THE LIGHTKEEPER'S DAUGHTER
                            Jean. E Pendziwol

It has been awhile since I have posted anything because I have been in a reading slump.  I have read books but nothing has really spoken to me.  Well,  now I have!!!.
  Wow,  what a good book!!!!.   The descriptive writing took me to the shores of Lake Superior and I felt like I was living the life as the daughter of the lighthouse keeper.

The story is told in the voices of a teenager, Morgan and the elderly woman ,Elizabeth,  who Morgan meets while doing community work at a senior living facility. The chapters alternate between these two ladies.  

Elizabeth's eyesight is failing her and when she receives some of her father's old journals,  she needs Morgan's help in reading them.  While Morgan helps Elizabeth learn more about her past, Morgan begins to learn about her own past as well.

Beautifully written, nostalgic and an elegant debut novel.

Wonder Woman, Vol. 2:  Love and Murder by Jodi Picoult

2017 Reading Challenge - Read a Superhero Comic with a Female Lead.

I was glad this was a challenge topic as I wanted to read Jodi Picoult's issue of Wonder Woman, but I never got around to it when it first came out and since comics aren't really my thing I never really found any other reason to be inspired to pick it up....until now.

I've learned that comics still are not my thing.  They weren't when I was a beginning reader or through my teens or now.  Even venturing into comics and graphic novels through this challenge, it's just not my thing.  Yet, I can appreciate the challenge an author has in trying to tell their story in this format and the artwork, illustrations - mind blowing.  Such amazing talent!!

While I didn't grow up reading comics, I did grow up watching Super Friends in which Wonder Woman was my favorite (though I did crush on Superman and Aquaman) and of course I adored Lynda Carter as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman.  Add Jodi Picoult who is one of my all time favorite authors and of course this was a perfect comic for me to read for this challenge!!  Picoult again brought her humor, her insight, her strong female characters and her moral questions to this issue of Wonder Woman.  Did she inspire me to want to start a comic book collection?  Subscribe to each new action packed issue?  Um, no, but I'm glad I finally did read her version (and only the 2nd woman to write for Wonder Woman) of one of the first female superheros, paving the way for those more recent fierce females inspiring strength and confidence in today's girls.

The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey

Once Upon a Book Club - July 2017 Selection

A light, enjoyable read about a group of four girlfriends.  The kind of lasting friendship many girls dream about, but the kind of friendships that rarely occur.

Based on the true history of Boston North End's Saturday Evening Girls Club started in 1899.  I do love that women have always empowered each other.  While its been a man's world for a long time, women can continue making progress when and only when we empower one another.  That also is when true friendship is born; friends celebrating the joys and successes of another, consoling and empathizing the sorrows and being willing to speak out when they fear the path their friend is on may be dangerous, even if speaking out may risk the friendship.

Would easily recommend this to anyone looking for a heartwarming story.

The gifts provided by the subscription service were unique to the story and presumably handmade.  Really a lot of fun!!

Quote:  "...just because you or I wouldn't choose it for ourselves doesn't mean we should judge her for it."

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan

PageHabit Subscription - June - Mystery

A debut novel for Mr. Sullivan and I give kudos to him.  While this wasn't an edge of my seat suspense thriller (alright I was a little nervous during the Hammerman scenes), it was a well-written whodunit.  The messages left by Joey are ingenious!  The pages turned quickly with red herrings tossed in and a well played out message of our secrets can destroy multiple lives.

PageHabit's addition of author annotated Post-It Notes really added some flavor to the book as to the author's motivations for adding certain locations and props.

A good read for vacation, road trip, something not too heavy and just intriguing enough to keep you entertained.

Quotes:   "He was going through something, as well do sometimes, and I was his friend, so I would stay at his side because that's what you do."

"Listen.  I guess I'm telling you that your presence on this planet is requested, okay?"

Sleeping Angel by Greg Herren

2017 Reading Challenge - Read a YA or middle grade novel by and author who identifies as LGBTQ

Sadly, I didn't currently have any books on my bookshelves that fit this challenge.  Not that it was by design, frankly I don't choose books by authors, but by genre, subject, and general interest in the story being told.  An acquaintance was recently asking for suggestions of female authors because he read primarily male authors and this was so foreign to me as I just read books, I don't choose by male, female, gay or straight authors.

In trying to select a book by an LGBTQ author I really struggled.  Primarily because SO many that I came across were romance or erotica.  Which I understand, the LGBTQ hasn't been permitted this "taboo" genre in mainstream literature.  While I'm not opposed to erotica or a gay romance generally, its simply that I don't read romance - gay or straight.  Oh I had my Danielle Steele era, but after enduring enough of my own real heartbreak I don't need to read about unrealistic romances (come on, those guys written on the page will never be found in flesh and blood) nor do I need to read/relive heartbreak.

So, I stumbled upon Greg Herren.  While he started in writing adult mystery he delved into YA books in 2010.  I read a few interviews with him and was pleasantly surprised that they were focused on his works and not on his gayness!  It seems like with every gay artist the interviews will focus on "when did you come out" "how was your coming out, were you accepted", etc.  They certainly don't ask straight artists this:  "when did you know you were straight".  It was refreshing to see the focus being on Herren's works rather than his sexuality.

As to Sleeping Angel, this was a good, easy read.  A mystery being unraveled by the reader and the protagonist who suffered from amnesia following a car accident.  A little bit of supernatural elements (nothing too over the top to be deemed a fantasy novel), some life lessons about how we treat others in life, bullying and not surprisingly gay characters in the mix, but no gratuitous sex scenes.  I think there is a misconception that gay authors all write about gay sex.  But Herren said it well in an interview referencing the cancellation of a speaking event he was to attend:  "The notion that I was going to show up at a high school and talk to teenagers about erotica and sexuality, that my being gay made me somehow incapable of knowing or comprehending what was and wasn't appropriate discussion for teens, was incredibly insulting and demeaning."

I'm not a huge YA fan so I don't know if I'll pick up any of Herren's other YA books, but he has two adult mystery series about gay private eyes in New Orleans.  Similar only in that both protagonists are private eyes - one is dark and cynical while the other is happy-go-lucky, seeing humor in everything.  Both series sound equally intriguing!!!

The Epiphany Machine by David Burr Gerrard

PageHabit Subscription - July - Literary Fiction

More than 24 hours have gone by and I still don't know how I feel about this book.  It was a heavy book, with rather unlikeable characters and a strong message of how you can't always judge others at face value (or rather arm tattoo value).  Yet, what obligation do we have if we believe or more importantly know the evil about someone.

PageHabit has approximately 10 Post-It notes placed throughout the book of the author's annotations and this one felt a little autobiographical at times.  But then maybe many books are as author's will always have a piece of themselves in their works.

I found myself having to push through a bit to get to the end of this one, though I liked some of the tweaks to historical people (John Lennon), but at the end I felt almost relieved that it was over.

While the depth and obscurity of this book may lead me to want to recommend it to select readers, the over-the-top sexual scenes will prevent me from doing so.

Quotes:  "If there is something gnawing at you, that means you're delicious.  That gnawing is the universe trying to get at the tasty juice inside of you.  Your entire unsatisfying life is just the rind."

"And why do these people say that family members are suppose to reconcile before one of them dies"

"..and literature has exactly one thing to teach us:  that it is our deepest and highest moral obligation to accept punishment for things that are not exactly our fault."

"The website they visit, terms they type in to search engines, emails they send, preferences they express in various ways - it all gets fed into an algorithm, and the algorithm generates an epiphany..."

Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher

2017 Reading Challenge - Read a book that has been banned or frequently challenged in your country.

I have quite a few banned books on my bookshelves and have read many in my lifetime (ooh I'm such a rebel).  I do not believe in censorship of books.  I believe in free speech, even when I do not agree with what you say, or if I am offended by what you say.  My fear in censoring any speech, writing, art, etc. is who are the judges that are promoting/doing the censoring.  While I may not agree with what you say or write or create, it doesn't mean that it is wrong, just because it doesn't conform to what society says is "right".  What happens when someone judges my words because they go against the norm of society at that given time?  Where is our right to express our thoughts and feelings even if it rebellious, confrontational or simply honest.

So, onto the book I choose for this challenge - again, a book that languished on my shelf and I honestly don't recall exactly why I picked it up (well before the TV series came out) other than I was intrigued as to how the author would tackle the subject of teen suicide.

The book was in the Top 10 of banned books in 2012 and because of the TV series and subsequent increase in the book's popularity, many school district's are newly banning it.  It has been banned for "drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group" (American Library Association).  The TV series has been criticized for glamorizing teen suicide.

I've not seen the TV series to know how the book has been portrayed but I think it is a shame to ban the book.  The book opens the door for a conversation about teen suicide, even suicide generally, a taboo subject in schools, in families and among friends (and this was the author's hope).  It is written in a unique way so that not only do you get a hindsight perspective, but you get the reactions of those who touched Hannah's life, good and bad.  This is not just a book for those who have ever contemplated suicide and need to not feel alone and need to understand they need to seek out someone to talk to, but it's for those who have ever bullied, teased, ridiculed others or kept silent in the face of the same.  It is to remind the reader that your words and actions have effect, even if you see it as something small, minute, it was a moment, a passing in the hall or on the sidewalk, a reaction to another's anger/sadness/indifference - your action may be the final straw for that other person, the final push from the edge on which they were standing.  Just as a kind word, a smile, a nod of understanding, a moment from your busy schedule or your phone or your posts on social media to listen to someone, may be what pulls them from the edge, may be the one action that restores their hope.

Quotes:  Pages 51-53 (event in the Blue Spot Liquor store) - too long to type here, but good explanation of the sexual objectification of women.

"You don't know what goes on in anyone's life but your own.  And when you mess with one part of a person's life, you're not messing with just that part.  Unfortunately, you can't be that precise and selective.  When you mess with one part of a person's life, you're messing with their entire life."

If you are contemplating suicide, are in emotional distress and feeling alone or believe a friend or loved one is please, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255.  You are not alone.  https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

And to all of us - be kind to one another.  In the end, all we have, all that really matters is humanity.

A Strange Companion by Lisa Manterfield

Once About a Book Club - June 2017 Selection

A quick read, more romance than I prefer, but with an indepth topic of grief.  What happens to the soul of those who have passed?  How do we move on from the loss?

Manterfield did a good job of writing in such a fashion that the book almost had a suspense atmosphere that kept you turning the pages.

This is a subscription service which provides gifts along your reading journey.  The gifts are unique to the story itself and were a lot of fun to open along the way.  A way of bringing the story to life.

Quote:  "I had my family and my friends, plenty of people who cared. And so why did I suddenly feel like a remote island, marked clearly on a map for everyone to see, but so far out to sea that no one really new what existed there?"

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

2017 Reading Challenge - Read a Book About War

I've had this book on my shelf for years.  I was intrigued by it for a number of reasons:  It is a Pulitzer Prize winner (Fiction - 1975), it was the basis for the 1993 movie Gettysburg and the author died in 1988 at age 59 - his son, Jeff Shaara, following up with a Civil War Trilogy by authoring the prequel (Gods and Generals in 1996) and the sequel (The Last Full Measure in 1998).

I've read a number of Civil War books - primarily historical fiction and primarily about plantation and slave live.  Some of them have touched briefly on the battles, but not to the extent this book did.  I wasn't sure I would enjoy it since I'm not a real battle buff, but I found myself engrossed and captivated by Shaara's writing.

After an introduction of the main characters (Generals and Officers) the book volleys back and forth between the North and the South giving the perspective of the men on each side of the battlefield. While politically I know which side I stand on, this book doesn't pick sides.  You garner empathy and respect for the men who sacrificed so much whether they wore blue or grey.  War in the 1800's was vastly different than the wars of today.  This book captures so much of that.  The communication between officers via messengers on horse or on foot, the erroneous maps, the food rations (or lack thereof), the literal hand-to-hand combat with no body protection (armor, helmets, etc.), the infield hospitals and doctors to attempt to treat the battle wounds.  While I respect the courage and sacrifice that all military personnel exhibit in volunteering, these men were fighting on our own soil, some of them fighting against long-time friends and family.  Even when things looked dire, even when they knew, without a doubt, they would die they did not falter.

At times I understand the necessity of war, but we must never forget the human lives that are sacrificed on both sides of the battlefield, so we must be sure we know what we are fighting for and if it is worth that ultimate sacrifice.

Quotes:  "Maine in the winter:  air is darker, the sky is a deeper dark.  A darkness comes with winter that these Southern people don't know.  Snow falls so much earlier and in the winter you can walk in a snowfield among bushes, and visitors don't know that the bushes are the tops of tall pines, and you are standing in thirty feet of snow."

"'We are never prepared for so many to die. So you understand?  No one is.  We expect some chosen few.  We expect an occasional empty chair, a toast to dear departed comrades. Victory celebrations for most of us, a hallowed death for a few.  But the war goes on.  And the men die.  The price gets ever higher.  Some officers...can pay no longer. We are prepared to lose some of us...But never all of us.  Surely not all of us.  But ...that is the trap.  You can hold nothing back when you attack. You must commit yourself totally. And yet, if they all die, a man must ask himself, will it have been worth it?'"

And check out my book/wine pairing:  I had visited a friend in Gettysburg and she gifted me a bottle of wine from the Gettysburg Winery - commemorating the 150th anniversary!

Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn

Series

The 2nd book in the Chet and Bernie series.  To be honest, I struggled with this one.  There was a LOT of repetition by Chet, now maybe it's a short term memory problem of dogs, but it gets real old, real fast in writing.  Besides the repetition, did I mention that Chet can be a bit repetitive, it was an easy mystery.  A rather predictable who-dun-it.  While both Chet and Bernie are humorous characters and their bond is heartwarming, I'm hoping Book 3 is a bit more challenging in both the writing and the mystery.

Quote:  "The production of too may useful things results in too many useless people"

The Filter Bubble:  What the Internet is Hiding from You by Eli Pariser

2017 Reading Challenge - Read a NonFiction Book About Technology.

I wasn't looking forward to this challenge 1. because I'm not a huge fan of nonfiction 2. I am not a fan at all of reading about technology.  Yet, I discovered this book on my bookshelf.  I don't remember how I heard about it, but I do remember specifically seeking it out.  Then, of course, like many books it sat on my shelf for years - until this challenge forced/inspired/persuaded me to read it.

And WOW.  You know when you happen to click on an article about the latest advance in oh, say sunglass technology by xxxx, Inc.  Then later in the day you hop on to check your Facebook page and "Hey, what a coincidence - there's an ad for sunglasses from xxx, Inc."  Well, it's not a coincidence.  Its a very creepy, very real thing that Google, Facebook and other companies are doing called personification.  Every click, every like, every item you buy online is being saved as data and placed into an algorithm.  So the next time you go online ads for the items you've looked at before will pop up, articles similar to what you've liked/read before will appear.  Sounds neat right?  Yet, the vastness of the Internet that was to open you up to new worlds, new information, open your mind is now only bringing to your attention, only showing you the things you already like, articles/pages/friends that are liberal/conservative - way that you lean, so that the Internet world is in fact narrowing and by doing so narrowing your world view, your creativity, your empathy and humanity.  Yeah, creepy, scary and real.  "...personalization algorithms can cause identity loops, in which what the code knows about you constructs your media environment, and your media environment helps to shape your future preferences."

For being a tech book, Pariser didn't get bogged down in real techy stuff, so it was fairly easy for a layperson to read and it's not all doom and gloom.  He does offer suggestions at the end as to how we can resist this global personalization.

Quotes:  "Democracy requires citizens to see things from one another's point of view..."

"We don't wake up and brief an e-butler on our plans and desires for the day." (Book was written in 2011 - before Amazon's Echo and Alexa)

"'...if there is not steady supply of trustworthy and relevant news.  Incompetence and aimlessness, corruption and disloyalty, panic and ultimate disaster must come to any people which is denied an assured access to the facts.'"

"To be free, you have to be able not only to do what you want, but to know what's possible to do."

"The world often follows predictable rules and falls into predictable patterns:  Tides rise and fall, eclipses approach and pass...But when this way of thinking is applied to human behavior, it can be dangerous, for the simple reason that our best moments are often the most unpredictable ones. An entirely predictable life isn't worth living."

"Ultimately, democracy works only if we citizens are capable of thinking beyond our narrow self-interest.  But to do so, we need a shared view of the world we cohabit.  We need to come into contact with other peoples' lives and needs and desires."

"'We don't need more things,...People are more magical than iPads!  Your relationships are not media.  Your friendships are not media.  Love is not media.'"

Small Treasons by Mark Powell

PageHabit (formerly Bookly Box) Subscription - June - Literary Fiction

What a dark book.  In both big and small ways.  Check out this quote:  "...but somehow they ate nothing but strawberries, a pint of them in their plastic coffin..." Yikes.

I'm still deciding if I liked the book or not.  I was first distracted by what is a trademark thing for the PageHabit books; post-it notes from the author interspersed in the book.  The post-it notes themselves aren't distracting, but Powell would have a post-it note referencing something that didn't actually happen for several pages later, so it was more the confusion of the post-it note placement!

The book was a struggle to read as Powell had a prose-like, stream of conscious writing that at times I lost both the plot and any message that he was trying to convey (or maybe he wasn't).  For awhile the book dragged quite a bit due to this, but the last 1/4 gathered speed and suspense as he tried to reign in and tie up the plot lines.  As much as I could stay on target, I think he did.

Without giving too much of this book away, it was a dark and depressing read and all too real in today's world of terrorism.  The book has gotten stellar reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, so I question if my reluctance to "like" the book is more based on my own dark dwelling of the state of our world.

Quotes:  "She knew now her mistake was too quickly abandoning her new life, rushing into marriage, giving herself away before there was a self to give."

"Grief....Suffering, but to a particular end.  Suffering as a means of revelation.  There's a secret, John.  You said so yourself.  It's locked inside all of us and it takes trauma to bring it out....The necessity of suffering, the revelatory nature of it."

No One Can Pronounce My Name by Rakesh Satyal

Bookly Box Subscription - May - Literary Fiction

There were many things I liked about this book - the Indian/Hindu culture, the honest and real LGBTQ characters (not token/comedic), the chapters volleying the focus on a different character yet bringing them all together.

While I didn't fall in love with any one character or even the book itself, I did come to care about all of them.  There was a flow, almost prose to Satyal's writing that made it fairly easy and enjoyable to read.  Yet, I find it to probably be a more forgettable read without it being the typical fluff book/mind cleanse/guilty pleasure type of book.

While I didn't mark any standout quotes, there were passages that resonated with me in regards to creating and being responsible for your own happiness,  living for yourself and accepting yourself.

The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King

Series

The 14th and final (?) in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series??

I don't want to give too much away in this review; overall I liked it.  There was a mystery, there were red herrings and there was a wrap-up to tie everything up at the end.  But I hadn't read the book jacket or reviews so I was completely surprised by the direction we went in.  While I enjoyed it, I do hope this is not how Ms. King chooses to end the series.

Quote:  "...men did find it so titillating when a woman was performing an act they considered their own"

Marlene by Julie Buntin

Bookly Box Subscription - April - Literary Fiction

Not exactly what I was expecting, and with some hesitation I say I liked the book.  It was a slow crescendo of character development to the "climax", though in the end it was rather anti-climatic.  I did struggle with some of the timeline.  The chapters alternated between present and past, but the narrator interjected the past with her present day thoughts which at times, was confusing.

I think the draw to this book is the reader's connection to the tumultuous times as a teenager.  Wanting to be liked, the difficulties of body image, the good girl wanting to be bad, first romances/crushes, teenage girl friendships that you presume will last forever.

I think I liked this book because it took me down memory lane, not that my teenage years reflected those of Cat or Marlena, but the emotional roller coaster of those times.  I closed the book feeling very melancholy.

Quotes: "Privilege is something to be aware of, to fight to see beyond, but ultimately to be grateful for.  It's like a bulletproof vest, it makes you harder to kill.:

"..so many people cultivate that air of intensity cut with indifference"

"She thought marriage was a 'manly' and offensive concept"

"When you grow up, who you were as a teenager either takes on a mythical importance or its completely laughable"

"Now it strikes me as a profoundly American thing - an epidemic that started as an abuse of the cure, a disease we made ourselves"

"...because I was still here.  I was right here, where he'd left me."