Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Review: The Dry

The Dry The Dry by Jane Harper
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

This audio wasn't effective--I didn't make it past the first disk because I had to keep changing the volume in my car. The Australian accent made it difficult for me to understand enough, but then when the narrator kept changing the volume of his voice, I gave up. I will have to try reading the actual book.

View all my reviews

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Review: Girls Made of Snow and Glass

Girls Made of Snow and Glass Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another great YA retelling with a feminist twist. Wicked meets Frozen into Snow White!

I enjoyed the read, even if it seemed to be more for junior high readers instead of high school. Lots of angst here--women who want to be someone else but trapped by circumstance. I appreciated the twisting of many familiar elements into something new and unexpected.

I hope this gets some discussion at the Morris table. It isn't very literary, but teens will love it.

View all my reviews

Monday, October 23, 2017

Review: Cold Earth

Cold Earth Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love these Shetland-based mysteries--they're just as good as the BBC television series! This one refers to an episode I haven't seen yet, but I'm hoping it is turned into a show, too, because it would be quite dramatic. Inspector Perez is still having a rough time with the loss of his wife, and he just can't bring himself to show his growing affection for Willow, the inspector from the mainland. When a former minor celebrity turns up dead in a landslide after some rainy weather, it takes the two of them to find out who did it and why.

View all my reviews

Friday, October 20, 2017

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Review: Zero Sugar Diet: The 14-Day Plan to Flatten Your Belly, Crush Cravings, and Help Keep You Lean for Life

Zero Sugar Diet: The 14-Day Plan to Flatten Your Belly, Crush Cravings, and Help Keep You Lean for Life Zero Sugar Diet: The 14-Day Plan to Flatten Your Belly, Crush Cravings, and Help Keep You Lean for Life by David Zinczenko
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not very well written, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks, ADM, (okay, he never mentioned that company in the book), for making sure that added sugar is in everything we eat. It is strange to think that 40 years ago most people wouldn't be overweight in America because the food was different then. I won't follow his diet exactly, but I liked learning about all the food that has added sugar. Basically, um, everything. I know I'll be looking at labels more carefully. Heck, even the A1 steak sauce I ate with the awesome tuna steak last night is something I shouldn't eat. So my rational brain will be reading labels more carefully and understanding why I crave certain foods. I've never been a chocolate craver--I'm more of a salty carb fan, but now I know why. All those added sugars make things delicious. As addictive as crack cocaine, which makes me cringe. I don't want to fall victim to that crap.

View all my reviews

Review: The Virgin Diet: Drop 7 Foods, Lose 7 Pounds, Just 7 Days

The Virgin Diet: Drop 7 Foods, Lose 7 Pounds, Just 7 Days The Virgin Diet: Drop 7 Foods, Lose 7 Pounds, Just 7 Days by J.J. Virgin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I skimmed through this book on my Cloud Library app--I never take them seriously when they start pushing their products. However, I did appreciate pulling some of the information about food intolerance, since that seems to be a problem I'm having now.

I will never follow her diet--no way will I cut out all dairy, soy, eggs, bread, corn, sugar, and sugar substitutes, but I recognize that cutting those out and slowly re-introducing them can help people figure out what foods they can't handle. Luckily, I've already had the allergy testing so I know my body is allergic to yeast and brewer's yeast, and that I'm lactose-intolerant. But don't ever take away my cheese, thank you. But I'm reading these books to convince myself that I need to stay away from added sugars and processed foods--it takes awhile for knowledge to soak into my drowning-in-salty-carbs brain.

View all my reviews

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Review: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really do recommend reading this book, and then reading Sherman Alexie's You Don't Have to Say You Love Me. Vance's memoir is justification of why hillbillies in the rust belt are the way they are--they are declining rapidly as the generations go by. I am a product of the Scotch Irish, too, although my mom's side settled in southeast Indiana for a few generations after leaving Pennsylvania. And there the similarities end, other than the fact that I was raised to believe in work ethic and that my choices dictate where I end up, just like Vance's grandparents believed.

I did work in high schools in southern and central Illinois for 14 years, and I know exactly what kids were raised in families like Vance. They are the screamers and complainers--the ones who believe that EVERYONE is out to get them. And they don't take responsibility for their choices--ever. These are the kids that made me say "I wish I could take them away from their family" so that they had a chance. But the cycle repeats, the teenage pregnancy and drug use happens again, and very few escape. It's depressing. And we are supporting these families through social welfare, and our schools are trying their best to save some of these kids.

All rural and small town educators need to read this book. It's a great discussion starter, even if it isn't the sociologist tome that I was hoping it would turn into. I want a solution for the problems in my area of Illinois, yet Vance notes that it needs to be a community effort--not something that progressive schools can solve.

View all my reviews

Review: You'll Never Know, Dear

You'll Never Know, Dear You'll Never Know, Dear by Hallie Ephron
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I kept debating on quitting this book, but I had to find out if I had guessed the criminal correctly. I did. Creepy dolls are mentioned throughout--two older women make and repair dolls for a living. Two children were snatched from their yards over the years in their small South Carolina town, and they had dolls in common. Now all the secrets come out when a missing girl may have been found 40 years later.

I never connected with any of the characters--this is one of those books with many short chapters like most popular fiction. But I did like Ephron's Never Tell a Lie so I kept hoping this would get better.

View all my reviews

Friday, October 13, 2017

Review: You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Heartbreaking and oh, so good. Sherman Alexie has a way with words and his storytelling is what I want to read. Reading this memoir while listening to Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis was interesting--many parallels and similarities, but Alexie's grief and wordsmithing makes this a modern masterpiece. It is brave of him to publish this--I feel like I KNOW him and I want to hug him and thank his wife. I earmarked so many passages--crazy good poetry is interspersed throughout and his repeating of certain stories and passages that held meaning to him just made me more of an emotional wreck. This memoir gives you the feels.

View all my reviews

Monday, October 9, 2017

Review: The Right Side

The Right Side The Right Side by Spencer Quinn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I loved Quinn's Chet and Bernie books, so I had to give this standalone novel a try. LeAnne Hogan wakes up at Walter Reed, injured and suffering from PTSD. She's not in a good place, and I really felt like I connected with her in the first half of the book. However, about the last quarter of the book didn't ring true to me--things wrapped up quickly, some improbable events happen, and, even though things turned out okay, it was just too cheesy for me.

But yay for a dog helping her heal!

View all my reviews

Review: Thin Air

Thin Air Thin Air by Ann Cleeves
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Classic British mystery, complete with a Shetland accent. Actually, I think it's a bit more of a posh Scottish accent, but I'll take it. Watch the BBC series Shetland if you haven't yet--it's awesome. And available from your library on DVD if you don't have Netflix.

View all my reviews

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Review: Jihadi Jane

Jihadi Jane Jihadi Jane by Tabish Khair
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I couldn't manage the writing style--very melodramatic, and the narration was annoying. The accents, too, were odd and not very even. And it felt preachy to me, like an after school special about radicalization.

"Why don't you go and fight then?" asked Ameena, "You know t' 'oly Quran as well as A do. Yer know it says: Allah shall grant to t'jihadis above t'holders back a mighty reward." (p.60)

View all my reviews

Review: The Alice Network

The Alice Network The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is perfect for those of you who love historical fiction. World War I AND II! Spies! Love! Heartache! Female friendships! It has everything. Some is, of course, hard to believe, but it was an enjoyable, if a bit long at times, read. This would make a great BBC miniseries.

View all my reviews

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Review: This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class

This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class by Elizabeth Warren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was so difficult to listen to, because it's hard to fight with the statistics and personal stories she gives. The state of the middle class right now refutes the whole trickle down theory of economics, yet I'm surrounded by people who believe it works. They believe that their life will improve when the rich people around them get richer. Unfortunately, rich people aren't that nice. History has proven that, thank you.

View all my reviews

Monday, October 2, 2017

Review: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Easy and engaging audiobook! I've read a few novels that discussed the Osage murders, and so this nonfiction work filled in the blanks for me. So many senseless murders of Native Americans, only to line the pockets of greedy white people. Stupid to think that Osage weren't "trusted" enough to handle their oil money and needed white "guardians" to manage (or steal) their money. Disgusting. And crazy to think that all this wasn't settled until 2011 when our American government paid the Osage over $300 million in apology money.

View all my reviews