as Editor-in-Chief, working with a "transitional consultant" sent by management. I was pleased that the focus of the story is on Lily taking charge and diving into her new role (though there is a new romance budding, too), and I enjoyed witnessing Lily turn her life around.

Next, I read a book I've been meaning to get to for decades: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. My dad loved Vonnegut, and I can remember him reading all of his novels back in the 70's. I've been meaning to try one ever since. For years, I avoided this one because of the yucky title, and then just last year I heard it is actually a time travel story (which I love). Our copy is actually from the 70's, purchased by my husband for 50 cents at a used bookstore in his hometown, probably when he was a teen! So...how to describe this unique novel? It's about a man named Billy Pilgrim, who "comes unstuck in time." Billy sometimes suddenly time travels to a different time (and place) in his life. Oh, and he was also abducted by aliens at one point and living in a zoo on the planet Tralfamadore. Billy was a prisoner of war in WWII and present at the devastating firebombing of Dresden, an event which clearly affected him for the rest of his life. He was also an optometrist, a husband, and a father, so he was an ordinary man who lived through some extraordinary things. I really enjoyed this quick read of a novel that is a strange but entertaining mix of both horrifying and funny, using some sci fi plot devices to examine real life.

Now, I am onto The Late Show by Michael Connelly because I felt in the mood for fast-paced escapism (as I think many people are right now). I haven't read a Connelly novel in ages, but my husband and I both love his Harry Bosch series (and the TV show adapted from it). I gave this one to my husband for Christmas a few years ago. It's the first book in a new Connelly series, featuring female LAPD detective Renee Ballard. She works the midnight shift ("the late show") in Hollywood, which means she and her partner respond to calls all night, collecting evidence and writing reports, but then turn their cases over to the day shift. I've only just started this one last night but am already loving it. It begins with a long night of new cases, including two that Ballard really wants to be able to investigate herself instead of turning them over. I'm looking forward to some good immersive suspense!

On audio, I finished listening to Notorious by Gordon Korman. I enjoyed Korman's Masterminds series, and this one is completely different but also enjoyable so far. Keenan normally lives an exciting, international life moving from one country to another with his mother, who teaches in international schools. But he caught TB (seriously!) and was sent to his father's home on Centerlight Island to recuperate. Centerlight is located right on the US/Canadian border so the island is split (and not in a straight line) in every way. Keenan knows no one there and finds the slow pace very different from his normal life, but he makes a new friend, a girl named Zarabeth (ZeeBee, for short), whose dad works for the Canadian Border Patrol. The island has a rich criminal history as a key part of a Prohibition smuggling route. ZeeBee asks Keenan to help her solve a mystery; she believes that her beloved dog, Barney, was murdered (and considers her new dog, Barney 2, a poor substitute). The two kids set out to solve the mystery of Barney's death, while also diving into the island's gangster past. This middle-grade mystery was a lot of fun, with the added plus of a unique setting and a backdrop of intriguing history.

This morning, I started a new audiobook, Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore, a newly released novel. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve 1982, a young woman named Oona who is celebrating her nineteenth birthday is suddenly transported 32 years into the future, where she is a 51-year-old woman, married to a man she's never seen before. From then on, each year at the same time, Oona jumps to another age and time in her life. This plot sounds right up my alley! As I've mentioned, I love time travel and alternate timeline plots in novels, so this sounds like a perfect escape for me right now. It did just occur to me as I was listening to Chapter 1 that I just finished Slaughterhouse Five, which is also about someone time traveling in his own life! But that's OK. I think this will be a very different kind of novel, and I'm excited to listen to it.

My husband, Ken, finished reading a novel from an old favorite series of ours, Wild Kat by Karen Kijewski. Back in the 80's and 90's, my husband and I both loved this series about a female PI named Kat Colorado. In fact, these books (and also Sue Grafton's alphabet series) were our go-to's for backpacking trips. We'd slip a lightweight paperback in the pack and take turns reading aloud to each other at night in our tent...good memories!! So, when we spotted this one in a used bookstore last year, we were very excited to revisit Kat and her escapades. My husband loved revisiting this old favorite character and appreciated its quick pace and well-written but not overly complicated plot. It was just what he needed right now. If you enjoy mysteries and somehow missed the Kat Colorado series back then, we definitely recommend it!

Now, Ken has moved onto a novel I gave him as a gift, Live to Air by Jeffrey L. Diamond. This is a thriller about a television news producer named Ethan Benson. Although he hates crime stories, he gets pulled into a big one when his boss assigns him to cover a bloody murder in the meatpacking district that grabs headlines. As he investigates the story, which has ties to organized crime, he criss-crosses New York, from one borough to another, as things get more and more dangerous. His wife and son have to go into hiding, and his own life is in danger, as he follows the story to its end. This sounds like a suspenseful, tense thriller.

Our son, 25, is reading Master, book 5 in the Sanctuary series by Robert J. Crane. We gave him book 1, Defender, for Christmas 2018, and he loved the series so much that he quickly read books 2, 3, and 4, also. So, this past Christmas, we gave him book 5. The series is epic fantasy about a world called Arkaria and features dragons, titans, goblins, and more. He loves the series, and is thoroughly enjoying this next book right now. Staying homebound is giving him some much-needed downtime to take care of his health and finally get to some of these tomes he's been wanting to read! He's already got plans for his next book and his next and...


Last week's blog posts:

Movie Monday: We Own the Night - gripping crime thriller with a great cast

Teen/YA Review: OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu - excellent novel about mental health with a great sense of humor & a dash of romance

Fiction Review: For Once in My Life by Colleen Coleman - fun, uplifting rom-com

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?

Fiction Review: For Once in my Life

I just finished reading For Once in my Life by Colleen Coleman, a fun, uplifting rom-com. I was surprised when my husband gave me this novel for my birthday last year because I rarely read romances or rom-coms. But this was just perfect for my mood last week, after reading two thoughtful nonfiction books and watching way too much news the past few weeks! I enjoyed it very much and was pleased to realize the focus wasn't just on romance but on a woman finding her place in the world.

Twenty-nine-year-old Lily was left at the altar three years ago, when her fiance told her--with a church full of family and friends waiting--that he was in love with her best friend and maid of honor (who loved him, too). Since then, she has lived a carefully limited life and is slowly, cautiously beginning to heal. Lily works for a small, local newspaper that has gone downhill and lost readers under the non-leadership of an ineffective editor. But when Lily shows up for work one day, she discovers that he has quit in a huff, and top management from corporate headquarters are on their way in from London. Before she knows what has happened, Lily is the new Editor-in-Chief, a "transformational consultant" named Christopher has been assigned to help turn the paper around, and Lily and her team have just four weeks to show a big increase in sales and readership in order to save their beloved paper. The management team wants Lily to write a series of feature articles, where Lily tries some bucket list items, to give the paper that personal touch that readers seem to respond to. Being Editor-in-Chief is a dream come true for Lily, but a lot is riding on this new features series. What bucket list items can she attempt when she is pretty much afraid of everything these days? Luckily, she has Christopher by her side to help push her beyond her limits. It turns out to be a situation for not just professional development but personal development as well.

I was immediately pulled into this entertaining novel and thrilled to find out that the focus was mostly on Lily finding inner strength, rather than on a man fixing everything for her, with a side plot about her rocky relationship with her mother. As a writer myself, I loved the plot focus on Lily's career as a journalist, and I could also relate to her authentic "I am what I am" approach to life. That said, Lily was definitely in a rut and living an overly cautious life. Trying some outrageous bucket list items turns out to be just what she needs, not only for saving the paper, but for expanding her world, too. The writing was engaging and moved along at a nice pace, which was just what I needed this week. While a few things seemed unrealistic to me (not a single negative comment online on Lily's first column!), the story is mostly realistic and uplifting, in an imperfect way. I was also pleased with the ending, which is a happy one but not all tied up in a neat bow: hopeful yet complicated, just like real life.

259 pages, Bookouture

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.

 

You can purchase For Once in my Life from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

You can also buy online through indie bookstores using Bookshop.

Or you can order For Once in my Life from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Teen/YA Review: OCD Love Story

After reading a couple of serious nonfiction books last month and in the midst of too much coronavirus news, I needed a lighter fictional escape, so I turned to my over-full shelf of middle grade and YA books waiting to be read. I chose OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu, a teen/YA novel that caught my interest when it was first released back in 2013. I'm glad I finally got to it; it is so much more than a teen romance, filled with humor and emotional depth, delving into the details of mental health.

Teenaged Bea has some issues that she tries to hide, but she knows that other kids think she is a little weird. Thank goodness for her best friend, Lisha, who has stuck with her through everything and still loves her just the way she is. Bea is at a school dance when the power goes out, resulting in the kind of noise and chaos you'd expect from a group of teens suddenly plunged into darkness. But Bea hears a familiar sound--short, shallow gasping for breath--and makes her way to the sound in the dark. There she discovers a boy named Beck and ascertains that this is his first panic attack, so she helps to calm him and talk him through it. He leaves, in the dark, before she can even see what he looks like, but they've made a connection. Bea worries when her therapist, Dr. Pat, tells her she has OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and suggests group therapy, but when she goes to her first session, she immediately recognizes Beck's voice from the dance. In person, he's really good-looking, if a little bit overly muscled, and the two of them start to get to know each other better, both in group and out. Those other kids, though--wow, they are seriously messed up. Bea is nothing like them; she just likes to take a lot of notes, talks too much, and sometimes, maybe, gets a little overly interested in a random guy. Beck has the kind of compulsions Bea thinks of as common in OCD: hand-washing, counting, and working out all the time. Despite their differences, though, Beck gets Bea in a way that no one else ever has. His support helps as Bea's compulsions grow and she has more and more trouble keeping them secret, until things finally come to a head in a series of crises. Maybe, with the help of Dr. Pat, Beck, and Lisha, Bea can face up to her fears.

I was completely engrossed in this unique novel from beginning to end. I realized that, like Bea, I actually knew very little about OCD and its many variations. Reading this story written from Bea's perspective and experiences (and as she observes Beck's own issues) was fascinating and made this disease come alive to me, as it affects real people. In short, it is pure torture for the person experiencing it, even though it may just look a bit quirky to outsiders. I learned a lot, but I also thoroughly enjoyed the story and its realistic characters. It's impossible not to root for Bea and Beck to face their own demons so that they can care for and support each other. Lest you think this all sounds too dark and depressing, rest assured that Bea's narration is warm and engaging. She has a sense of humor, including about her own issues, that permeates the entire novel and keeps it from feeling too heavy, even as it deals with very serious issues. I enjoyed reading this original and entertaining novel about facing your fears, living with OCD, being a good friend, and ... just maybe, finding love.

341 pages, Simon Pulse

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

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.

You can purchase OCD Love Story from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

You can also buythrough indie bookstores using Bookshop.

Or you can order OCD Love Story from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Movie Monday: We Own the Night

Saturday night, my husband and I decided to have a wild night out. Just kidding, of course! We stayed in and got wild by watching a movie on TV and eating Paleo brownie sundaes. Do we know how to party or what? We were looking for a good mystery or thriller, so I was just looking up random movie titles on Amazon and Netflix from our "want-to-watch" list of almost 400 films! We ended up with a crime thriller from 2007, We Own the Night, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg. It was dark and suspenseful, with excellent acting.

Wahlberg plays Joseph Grusinsky, an NYPD officer in the 1980's who has just been promoted to Captain of the Narcotics Division. His father is NYPD Deputy Chief Burt Grusinsky, played by Robert Duvall, who congratulates him onstage at a big celebration. Joe's brother, Bobby, played by Joaquin Phoenix, took an entirely different path in life and now manages a successful night club, La Caribe. He uses an assumed name, Bobby Green, so no one knows that he's related to the NYPD's first family. Bobby does love his family, though, and he shows up for Joe's promotion party, bringing his girlfriend, Amada Juarez (played by Eva Mendes), to meet his family for the first time. The nightclub Bobby runs is owned by Marat Muzhayev, played by Moni Moshonov, who treats Bobby like a son and welcomes him into his family, where Bobby eats meals and plays with Marat's grandkids. Joe and his dad try to warn Bobby that his club is at the center of a huge drug ring they are trying to bust, and one of his top customers is running it. Bobby's not involved in the drug trade, though he does hang out with the guy in the middle of it, and he's stunned when his club is raided a few days later. Joe and his dad want Bobby to help inform on the drug ring, and at first, Bobby says no, until events escalate and he sees that his family is in danger from the Russian mafia. Then, all three Grusinsky men end up in the midst of a nightmarish drug war, up against powerful criminals, in a life or death battle.

Although the plot here is a little bit complicated, we had no trouble following it and were soon caught up in the suspenseful action. Bobby is a bit misguided, but you can see that he's a good guy, just having fun and living a life of freedom and parties. That all comes to an abrupt end when he realizes that his family is in danger; his loyalties are never in question. Phoenix brings his characteristic intensity to this role so that you can really feel Bobby's apathy, reluctance to get involved, and his love for both Amada and his family. The plot is filled with twists and turns that take you by surprise, and a growing sense of tension that grips you from beginning to end, all with a great 80's soundtrack in the background. True, this film is a bit dark, though it's not, as my husband first feared, one of those movies where everyone dies at the end! It's an action-packed crime thriller with surprising emotional depth and outstanding acting from an all-star cast.

We Own the Night is now available on IMDb TV, which we watched through Amazon (for free, with brief, limited ads).