Lynn's List (January 29, 2016)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Murder in Brentwood by Mark Fuhrman and Vincent Bugliosi
• From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
• Mary Pickford: Hollywood And The New Woman by Kathleen A. Feeley
• I'm Calling the Police by Irvin D. Yalom
• The Academy by Bentley Little
• Come to Grief by Dick Francis
• My Freshman Year by Rebekah Nathan
• Gabriel Hawk's Lady by Beverly Barton
• Into the Savage Country by Shannon Burke
• Original Sin by P. D. James
• Devices and Desires by P. D. James
• A Taste For Death by P. D. James
• The Lighthouse by P. D. James
• The Poughkeepsie Brotherhood Box Set by Debra Anastasia
• Surrounded By Sharks by Michael Northrop
• The Girl in the Glass by James Hayman
• Four Friends by Robyn Carr
• Einstein and the Quantum by A. Douglas Stone
• Early-Morning Cemetery by Patricia Wiles
• This is all I ask by Lynn Kurland
• Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider and Jacqueline Musser
• Every Step She Takes by Jannine Gallant
• Winterkill by Ph Turner
• Final Scream by Lisa Jackson
• Susan Mallery's Hometown Heartbreakers Books 1-3 by Susan Mallery
• Cinders to Satin by Fern Michaels
• Toms River by Dan Fagin
• Abraham Lincoln & Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship by Russell Freedman
• The Republic of Conscience by Gary Hart
• Rites of Spring by Modris Eksteins
• The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
• President Lincoln Assassinated!!: The Firsthand Story of the Murder, Manhunt, Trial and Mourning by Harold Holzer
• Hearth Stone by Lois Greiman
• Grace's Forgiveness by Molly Jebber
• The Only Game in Town by Mohamed A. El-Erian
• Dark Homecoming by William Patterson
• The Great Train Massacre by William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone
• The Evening Spider by Emily Arsenault
• The Lovers by Rod Nordland
• Extreme Honor by Piper J. Drake
• Noah's Wife by Lindsay Starck
• Twilight of Authority by Robert Nisbet and Robert C. Perrin
• A Stolen Childhood by Casey Watson
• The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin
• The Ex by Alafair Burke
• Front Lines by Michael Grant
• 1924: The Year That Made Hitler by Peter Ross Range
• A People's History of the Supreme Court by Peter Irons
• The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan

Review: Home to Cedar Branch (Quaker Café #2) by Brenda Bevan Remmes

Title: Home to Cedar Branch (Quaker Café #2)
Author: Brenda Bevan Remmes
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: January 19, 2016

Home to Cedar Branch by Brenda Bevan Remmes

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Katie is a woman with two teenagers whose life is spinning out of control. She decides to return to her home town and try rebuild her life. Like most things, life is not lived in a vacuum, and even though she has left circumstances behind, they still follow her and her children as the good and the bad from her past are revealed.

This book is fast-paced and filled with action. At times, I wanted to strangle some of the characters, and I wondered if a few of them had any redeeming qualities whatsoever. This is also a book about community and neighbor helping neighbor.

I received an advance reader copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.



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Kindle Kaleidoscope (January 26, 2016)

Each Tuesday I publish a list of Kindle titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Race Against Time_ A Novel by Kimberley Woodhouse & Kayla R. Woodhouse
• Lost and Found_ A Novel by Ginny L. Yttrup
• One Year After_ A Novel by William R. Forstchen
• A Promise for Tomorrow (Ribbons of Steel Book #3) by Judith Pella & Tracie Peterson
• Cease Firing by Mary Johnston
• Night of the Assassin (Assassin Series Prequel) by Russell Blake
• Ludwika_ A Polish Woman's Struggle To Survive In Nazi Germany by Christoph Fischer
• The Isaac Project (A Contemporary Christian Novel) by Sarah Monzon
• Last Man in Tower by Aravind Adiga
• Perfect Daughter by Amanda Prowse
• Past Suspicion by Therese Heckenkamp
• The Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher
• He Still Moves Stones by Max Lucado
• Full Body Burden by Kristen Iversen
• Purling Road: Season One by M. L. Gardner
• The One You Love by Paul Pilkington
• Beauty from Ashes (An Eyewitness Account of Haiti's Tragic Earthquake) by Melanie Wright Zeeb
• Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury

Review:Just Another Southern Town: Mary Church Terrell and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Nation's Capital by Joan Quigley

Title: Just Another Southern Town: Mary Church Terrell and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Nation's Capital
Author: Joan Quigley
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication Date: February 1, 2016

Just Another Southern Town: Mary Church Terrell and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Nation's Capital by Joan Quigley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I so enjoy reading and learning about people who advocate for positive change, and Just Another Southern Town: Mary Church Terrell and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Nation's Capital by Joan Quigley is in that category. Not a well known name in the list of civil rights pioneers, she took a bold step, five years before Rosa Parks, when she sought to be served in an eating establishment not far from the White House.

Her story is not one I heard about in law school, and her name was not at all familiar until I read this book. I am pleased her efforts and accomplishments have not been allowed to remain in obscure archives, and we can now read her biography and family history. I do find it ironic, however, that the very place where our nation's laws were being proposed and debated is the very place where segregation remained so entrenched.

I received an advance reader's copy (ARC) from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.



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Lynn's List (January 22, 2016)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• The Lavender Garden by Lucinda Riley
• The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley
• The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
• The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley
• Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
• Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner
• The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
• Fatal Forecast by Michael J. Tougias
• Fluke by Martin Blinder
• Broken by Lauren Layne
• Written on My Heart: A Novel by Morgan Callan Rogers
• Their Promised Land: My Grandparents in Love and War by Ian Buruma
• The House on Primrose Pond by Yona Zeldis Mcdonough
• The Murder Room by P. D. James
• Butterfly Dreams by A. Meredith Walters
• Last Kiss by Luanne Rice
• A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott
• God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
• A Perfect Stranger by Danielle Steel
• Saving Jason by Michael Sears
• The Bitter Season by Tami Hoag
• Thirteen Days in September: Carter, Begin, and Sadat at Camp David by Lawrence Wright
• The Long Way Home by David Laskin
• The O'Briens by Peter Behrens
• Lost & Found by Jacqueline Sheehan
• White Picket Fences: A Novel by Susan Meissner
• Death in the City of Light by David King
• Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
• Winter of the World by Ken Follett
• Love by the Morning Star by Ms Laura L. Sullivan
• Landscape Turned Red by Stephen W. Sears
• A Rope and a Prayer: The Story of a Kidnapping by David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill
• The President's Daughter by Annette Broadrick
• Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink
• Miracle at Merion by David Barrett
• The Kennedy Brothers: The Rise and Fall of Jack and Bobby by Richard D. Mahoney
• Hell Is a Very Small Place by James Ridgeway, Sarah Shourd and Jean Casella
• Beyond Belief by Susan Tive and Cami Ostman
• The Promise by Matt Bennett
• Haunting Legacy by Marvin Kalb and Deborah Kalb
• A Covenant with Death by Stephen Becker
• The Hand That Feeds You by A. J. Rich
• The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko
• Over the Edge by Jonathan Kellerman
• One Wish by Linda Lael Miller
• Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell

Kindle Kaleidoscope (January 19, 2016)

Welcome to a new feature here called Kindle Kaleidoscope.

Each Tuesday I will publish a list of Kindle titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• The Balladeer by Fred Calvert
• Murder in Adland (Detective Inspector Skelgill Investigates Book 1) by Bruce Beckham
• The Cypress Trap_ A Suspense Thriller by JC Gatlin
• Warrior's Intuition (Blue Mill Book 2) by Noelle Greene
• The Journals of Lewis and Clark by Meriwether Lewis & William Clark
• A Hope Beyond (Ribbons of Steel Book #2) by Judith Pella and Tracie Peterson
• Ratham Creek by Marie F Martin
• The Quaker Café (Quaker Café #1) by Brenda Bevan Remmes
• The Awakening (Finding Love (The Outsider Series Book 3) by Lorhainne Eckhart
• Come Home to Me_ A Homefront Novella by Jessica Scott
• Ruby – Book 1 Come By Chance Mail Order Brides_ Sweet Montana Western Bride Romance (Come-By-Chance Mail Order Brides) by Juliet James
• Deep in the Heart_ A Contemporary Christian Romance Novel by Staci Stallings
• All Good Deeds (A Lucy Kendall Thriller) (Lucy Kendall #1) (The Lucy Kendall Series) by Stacy Green
• Capital Dames_ The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868 by Cokie Roberts
• Lady in the Mist (The Midwives Book #1)_ A Novel by Laurie Alice Eakes
• Adopting The Minimalist Mindset_ How To Live With Less, Downsize, And Get More Fulfillment From Life by Ben Night
• Falling Into You (The Falling Series Book 1) by Jasinda Wilder
• Blood of Others by Rick Mofina
• Forbidden Strawberries by Cipora Hurwitz
• What's Wrong with the World by G. K. Chesterton
• Give a Boy a Gun_ The True Story of Law and Disorder in the American West by Jack Olsen
• Undone (Disclosure Series Book 1) by R.E. Hunter
• The Ghost of Blackwood Lane by Greg Enslen
• Hired Bride (Beaufort Brides Book 1) by Noelle Adams
• 1964 (Made in Yorkshire Book 1) (Made In Yorkshire Saga) by James Farner
• To Dance Once More (Hope of the South Book 1) by Sherri Wilson Johnson
• Forty Days to Armageddon by Reynold Jay
• Fear of Falling by S.L. Jennings
• Saved (The Saved Series Book 1) by Lorhainne Eckhart
• Paradise Valley Mysteries Boxed Set_ Books 1 to 3 plus a BONUS Prequel Short Story (Paradise Valley Mysteries Box Set) by Debra Burroughs
• Deadly Devotion (Port Aster Secrets Book #1)_ A Novel by Sandra Orchard
• Nellie (The Brides of San Francisco Book 1) by Cynthia Woolf
• Don't Leave Me by James Scott Bell
• Tough Love_ A Dark Mafia Romance Novella (Stripped) by Skye Warren
• Abducted (Lizzy Gardner Series, Book 1) by T.R. Ragan
• The Magpies by Mark Edwards
• The Good Neighbor by A. J. Banner
• Colony of the Lost by Derik Cavignano
• Pawnbroker_ A Thriller by Jerry Hatchett
• Waltz Back to Texas (Lost in a Boom Town Book 1) by MJ Fredrick
• The Warrior by Joyce Swann
• 8th Amendment by Jonna Ivin
• Minimalist Living_ Waste Less - Gain More! by Henry J
• The Keeper (Stoney Ridge Seasons Book #1)_ A Novel by Suzanne Woods Fisher
• Follow You Home by Mark Edwards
• Hollywood Enemy_ A Hollywood Alphabet Series Thriller by M.Z. Kelly
• Relative Malice by Marla Madison
• Evidence of Trust_ Romantic Suspense (Colorado Trust Series Book 1) by Stacey Joy Netzel
• Legal Thriller_ The Defendants_ A Courtroom Drama (Thaddeus Murfee Legal Thriller Series Book 1) by John Ellsworth
• The Prettiest One_ A Thriller by James Hankins
• The Walk by Lee Goldberg
• CyberStorm by Matthew Mather
• Just for the love of it_ The first woman to climb Mount Everest from both sides by Cathy O'Dowd
• The Death Zone_ Murder on Mount Everest by Trin Denise
• Ties That Bind (A Madison Knight Novel Book 1) by Carolyn Arnold
• The Paris Protection by Bryan Devore
• A Soft Place to Fall (Shelter Rock Cove - Book #1) by Barbara Bretton
• Summer of Promise (Westward Winds Book #1)_ A Novel by Amanda Cabot
• Space Shuttle Challenger by Parkway Publishing
• The Closing (Whippoorwill Hollow Book 1) by Ken Oder
• Ace Card (Black Vault Book 1) by Greg Marion
• Deer Season (Ray Elkins Thriller Series) by Aaron Stander
• Coming Clean_ A Memoir by Kimberly Rae Miller

Lynn's List (January 15, 2016)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• The Chill of Night by James Hayman
• The Cutting by James Hayman
• Darkness First by James Hayman
• Never Love A Stranger by Harold Robbins
• Chain of Command by Helenkay Dimon
• West of Sunset by Stewart O'Nan
• The Parsifal Mosaic by Robert Ludlum
• Not in God's Name by Jonathan Sacks
• Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins by Lois Brown
• Jeff Shaara and Michael Shaara: Three Novels of the Civil War by Jeff Shaara and Michael Shaara
• The Guns of the South: A Novel of the Civil War by Harry Turtledove
• Hidden Star by Nora Roberts
• The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker
• Dorothy Parker by Marion Meade
• Women Crime Writers: Four Suspense Novels of the 1940s by Sarah Weinman
• Up Pops the Devil by Lacha M Scott
• Nathaniel Hawthorne: Collected Novels: Scarlet Letter / House of Seven Gables / Blithedale Romance / Fanshawe / Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Millicent Bell
• Case Closed by Gerald Posner
• Killing the Dream by Gerald Posner
• Why America Slept: The Failure to Prevent 9/11 by Gerald Posner
• Brown v. Board and the Transformation of American Culture by Ben Keppel
• The Baker's Daughter by Sarah Mccoy
• Summer of Secrets by Charlotte Hubbard
• The Return of Brody McBride by Jennifer Ryan
• Shattered Secrets by Karen Harper
• School for the Blind by Dennis Mcfarland
• Under the Red Sea Sun by Edward Ellsberg
• Come, My Beloved by Pearl S. Buck
• Let the Devil Sleep by John Verdon
• The Places in Between by Rory Stewart
• Prodigal Son by Danielle Steel
• A Fifty-Year Silence by Miranda Richmond Mouillot
• Secret Lives of the First Ladies by Cormac O'Brien and Monika Suteski
• The Longest Night by Andria Williams
• The Dressmaker's War by Mary Chamberlain
• My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
• By Blood and Fire by Thurston Clarke
• The Good Goodbye by Carla Buckley
• Clark Gable: Tormented Star by David Bret
• The Brenner Assignment: The Untold Story of the Most Daring Spy Mission of World War II by Patrick K. O'Donnell
• Good Times, Bad Times by Sir Harold Evans
• The Forger: An Extraordinary Story of Survival in Wartime Berlin by Cioma Schonhaus
• Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed: A Memoir of the Cleveland Kidnappings by Michelle Knight
• What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan

My review: South: The story of Shackleton's last expedition 1914 - 1917 by Ernest Shackleton

Title: South: The story of Shackleton's last expedition 1914 - 1917
Author: Ernest Shackleton
Publisher: Penguin Books
Publication Date: 2002 (First published in 1919.)


South: The story of Shackleton's last expedition 1914 - 1917 by Ernest Shackleton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


South: The story of Shackleton's last expedition 1914 - 1917 by Ernest Shackleton is the story of the attempt begun in 1914 by Sir Ernest Shackleton to cross the continent of Antarctica. The expedition set sail, but their ship became trapped in ice and was crushed. Twenty-eight men were left on the ice flow with no ship. Sir Ernest Shackleton has written their story as they struggle to cross the continent and stay alive.

I first became interested in this story several years ago when the A&E television network produced a documentary about the expedition, so I was glad to be able to finally read this personal account. This book describes, in graphic detail, just what these men went through, as well as references to and the struggles of some previous expeditions. I read this account from the comfort of my warm home, but I found myself shivering, at times, nevertheless. This book has fueled my desire to read more about polar exploration.



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Review: Loving Eleanor by Susan Wittig Albert

Title: Loving Eleanor
Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Publisher: Persevero Press
Publication Date: February 1, 2016

Loving Eleanor by Susan Wittig Albert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I so enjoyed Loving Eleanor by Susan Wittig Albert. As a long time admirer of Elanor Roosevelt, I wanted to read this book from the time I learned of its upcoming publication. Though this book is categorized as fiction, it explores the relationship between Mrs. Roosevelt and her dear friend, Lorena Hickok, the reporter assigned to cover her for the Associated Press. Their relationship is documented by over 3,300 letters the two exchanged over many years.

I found this book fascinating. Not only was it rich in history, but it explores the depth of personality of each woman. Each was very accomplished, but each had much to over come from their childhoods. And each grew and changed as they traveled through life. They each brought their own perspective to the idea of helping to make a better world, and in that effort, they encouraged one another.

I also found this book fascinating because it explores love between two women--a deep abiding love that lasted until each died. Their story was told in an informative and tasteful manner, and it showed me just how courageous these two women actually were. The character development and detail in this book is extraordinary, as was the relationship the two women shared.

I received and advanced reader's copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.



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Lynn's List (January 8, 2016)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• A Kiss to Change Her Life by Karin Baine
• A Love Against All Odds by Emily Forbes
• The Missing Twin by Pamela Tracy
• When Love Matters Most by Kate James
• Fatal Reunion by Jessica R. Patch
• The Littlest Witness by Jane M. Choate
• Mountain Hideaway by Christy Barritt
• Amish Homecoming by Jo Ann Brown
• Harlequin Historical January 2016 - Box Set 1 of 2 by Margaret Moore, Kathryn Albright and Harper St. George
• Harlequin Historical January 2016 - Box Set 2 of 2 by Elizabeth Rolls, Bronwyn Scott and Lucy Ashford
• Love Inspired Historical January 2016 Box Set by Janet Dean, Regina Scott and Patty Smith Hall
• Love Inspired Suspense January 2016 - Box Set 1 of 2 by Valerie Hansen, Jodie Bailey and Jane M. Choate
• Love Inspired Suspense January 2016 - Box Set 2 of 2 by Christy Barritt, Elisabeth Rees and Jessica R. Patch
• Harlequin Heartwarming January 2016 Box Set by Pamela Tracy, Cynthia Thomason and Amie Denman •
• Harlequin Intrigue January 2016 - Box Set 1 of 2 by B. J. Daniels, Jenna Kernan and Janie Crouch
• Harlequin Intrigue January 2016 - Box Set 2 of 2 by Paula Graves, Lena Diaz and Melinda Di Lorenzo
• Harlequin Medical Romance January 2016 - Box Set 1 of 2 by Kate Hardy, Fiona Lowe and Lynne Marshall
• Harlequin Medical Romance January 2016 - Box Set 2 of 2 by Emily Forbes, Annie O'Neil and Karin Baine
• Insomnia by Stephen King
• Roadwork by Stephen King
• Judas by Peter Stanford
• The Lightkeepers by Abby Geni
• This Is Only a Test by B. J. Hollars
• A Test of Wills (Inspector Ian Rutledge #1) by Charles Todd
• Desire Lines by Christina Baker Kline
• Under the Boardwalk by Amie Denman
• The Boys of Everest by Clint Willis
• Mountain Madness by Robert Birkby
• The Vast Unknown by Broughton Coburn
• The Walk Series by Richard Paul Evans
• An Amish Miracle by Beth Wiseman
• The House that Love Built by Beth Wiseman
• Cold Betrayal by J. A. Jance
• Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel
• The Challenger Launch Decision by Diane Vaughan
• The Whispering Hollows by Lisa Unger
• The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
• Once More With Feeling by Nora Roberts
• For Now, Forever by Nora Roberts
• Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy by Geralyn Lucas
• A Chorus of Stones by Susan Griffin
• Civil Rights Unionism by Robert R. Korstad
• The Origins of Nazi Genocide by Henry Friedlander
• Women Before the Bar by Cornelia Hughes Dayton
• Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings by David Harding, Katherine S. Newman, Cybelle Fox, Wendy Roth and Jal Mehta
• A Thousand Falling Crows by Larry D. Sweazy
• Gone Black by Linda Ladd
• War at the End of the World by James P. Duffy
• Abolitionists Remember by Julie Roy Jeffrey
• Unjust Deeds by Jeffrey D. Gonda
• The Wilmington Ten by Kenneth Robert Janken
• Florynce “Flo” Kennedy by Sherie M. Randolph
• St. Francis of America by Patricia Appelbaum
• Christian Reconstruction by Michael Joseph Mcvicar
• Lincoln's Autocrat by William Marvel
• Lynched by Amy Kate Bailey and Stewart E. Tolnay
• An Ordered Love by Louis J. Kern
• After the Trail of Tears by William G. Mcloughlin
• A Woman's Wartime Journal by Dolly Sumner Lunt
• Beyond the Prison Gates by Warren Rosenblum
• The Walt Longmire Mystery Series Boxed Set Volume 1-4 by Craig Johnson
• Catholic and Feminist by Mary J. Henold
• Mary Breckinridge by Melanie Beals Goan
• Nora Roberts Three Sisters Island Trilogy by Nora Roberts
• Mary Putnam Jacobi and the Politics of Medicine in Nineteenth-Century America by Carla Bittel
• Henry Wallace's 1948 Presidential Campaign and the Future of Postwar Liberalism by Thomas W. Devine
• Dispossession by Pete Daniel
• Women of the Republic by Linda K. Kerber
• Auschwitz by Sara Nomberg-Przytyk
• The Marines of Montford Point by Melton A. Mclaurin
• Religious Intolerance in America: A Documentary History by John Corrigan and Lynn S. Neal
• There's Always Work at the Post Office: African American Postal Workers and the Fight for Jobs, Justice, and Equality by Philip F. Rubio
• Sisters in Law by Linda Hirshman
• Promise Canyon by Robyn Carr
• December 1941 by Craig Shirley and P. X. Kelley
• Balancing Act by Fern Michaels
• The Horsemaster's Daughter by Susan Wiggs
• 13 Hours by Mitchell Zuckoff and Annex Security Team
• After the Crash by Michel Bussi
• Storm Warning by Nora Roberts

Review: The Alderson Story: My Life as a Political Prisoner by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

Title: The Alderson Story: My Life as a Political Prisoner
Author: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
Publisher: International Publishers Company, Incorporated

Alderson Story: My Life As a Political Prisoner by Elizabeth G. Flynn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Alderson Story: My Life as a Political Prisoner by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was an excellent read. It recounts the author's time spent at Alderson, a Federal Women's prison, in the 1950s. As an outspoken member of the Communist Party in the United States, Ms. Gurley Flynn spent nearly two and one half years at the Alderson facility.

As I read this book, I could clearly picture her surroundings from her vivid descriptions, and I wonder just how much things have changed throughout the decades since her time there. What the author experienced was degrading and dehumanizing, in my opinion, far beyond her so-called crime of differing political beliefs than those in the main stream.



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Review: Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King

Title: Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America
Author: Gilbert King
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: March 6, 2012


Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King is one of the most compelling books I have ever read, and may very well ever read in my lifetime. I thought I knew a little about the civil rights movement when I began reading this book; and, of course, I was familiar with Thurgood Marshall's contributions, as many of his cases were a part of my law school experience. However, none of that prepared me for the riveting words on the pages of this excellent book.

Four young African American men were accused of raping a young white woman in Florida in 1949. They were beaten and tortured beyond belief, at the hand of law enforcement personnel sworn to uphold the law. As I read this book, I was constantly reminded of today's news stories of police brutality, and there is much in today's news that is eerily similar to the events of 1949 and the early 1950s in Florida and other areas of the south in the United States.

For anyone interested in racism and the historical perspective of that time in America, I urge you to read this book. It is truly a gift to the reader, and I pray that those who read it will keep its haunting legacy alive in an effort to stamp out racism and racist behavior.



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Review: StolenWords: The Nazi Plunder of Jewish Books

Title: StolenWords: The Nazi Plunder of Jewish Books
Author: Mark Glickman
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Publication Date: February 1, 2016

Stolen Words: The Nazi Plunder of Jewish Books by Mark Glickman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


StolenWords: The Nazi Plunder of Jewish Books by Mark Glickman was a fascinating and informative read. The unfathomable and tragic loss of life was not all the evil the Holocaust wrought on humanity. Hitler not only attempted to obliterate the Jewish people but their historical writings and books, also. And if it were not for the actions of many brave souls, he may very well have succeeded.

This book follows the writings of the Jewish people from biblical times and explains how these writings lovingly cared for and made available in public libraries and those in private homes across Europe were plundered and, in many cases, destroyed, prior to and during WWII. Rabbi Glickman describes book burnings and the outright destruction of these treasures in vivid detail that awakened such a sense of loss in me--a loss of the written word in terms I had not thought of before. And just when I began to think all was truly lost, he goes on to explain how thousands upon thousands of these books and manuscripts were returned to the Jewish people and, when possible, their rightful owners, following the war.

I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Jewish history, WWII, or to anyone who wants to learn more about either.

I received an advance reader copy (ARC) from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.



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Lynn's List (January 1, 2016)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. This week's list includes several Christmas-related titles, many of which I have added to my Christmas reading list for 2016. Happy New Year, and happy reading!

• Naomi's Christmas by Marta Perry
• The Douglas Kennedy Collection #1 by Douglas Kennedy
• Being Catholic Now by Kerry Kennedy
• JFK's Last Hundred Days by Thurston Clarke
• Death and Desire by P. H. Turner
• We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg
• Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton
• White House Call Girl: The Real Watergate Story by Phil Stanford
• Roosevelt and the Holocaust by Robert L. Beir and Brian Josepher
• Dream City by Tom Sherwood and Harry S. Jaffe
• A Good Killing by Allison Leotta
• Forgotten Sacrifice: The Arctic Convoys of World War II by Michael Walling
• The Stark International Trilogy: Jackson Steel: Say My Name, On My Knees, Under My Skin by J. Kenner
• Flipped! (A Spinning Hills Romance #1) by Ines Saint
• Needs a Little TLC (A Spinning Hills Romance #2) by Ines Saint
• Left for Dead by Peter Nelson
• Lincoln's Autocrat by William Marvel
• Chained in Silence by Talitha L. Leflouria
• The Battle of Ezra Church and the Struggle for Atlanta by Earl J. Hess
• Hitler's Children by Gerhard Rempel
• The Life of William Apess, Pequot by Philip F. Gura
• In the Shadow of Auschwitz by David Engel
• The Weston Sisters by Lee V. Chambers
• Decision Points by George W. Bush
• Genuine Lies by Nora Roberts
• Two Troubled Souls by Aaron Spencer Fogleman
• A Woman's Wartime Journal by Dolly Sumner Lunt
• The Trials of Laura Fair by Carole Haber
• Mary Breckinridge by Melanie Beals Goan
• Mary Putnam Jacobi and the Politics of Medicine in Nineteenth-Century America by Carla Bittel
• The Education of the Heart by Edgar E. Macdonald
• Women of the Republic by Linda K. Kerber
• A Revolutionary People At War by Charles Royster
• Auschwitz by Sara Nomberg-Przytyk
• The Nazi Voter by Thomas Childers
• U. S. Grant by Joan Waugh
• The Marines of Montford Point by Melton A. Mclaurin
• Freedom's Teacher by Katherine Mellen Charron
• There's Always Work at the Post Office: African American Postal Workers and the Fight for Jobs, Justice, and Equality by Philip F. Rubio
• A Stone of Hope by David L. Chappell
• Infectious Fear by Samuel Kelton Roberts
• Senator Sam Ervin, Last of the Founding Fathers by Karl E. Campbell
• Unspeakable by Susan Burch and Hannah Joyner
• The Rising Sun by John Toland
• The Book of Secrets by Elizabeth Arnold
• The O'Briens by Peter Behrens
• John Tyler, the Accidental President by Edward P. Crapol
• Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello by Cynthia A. Kierner
• The Silent Hero: A true escape story from World War II by George Shea
• In My Own Way by Alan Watts
• Walker Percy Remembered by David Horace Harwell
• Pauli Murray and Caroline Ware by Anne Firor Scott
• Jane Grey Swisshelm: An Unconventional Life, 1815-1884 by Sylvia D. Hoffert
• Don Carlos Buell by Stephen D. Engle
• By the Bomb's Early Light by Paul Boyer
• Pullman Porters and the Rise of Protest Politics in Black America, 1925-1945 by Beth Tompkins Bates
• Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya
• James Madison by Jeff Broadwater
• Lincoln's Forgotten Ally: Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt of Kentucky by Elizabeth D. Leonard
• Rising Wind by Brenda Gayle Plummer
• Henry Steele Commager by Neil Jumonville
• The Healer’s Heart: A Modern Novel of the Life of St. Luke by Diane M. Komp
• Quakers by Peter Furtado
• The Quakers in America by Thomas D. Hamm
• The Spirit of the Quakers by Geoffrey Durham
• Quaker Writings by Thomas D. Hamm
• Living the Quaker Way by Philip Gulley
• Listening to the Light: How to Bring Quaker Simplicity and Integrity Into Our Lives by Jim Pym
• From Peace to Freedom by Brycchan Carey
• A Quaker Book of Wisdom by Robert Lawrence Smith
• John Woolman's Path to the Peaceable Kingdom by Geoffrey Plank
• The Nayles Sonnets by Kenneth E. Boulding
• Daughters of Light: Quaker Women Preaching and Prophesying in the Colonies and Abroad, 1700-1775 by Rebecca Larson
• Valiant Friend: The Life of Lucretia Mott by Margaret Hope Bacon
• Path of Freedom by Jennifer Hudson Taylor
• Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson
• Plain Perfect & Quaker Summer 2in1 by Beth Wiseman
• A Quaker Christmas: Four-in-One Collection by Lauralee Bliss, Rachael Phillips, Ramona K. Cecil, Joann Robisheaux, and Claire Sanders
• Quaker Silence (Elizabeth Elliot Quaker Mystery #1) by Irene Allen
• Quaker Witness (Elizabeth Elliot Quaker Mystery #2) by Irene Allen
• Quaker Testimony (Elizabeth Elliot Quaker Mystery #3) by Irene Allen
• Almost Friends: A Harmony Novel by Phillip Gulley
• The Red Heart by James Alexander Thom
• Standing in the Light (Dear America) by Mary Pope Osborne
• Lie In Wait by Eric Rickstad
• The Hope by Herman Wouk
• Coming Home for Christmas by Marie Ferrarella
• Coming Home: A Story of Unending Love and Eternal Promise by Karen Kingsbury
• The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow
• The Girl in the Glass by James Hayman
• The Chill of Night by James Hayman
• The Reason for My Hope by Billy Graham
• Snow Angel Cove by Raeanne Thayne
• The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley
• Tempting Fate by Meryl Sawyer
• Thunder Island by Meryl Sawyer
• Mourning Raga by Ellis Peters
• The Survivor byThomas Keneally
• Paper Doll by Jim Shepard
• Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Dana
• Harvest Moon by Sharon Struth
• Colonfay by Myles O'Grady
• A Chance of a Lifetime by Marilyn Pappano
• The Sea Garden by Deborah Lawrenson
• 212 by Alafair Burke
• Helen Keller: Courage In Darkness by Emma Carlson Berne and Marie Hodge
• The Inheritance by Tamera Alexander
• The Confession by Robert Whitlow
• Every Perfect Gift by Dorothy Love
• The Creole Historical Romance 4-in-1 Bundle by Gilbert Morris
• The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst
• Strange Fire by John F. Macarthur
• Glory Days by Max Lucado
• One God, One Plan, One Life by Max Lucado
• God Is With You Every Day by Max Lucado
• A Colleen Coble Christmas Collection by Colleen Coble
• The Under Texas Stars Collection by Colleen Coble
• Where I Am by Billy Graham
• Center of Gravity by Laura Mcneill
• Loved Back to Life by Sheila Walsh
• Walk to Beautiful by Ken Abraham and Mr Jimmy Wayne
• The Girl From the Train by Irma Joubert
• Me and My Shadows by Lorna Luft
• The Dance: A Novel (Book 1 in the Restoration Series) by Gary Smalley and Dan Walsh
• Winter at the Door by Sarah Graves
• A Memory of Violets by Hazel Gaynor
• The Shortest Day by Jane Langton
• Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas
• The Brontës by Juliet Barker
• A Tale of Love and Darkness by Nicholas De Lange and Amos Oz
• Park Lane South, Queens by Mary Anne Kelly
• The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado
• Concussion by Jeanne Marie Laskas
• Kiss of the Wolf by Jim Shepard
• The Five Towns by Leslie Tonner
• Exposed by Laura Griffin
• The Midnight Before Christmas by William Bernhardt
• Moonlight and Mistletoe by Maggie Davis
• The Shepherd by Frederick Forsyth
• Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King
• 90 Minutes in Heaven by Cecil Murphey and Don Piper
• The Center of the World by Jacqueline Sheehan
• Choked Up by Janey Mack
• After She's Gone by Lisa Jackson
• Finding Promise by Scarlett Dunn
• You Don't Know Me by Nancy Bush
• Fresh Start by Joel Osteen
• Plain Dead by Emma Miller
• The Alderson Story: My Life as a Political Prisoner by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
• Tornadoes: The Science Behind Terrible Twisters by Alvin Silverstein, Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn
• Hurricanes Witness to Disaster by Dennis Fradin and Judy Fradin
• Winterkill by Ph Turner
• Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
• A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter
• Untamed by Ciana Stone
• The Second Man by Steve Martini
• Shadow of Power by Steve Martini
• Martin Luther King, Jr. by Adam Fairclough
• Tombstone Courage by J. A. Jance
• If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon
• Killing Time by Cindy Gerard
• Chosen by Jessica Burkhart
• Woman with a Secret by Sophie Hannah
• Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Lisa Pulitzer and Jenna Miscavige Hill
• Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston
• Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher
• The King and Dr. Nick by George Nichopoulos
• The River by Beverly Lewis
• The McKettricks Christmas Box Set by Linda Lael Miller
• The Tower by Gregg Andrew Hurwitz