Review: Someone to Watch Over Me: A Portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt and the Tortured Father Who Shaped Her Life by Eric Burns

Someone to Watch Over Me: A Portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt and the Tortured Father Who Shaped Her Life by Eric Burns

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


From my earliest memories, my parents spoke fondly of both President and Mrs. Roosevelt whom they both admired. I wanted to read this book because it speaks to the relationship between Eleanor and her father. The bond between them was unbreakable, though he died when Eleanor was still a child. So much heartache for both these souls, yet Eleanor channeled that into something profound, almost as the first steppingstone in becoming the great lady she was. I enjoyed this books so much. It made me cry, but it also made me smile.

Review: Influenza: The Hundred Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History by Jeremy Brown

Influenza: The Hundred Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History by Jeremy Brown

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In light of the coronavirus pandemic, I've been reading my share of influenza and virus-related books as of late. The latest is Influenza: The Hundred Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History. ER doctor, Jeremy Brown, traces the possible history of the influenza virus, its lethality, symptoms--in short, most everything you might want to know about it.

As with previous books I've read on the subject, I found this book interesting. Dr. Brown speaks of science in plain and understandable language. He explains his practical approach to the treatment of influenza, and speaks openly about the various theories concerning the virus. There is a lot more to this book. If the subject interests you, it's a good read.

Lynn's List (Saturday Supplement: March 28, 2020)

Since so many of us are at home, here are more titles I've come across recently. Happy reading! Stay safe and well, everyone!

• The Pact by S. E. Lynes
• Listen to the Mockingbird by Penny Rudolph
• A Risk Worth Taking by Robin Pilcher
• Whistleblower: My Journey to Silicon Valley and Fight for Justice at Uber by Susan Fowler
• Season In Hell: My 130 Days in the Sahara with Al Qaeda by Robert Fowler
• All Shot Up: The Classic Crime Thriller by Chester Himes
• Without a Trace: A DCI Kate Daniels thriller by Mari Hannah
• Blind Fall: A Novel by Christopher Rice
• In Five Years: A Novel by Rebecca Serle
• Hindsight by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen
• Fighting for Space: Two Pilots and Their Historic Battle for Female Spaceflight by Amy Teitel
• The Girl You Gave Away by Jess Ryder
• Concrete Flowers: A Novel (Global African Voices) by Wilfried N'Sondé and Karen Lindo
• The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
• Creep: He's Watching You by Jennifer Hillier
• Pretty Revenge by Emily Liebert
• The Arrangement by Robyn Harding
• The Majesties: A Novel by Tiffany Tsao
• Influenza: The Hundred Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History by Jeremy Brown
• Silence Can Kill: Speaking Up to End Hunger and Make Our Economy Work for Everyone by Arthur Simon
• Paper Houses by Rhonda Mullins
• Inherit the Bones: A Detective Gemma Monroe Mystery (Detective Gemma Monroe Novels #1) by Emily Littlejohn
• John Adams Under Fire: The Founding Father's Fight for Justice in the Boston Massacre Murder Trial by David Fisher and Dan Abrams
• The American Experiment: The Vineyard of Liberty, The Workshop of Democracy, and The Crosswinds of Freedom (The American Experiment #1) by James Macgregor Burns
• Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race To Save America From The Bubonic Plague by David K. Randall
• Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country by Sierra Crane Murdoch
• Special Ops: Four Accounts of the Military's Elite Forces by Orr Kelly
• The Midwife's Confession (Mira Ser.) by Diane Chamberlain
• Walking Away from Terrorism: Accounts of Disengagement from Radical and Extremist Movements (Political Violence) by John G. Horgan
• African Americans and the Presidency: The Road to the White House by Cary D. Wintz and Bruce A. Glasrud
• The Glass Hotel: A novel by Emily St. Mandel
• The Vulture Fund: A Novel by Stephen W. Frey
• House of Glass: The Story and Secrets of a Twentieth-Century Jewish Family by Hadley Freeman
• Then the Fish Swallowed Him: A Novel by Amir Ahmadi Arian
• Lakewood: A Novel by Megan Giddings
• The Herd: A Novel by Andrea Bartz
• The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
• The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It by Robert B. Reich
• When You Know What I Know by Sonja K. Solter
• The Edge of Anything by Nora Shalaway Carpenter
• Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown by Anne Glenconner
• Nobody's Child: A Tragedy, A Trial, And A History Of The Insanity Defense by Susan Vinocour
• Spillover: Animal Infections And The Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen
• The Triple Threat Collection by Lis Wiehl
• The Presidency in the Constitutional Order: An Historical Examination by Joseph M. Bessette
• Disappearing Earth: A novel by Julia Phillips
• The Other Typist: A Novel by Suzanne Rindell
• 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget by The Writers of Wise Bread
• The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, Volumes One through Three: Whose Body?, Clouds of Witness, and Unnatural Death (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries) by Dorothy L. Sayers
• The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Volume Two: The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, Strong Poison, The Five Red Herrings, and Have His Carcase (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries) by Dorothy L. Sayers
• The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Volume Three: Murder Must Advertise, The Nine Tailors, Gaudy Night, and Busman’s Honeymoon (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries) by Dorothy L. Sayers
• Home by Harlan Coben
• The Myron Bolitar Series 7-Book Bundle by Harlan Coben
• Promise Me (Myron Bolitar #8) by Harlan Coben
• Missing You by Harlan Coben

Lynn's List (March 27, 2020)

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

• The Sea of Lost Girls: A Novel by Carol Goodman
• Wandering Souls by Tobie Nathan
• Chasing Forgiveness by Neal Shusterman
• Violent Ends by Neal Shusterman
• Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity by Charles Marohn
• The Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Shusterman
• The Guiltless by Hermann Broch
• The Lieutenant's Nurse by Sara Ackerman
• The Islanders: A Novel by Meg Mitchell Moore
• Searching for Sylvie Lee: A Novel by Jean Kwok
• American Poison: How Racial Hostility Destroyed Our Promise by Eduardo Porter
• The Red Lotus: A Novel by Chris Bohjalian
• The Right to Remain Silent: A Novel by Charles Brandt
• The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben
• Nerves of Steel: How I Followed My Dreams, Earned My Wings, and Faced My Greatest Challenge by Captain Shults
• The Complete Daughters of the Promise Collection by Beth Wiseman
• The Amish Secrets Collection: Her Brother's Keeper, Love Bears All Things, Home All Along (An\amish Secrets Novel Ser.) by Beth Wiseman
• Listening to Love (An Amish Journey Novel #2) by Beth Wiseman
• Songs of the Humpback Whale: A Novel in Five Voices by Jodi Picoult
• The Silent Victim: An absolutely gripping crime thriller by Dana Perry
• A Hope for Emily by Kate Hewitt
• A Mother's Goodbye by Kate Hewitt
• The Couple on Cedar Close by Anna-Lou Weatherley
• Not My Daughter by Kate Hewitt
• Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America's First Cyber Spy by Eric O'Neill
• When to Walk Away: Finding Freedom from Toxic People by Gary Thomas
• What Now?: Understanding the Sexual Offense in Your Family by Gary Duke
• The Bear and the Nightingale: A Novel (Winternight Trilogy #1) by Katherine Arden

Review: Pretending to Dance

Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Molly Arnette and her husband are in the process of trying to adopt a child, but the process of home studies and personal histories is terrifying for her. It brings back what happened to her as a child when her father died. The memories of how he died still have the power to frighten and anger her.

Typical of Diane Chamberlain, this is a great story. I loved the characters in this book, even ones I wanted to shake, at times. Fiction at its best.

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Review: Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague by David K. Randall

Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague by David K. Randall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In March, 1900, a man who immigrated from China to San Francisco died as a result of the bubonic plague. San Francisco officials did all they could to make light of the plague in their city by first denying its existence there, and then by vilifying the health officers who came to try to rid the city of it.

Dr. federal health officer Rupert Blue was sent to San Francisco to deal with the outbreak, and he spent the next several years doing just that, not only in San Francisco, but in other areas of California and the country as a whole.

As I read this book, I was struck by the two extremes--one of denial and failure to take action--and the other of a tenacious man who was driven to eradicate the plague at great cost to his personal life and physical health. The other aspect of this book I found compelling was the blatant racism shown to Chinese and Asian immigrants. It's one thing to read about it in the abstract, and quite another to experience the truth of it.


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Lynn's List (March 20, 2020)

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

• We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love and Resistance by Linda Sarsour
• Dorothy Day: Dissenting Voice of the American Century by John Loughery and Blythe Randolph
• The Power Of Suffering by David Roland
• Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal by Ben Macintyre
• Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
• In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
• Flotsam: A Novel by Erich Maria Remarque
• Lake Child: A twisty psychological thriller you won't be able to put down by Isabel Ashdown
• The Killing Streets: Uncovering Australia's first serial murderer by Tanya Bretherton
• Across the Blue: A Novel by Carrie Turansky
• The World War II Collection: The Miracle of Dunkirk, Day of Infamy, and Incredible Victory by Walter Lord
• Brigades of Gettysburg: The Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Gettysburg by Bradley M. Gottfried
• The Wreckers: A Story of Killing Seas and Plundered Shipwrecks, from the 18th-Century to the Present Day by Bella Bathurst
• The Taken: A twisted, gripping crime thriller - not for the faint-hearted by Casey Kelleher
• Tears of Sadness, Tears of Joy: One Couple’s Journey Through Love, Faith, and Mental Illness by Jo Vamos Honig
• The House on Sunflower Road by Elizabeth Towles
• The Lonely Dead by April Henry
• The Peacock Feast: A Novel by Lisa Gornick
• The Perfect Liar: A Novel by Thomas Christopher Greene
• Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen
• The Crimson Cord (Daughters of the Promised Land Book #1): Rahab's Story by Jill Eileen Smith
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
• The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
• The Pelican Brief by John Grisham

Review: The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



For many years, I've been interested in the influenza pandemic of 1918-19. My paternal grandmother diedo f complications from influenza in 1919. John Barry has written such a remarkable book, tracing the scientific developments in response to that virus and others, as well as the impact and suffering the pandemic caused all around the world.



Anyone who knows me knows I do not have a mind for science. But this book is so well written, even I could grasp the basics of what a virus is, and even understand, from the description of virus characteristics, what it looks like under a microscope. Another aspect of this work is John Barry's biographies of some of the scientists and researchers who pioneered viral research, both before and after the influenza pandemic of 1918-19. And then there are the military, government and community leaders who were connected in various ways with this pandemic--some worked selflessly and risked their very lives to try and stop it, and others did virtually nothing. You'll meet them in this book too.



If you have difficulty coping with graphic detail and description, this may not be the read for you. This pandemic is not a pretty picture. I highly recommend this book, especially in light of what the world is currently experiencing with the coronavirus. I'm so glad I read it, and John Barry has done us all a great service by writing it.

Lynn's List (March 13, 2020)

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

• God is Not Here: A Soldier's Struggle with Torture, Trauma, and the Moral Injuries of War by Thomas Ricks, Bill Nash, Lieutenant Colonel Edmonds and George Lober
• A Different Lie: A Novel (Columbus Thrillers) by Derek Haas
• A Forest in the Clouds: My Year Among The Mountain Gorillas In The Remote Enclave Of Dr. Dian Fossey by John Fowler
• The Heart Leads Home by Sydell I. Voeller
• A House Divided by Sydell I. Voeller
• Free To Love by Sydell I. Voeller
• Her Sister's Keeper by Sydell I. Voeller
• The Fisherman's Daughter by Sydell I. Voeller
• The Phantom Killer: The Story of a Town in Terror by James Presley
• They All Fall Down: A Novel by Tammy Cohen
• Eisenhower's Armies: The American-British Alliance during World War II by Niall Barr
• Judgment Before Nuremberg: The Holocaust In The Ukraine And The First Nazi War Crimes Trial by Greg Dawson
• Terminal Rage by A. M. Khalifa
• Independence Square: A Novel by A. D. Miller
• Someone to Watch Over Me: A Portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt and the Tortured Father Who Shaped Her Life by Eric Burns
• The Hidden Child: A Novel by Camilla Lackberg
• The Dead Don't Bleed: A Novel (Ellis Voigt Thrillers Ser. #1) by David Krugler
• Second Sight: A Novel by Aoife Clifford
• Marijuana Nation: From Vietnam to Legalization by Roger Roffman
• The ISIS Hostage: One Man's True Story Of Thirteen Months In Captivity by David Young and Puk Damsgard
• An American Quilt: Unfolding A Story Of Family And Slavery by Rachel May
• The Killing Season: A Novel (Carter Blake Thrillers #1) by Mason Cross
• Conscience: A Novel by Alice Mattison
• Motor City Burning: A Novel by Bill Morris
• The Schoolmaster's Daughter: A Novel of the American Revolution by John Smolens
• Gandhi: The True Man Behind Modern India by Jad Adams
• A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
• The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon Meacham
• The Hope of Glory: Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross by Jon Meacham
• High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly by Donald Spoto
• Linda Fairstein Boxed Set by Linda Fairstein
• The First Partner by Joyce Milton
• Loss of Eden by Joyce Milton
• Verdict On Vichy: Power and Prejudice in the Vichy France Regime by Michael Curtis
• The Complete Titanic Chronicles by Walter Lord
• The Wrong Enemy: America in Afghanistan, 2001–2014 by Carlotta Gall
• Butte and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Disaster) by Janelle M. Olberding
• Very, Very, Very Dreadful: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 by Albert Marrin
• Influenza and Public Health: Learning from Past Pandemics by Susan Craddock, Jennifer Gunn, and Tamara Giles-Vernick
• Influenza: The Hundred Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History by Jeremy Brown
• The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry
• The Garden of Martyrs by Michael C. White
• The Limits of the World: A Novel by Jennifer Acker
• The Devil's Advocate: The Epic Novel of One Man's Fight to Save America from Tyranny by Taylor Caldwell
• The Devil's Advocate by Andrew Neiderman
• A Life of One's Own by Marion Milner
• My Lucky Stroke by Sarah Brooker
• Small Island by Andrea Levy
• A Crime in the Neighborhood by Suzanne Berne
• Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand by Haydn Washington
• Unfollow Me: A Novel by Charlotte Duckworth
• Cry Havoc: Charlottesville and American Democracy Under Siege by Michael Signer
• Stamped: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds
• Lost Boy Found by Kirsten Alexander
• Raise Your Voice: 12 Protests That Shaped America by Jeffrey Kluger
• The Keeper: A Novel by Jessica Moor
• Safe House by Jo Jakeman
• The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman
• The Firsts: The Inside Story of the Women Reshaping Congress by Jennifer Steinhauer
• Redress: The Inside Story of the Successful Campaign for Japanese American Reparations by John Tateishi
• A Good Neighborhood: A Novel by Therese Anne Fowler
• At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude And The Creative Life by Fenton Johnson
• The Loud Minority: Why Protests Matter in American Democracy (Princeton Studies in Political Behavior #20) by Professor Daniel Q. Gillion
• The Liberation of Brigid Dunne: A Novel by Patricia Scanlan
• Privilege: A Novel by Mary Adkins
• My Dark Vanessa: A Novel by Kate Elizabeth Russell
• The Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court by Richard J. Lazarus
• Will the Circle Be Unbroken?: A Memoir of Learning to Believe You’re Gonna Be Okay by Sean Dietrich
• The Power of Silence: Silent Communication in Daily Life by Colum Kenny
• Natalie Wood: The Complete Biography by Suzanne Finstad
• A Face in the Crowd: An absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller by Kerry Wilkinson
• The Woman I Was Before: A gripping, emotional page turner with a twist by Kerry Fisher
• The Mistake: An Unputdownable Psychological Thriller With A Brilliant Twist by K. L. Slater
• The Visitor: A psychological thriller with a breathtaking twist by K. L. Slater

Lynn's List (March 6, 2020)

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

• A Good Place to Hide: How One French Community Saved Thousands of Lives in World War II by Peter Grose
• You Can Run: A Novel by Steve Mosby
• Tchaikovsky: The Man Revealed by John Suchet
• So Close to Home: A True Story of an American Family's Fight for Survival During World War II by Michael J. Tougias and Alison O'Leary
• Assassin of Shadows: A Novel by Lawrence Goldstone
• Deadly Cure: A Novel by Lawrence Goldstone
• Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
• Black Mountain Breakdown by Lee Smith
• Rush: Revolution, Madness, and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father by Stephen Fried
• One Little Lie (The Pelican Harbor Series #1) by Colleen Coble
• Red Sky at Noon: A Novel (The Moscow Trilogy #0) by Simon Sebag Montefiore
• The Dead Don't Bleed: A Novel by David Krugler
• Rip the Angels from Heaven: A Novel by David Krugler
• Crisis of the House Divided: An Interpretation of the Issues in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 50th Anniversary Edition by Harry V. Jaffa
• Not Tonight: Migraine and the Politics of Gender and Health by Joanna Kempner
• The Bad Lands: A Novel by Oakley Hall
• Speak Truth to Power: A Quaker Search for an Alternative to Violence by American Friends Service Committee
• Executing Freedom: The Cultural Life of Capital Punishment in the United States by Daniel Lachance
• So Fell the Angels by Thomas Graham Belden
• The Blood of the Lamb: A Novel by Peter De Vries
• We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love and Resistance by Linda Sarsour
• The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham
• The Body Politic: A Novel by Brian Platzer
• These Ghosts Are Family: A Novel by Maisy Card
• Never Too Late: A Novel (Mills and Boon Ser.) by Robyn Carr
• The Voice at the Back Door: A Novel (Voices of the South) by Elizabeth Spencer
• Snow Creek: An absolutely gripping mystery thriller (Detective Megan Carpenter Ser. #Vol. 1) by Gregg Olsen
• Evil Games: A gripping, heart-stopping thriller by Angela Marsons
• The Lost Daughter of India: A Heartbreaking Novel Of Tragedy And Secrets That Will Have You Hooked by Sharon Maas
• The Orphan of India: A Heartbreaking And Gripping Story Of Love, Loss And Hope by Sharon Maas
• Silent Scream: An edge of your seat serial killer thriller by Angela Marsons
• What You Pay For by Claire Askew
• Pearl of Pit Lane: A powerful, romantic saga of tragedy and triumph by Glenda Young
• The Heart of the Night: An epic wartime novel of passion, betrayal and danger by Judith Lennox
• The Wife's Secret: A gripping psychological thriller with a heart-stopping twist by Kerry Wilkinson
• If She Wakes by Michael Koryta
• Dark Days on the Fairest Isle by Judith Nembhard
• Hill Country: A Novel by Janice Windle
• My Perfect Wife: An absolutely unputdownable domestic suspense novel by Boyd Clare Boyd
• Pretty Girls: A Novel by Karin Slaughter
• Lighthouse Beach: A Novel by Shelley Noble
• The Mercy Seat by Elizabeth Winthrop
• The One: A Novel by John Marrs
• The Impossible Climb: Alex Honnold, El Capitan, and the Climbing Life by Mark Synnott
• City of Margins: A Novel by William Boyle
• The Yellow Bird Sings: A Novel by Jennifer Rosner
• Are You Living with a Narcissist?: How Narcissistic Men Impact Your Happiness, How to Identify Them, and How to Avoid Raising One by Laurie Hollman
• The Houston Crime Scene Collection: The Chase, The Survivor (Crime Scene: Houston) by DiAnn Mills
• A Citizen's Guide to Beating Donald Trump by David Plouffe
• Blackwood by Michael Farris Smith
• Girl at the Edge by Karen Dietrich
• Jailed for Freedom: A First-Person Account of the Militant Fight for Women's Rights by Doris Stevens
• Rise Up! The Art of Protest by Jo Rippon
• Presidential Leadership in Crisis: Defining Moments of the Modern Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Donald Trump by Kenneth T. Walsh
• Deprivation by Roy Freirich
• The Sea of Lost Girls: A Novel by Carol Goodman
• Can You See Me? by Rebecca Westcott and Libby Scott
• The Iceman: A Novel by P. T. Deutermann
• Forget You Know Me: A Novel by Jessica Strawser
• A Delayed Life: The True Story of the Librarian of Auschwitz by Dita Kraus
• Eden Mine: A Novel by S. M. Hulse
• Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country by E.J. Dionne Jr.
• The Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President by Jill Wine-Banks
• Faceless Killers: A Mystery (Kurt Wallander Ser. #1) by Henning Mankell and Steven T. Murray
• Thread of Fear (The\glass Sisters Ser. #Bk. 1) by Laura Griffin
• The Unbreakable Child by William F. Mcmurry, David Clohessy, Kim Michele Richardson, and Father Thomas Doyle, J.C.D., C.A.D.C.
• GodPretty in the Tobacco Field by Kim Michele Richardson
• The Sisters of Glass Ferry by Kim Michele Richardson
• The Secret Guests: A Novel by Benjamin Black
• The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: Political Trauma and American Memory (Critical Moments in American History) by Alice George
• A Social History of Disability in the Middle Ages: Cultural Considerations of Physical Impairment (Routledge Studies in Cultural History #14) by Irina Metzler
• A Train of Powder by Rebecca West
• Interfaith Advocacy: The Role of Religious Coalitions in the Political Process (Routledge Research in American Politics and Governance) by Katherine E. Knutson
• The Secret Capture: U-110 and the Enigma Story by Stephen Roskill
• Losing You: A Novel by Nicci French
• Beneath the Mountain: A Novel by Luca D'Andrea
• Sanctuary: A Novel by Luca D'Andrea
• The Enduring Democracy by Christina E. Bejarano, David A. Yalof and Kenneth J. Dautrich
• The Delaney Woman by Jeanette Baker
• The Washington War: FDR's Inner Circle and the Politics of Power That Won World War II by James Lacey
• Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis
• Wildflowers from Winter: A Novel (Wildflowers from Winter Series) by Katie Ganshert
• The World Without You: A Novel by Joshua Henkin
• Deep State: A Thriller (A Hayley Chill Thriller #1) by Chris Hauty
• Youngblood: A Novel by Matt Gallagher
• Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese
• Chasing Cassandra: The Ravenels by Lisa Kleypas
• You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe
• Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction by David Enrich
• The Craftsman: A Novel by Sharon Bolton
• The Ultimatum: An International Spy Thriller (The\guardian Ser. #1) by Karen Robards
• Heaven on Earth: Realizing the Good Life Now by Chris Seidman
• When Grief Breaks Your Heart by James W. Moore
• Follow You, Follow Me: Why Social Networking is Essential to Ministry by John Voelz
• A Christian Justice for the Common Good by Tex Sample
• In the Quiet of the Day: Daily Reflections for Lasting Peace by Abingdon
• Seeds of Hope (Harvest of Hope #1) by Barbara Cameron
• Buried Secrets (Harvest of Hope #2) by Barbara Cameron
• The Path of Compassion: Living with Heart, Soul, and Mind by Ronald J. Greer

Review: GodPretty in the Tobacco Field by Kim Michele Richardson

GodPretty in the Tobacco Field by Kim Michele Richardson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


GodPretty in the Tobacco Field is the first of Kim Michele Richardson's books I have had the pleasure of reading. I knew, when I read the editorial comments, it would elicit strong emotions concerning society's responses to prejudice and poverty. Of course, it did that and more.

Set in 1960s small-town Kentucky, amid poverty, the grinding kind that can wear you down even in childhood, a young girls struggles with a complicated relationship with her Uncle, neighbors and a boy she has loved since childhood. The poignancy of the times and the writing is compelling. There are so many take aways from the story that will stay with me, especially the surprising ending. I will definitely read more of Kim Michele Richardson's books.

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Review: The Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman

The Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I found this book, The Conscience of a Liberal, extremely interesting. Though first published in 2007, it is still an excellent read and relevant today. It traces the previous eight decades--where we were then, and where we are now. The transformation from a more conservative society, to the New Deal, and now to what we have today is a story, I think, that can only be truly understood when looked at in its totality as Paul Krugman does.

You might expect this to be somewhat of a dry subject. However, I did not find it at all so. The book is detailed, and a second reading might be in order in the future. There is much to absorb.

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