FEBRUARY 2021

 Hello Book Lovers!

We met on Zoom last Thursday night (February 25th) and discussed some interesting and wonderful books. Here is the list:

BETH HEDENGREN

Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts 4.5 stars

An interesting, fictionalized account of L. Frank Baum’s wife and the story of their life and the writing of Wizard of Oz, all framed by an account of the filming of the movie. 

 

This is the Voice by John Colapinto 4.5 stars

Fascinating non-fiction about all aspects of our voice and how we use it to communicate. The first chapter on how babies learn to talk is great—and the rest is just filled with interesting information

 

I Will Lead You Along: The Life of Henry B. Eyring by Henry J. Eyring, Robert I. Eaton

Such a good man. Very interesting. I especially enjoyed learning about his years as a Stanford professor.

 

Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce

A middle-aged spinster takes off for New Caledonia in search of an undiscovered beetle. She hires an assistant, sight unseen, who is a young, ditsy, blonde woman. Both women have tragic pasts, which their search and their eventual friendship heal.

 

 

The Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine 

A shy, fearful princess embarks on a dangerous quest to save her courageous sister who has fallen critically ill. By Nobel winning author (Ella Enchanted).

 

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. 

In a society in which singing is valued greatly and is a vital part of every day, a girl of mysterious birth (who sings beautifully but is large and ungainly) saves the kingdom from a magic mirror and a foolish queen.

LIZ ORTON

Endurance —by Alfred Lansing

The Boys In The Boat —by Daniel James Brown

The Wright Brothers—by David McCullough

A Man Called Ove—(language) by Fredrik Backman

The Rithmatist— by Brandon Sanderson

JO ANN ABEGGLEN

1. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
This book starts in 1797 when a young girl looses her parents on a ship coming from Ireland and is taken by the captain to his plantation to be an indentured servant in the kitchen house. Lavinia is placed in the care of Belle the master’s illegitimate black daughter. Lavinia tries to straddle the worlds of the kitchen house and the main house. It is hard to be part of two different worlds.  Rate 3.5

2. Glory Over Everything (Beyond the Kitchen House) by Kathleen Grissom
Jamie Pike is the son of the Master of tall oaks and a kitchen slave and is passing as a wealthy white aristocrat in Philadelphia. His true identity is threatened when he needs to travel south to rescue a young boy named Pan. He knows that he is still being hunted as an escaped slave.  Rate 4

3. So Much Owed (An Irish World War II Story) by Jean Grainger
An Irish country doctor is sickened by all saw in the First World War. His children are now determined to fight in World War II. This book explores how far can you stretch the ties that bind a family? This is a page turner. Rate 4.5

4. Death in Focus by Anne Perry
This is a book I could not but down! It starts in England in 1933 with two charming well connected sisters making a trip to the ITALIAN coast for pleasure and To photograph
An International Economic Conference. Murder travel and deceit follow to the last page of this book. Rate 5. It will keep you guessing at every turn!

MARLENE MATHESON

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - A cleverly-written  mystery about a millionaire who gave his 16 heirs clues to figure out who murdered him. The winner received the largest part of his inheritance. Because of Liz Orton's encouragement, I persevered to the end. However, I still didn't enjoy it but I'm guessing that you mystery-lovers would like it. 

Homework on Libby by Julie Andrews, read by the author - It is her 2nd memoir in the timeline of her life, but it reviews her early years. It was interesting to know the hardships she came from in her younger years, but in spite of her dysfunctional family, she was always supportive and helpful to them. She started out in vaudeville with her parents, then had so many opportunities come to her that she was supporting her family financially when she was a teenager. It was delightful and I loved it!

MARYANN STEVENS

Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates 4⭐️ great story telling, received many awards. Grandmother Santi Bess took 40 ‘tasked’ persons down to the river & ‘conducted’ them through the water all the way back to Africa, so the legend goes. Hiram Walker, son of a slave & the plantation owner, is thought to have this same mystical power, which was coveted by the Virginia Underground Railroad. “Think of all we could free if the hounds couldn’t see us!” The now depleted Virginia soil no longer supports the gentry who try to hang in by selling more & more slaves ‘down Natchez way’ to more extreme conditions in the Deep South. Members of the Philadelphia underground depicted here are based on a free colored family which works tirelessly to free as many as possible.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris 4.5⭐️ author interviewed Lale Sokolov; he is the tattooist, this his history. Incredible tale of hope & courage begins with Slovakian Jews being sacrificed by their government to the Nazis. Lale volunteers to be the one family member assigned to a Nazi work camp. Allegedly this sacrifice would spare the other family members. Lale learns after the war that his parents were shipped out only days after his departure & are immediately put to death at Auschwitz before he even arrives. Assigned as the tattooist because of his linguistic abilities he meets every person who enters the gates of both Auschwitz and Birkenau for 2 1/2 years. One young woman steals his heart & he vows they will survive the atrocities & creates family of love.

The Last Days of John Lennon by James Patterson. 3 ⭐️ John Lennon was one of the most influential people in the world. Mark David Chapman was one of the most invisible. Inside stories from the earliest days of the Beatles. Author tries to reveal inside Chapman’s head with first person accounts. Chapman eligible for parole in 2000, denied eleven times.

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian 4.5 ⭐️ Cassie has been a flight attendant for 18 years, enough that she can command all the great cities of the world. Cassie has slept around & passed out in all of them. But Is she an alcoholic? In Dubai she wakes up with hedge fund financier Alex, dead. Cassie has few post midnight memories. Did she kill him with the broken vodka bottle? Great writing, intriguing plot, full dimensional characters, and more than a few surprises. All bed scenes are referred to obliquely - no sordid details.

The Things We Cherished by Pam Jenoff 3 ⭐️ the story modulates between 1911, 1940s, & 2005, between wars, between Poland & Germany, Jews, & Nazis. Low score because I didn’t care for the writing style. It shouldn’t be necessary to consistently use narrative to explain what the dialogue just presented. Orphans Tale & the Lost Girls of Paris by same author were technically superior & without sacrificing any clarity..

Mormonism by Terryl Givens 4⭐️ Q&A format. Six Challenges of the New Millennium

1. Legacy of Polygamy with its existing implied limits on female options or power.
2. Priesthood ban with its implied lack of valiance.
3. Prophetic infallibility based on Woodruff’s statement that the Lord will not allow his prophet to lead the people astray.
4. Balance between Cultural affinity and cultural tension.
5. Keeping the young people. Millennials more interested in spiritual vs institutional.
6. Legacy of Racism.
7. Feminism
8. Gender issues.

GERI CHRISTENSEN

THE TATOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ by Heather Morris

This was a very fascinating book, a true story, of the love between two concentration camp prisoners during World War II.  Their survival is nothing short of miraculous and their love passes the test of time. The story is written from a series of interviews with the main character, Lale Sokolov, over a three year period shortly before his death many years after the war was over. If you like reading about this terrible time in the world's history and are inspired by the will to live and the incredible and terrible circumstances these prisoners endured, you will enjoy this book, as I did.  I give it 4.5 stars.

THE NUMBER ONE LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY by Alexander McCall Smith

After having read almost all of the books in this series, I decided to go back and re-read the first one.  When it first came out I can remember not being that impressed with it and with this second reading I can understand why. It goes into great detail concerning Mme Ramotswe's past and the circumstances surrounding her detective business in Botswana. It didn't really get into any of her amazing exploits until later in the book.  I thought the subsequent books were more fun to read and give a much clearer picture of the relationship between Mme Ramotswe and Mme Makutse, her secretary (who later becomes her first assistant).  But it was still delightful and fun to read. I give it 3.5 stars.

I WILL ALWAYS WRITE BACK - HOW ONE LETTER CHANGED TWO LIVES. BY Caitlin Aliferenka and Martin Ganda

I absolutely loved this book.  It is well worth taking the time to read. It is told in two voices and is the story of two young junior high school students who accept the challenge to write to a pen pal. Caitlin lives in Pennsylvania and Martin in Zimbabwe.  It is a fascinating comparison to two completely different cultures and how each of these young people became friends and stayed in touch over the years.  I give this book 5 stars.

HORNET FLIGHT by Ken Follett

This is a very good World War II era story of two people from Denmark who meet, fall in love and commandeer  a very small and almost flimsy airplane across the English channel to deliver some very top secret photographs of a radar installation on the coast of Denmark to England. It is well written and very engrossing.  I give this book 4.5 stars.

CAMINO WINDS by John Grisham

This is the second in the Camino Island series that takes place on a small island off the coast of Florida. There is a terrible hurricane and everyone is told to leave the island but during the height of the storm a man is murdered.  The book has lots of twists and turns and a great ending. It is not the same as some of the author's earlier books as it has very little to do with law, but it does focus on fraud and is interesting how the solution to the crime comes about. I give this book 3.5 stars.

THE THIRD TWIN by Ken Follett

This book is set in the present day and revolves around a experiment conducted 30 years earlier in a laboratory where one embryo was divided into eight different cells and became eight entirely different but identical twins. It is fast-moving but I didn't find it as interesting or well-written as some of this writer's earlier books.  I give it 2.5 stars.

THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE by Alan Bradley

This is the first book in the Flavia de Luce series about the 11 year old detective who uses her prodigious knowledge of chemistry to solve murders in the village of Bishop's Lacey in England in the 1950's.  Even though it is a fantastic premise and difficult to believe, it is absolutely delightful nonetheless and a wonderfully fun read. Flavia has to put up  with her two very mean older sisters, Daphne and Ophelia, who never seem to appreciate Flavia's incredible talents but she has Dogger, her father's good friend who lives with the family and who understands Flavia and helps her whenever she gets in over her head. These books are written by a master story teller and he never ceases to amaze me at his writing skill and use of similes. That is what makes the books so much fun to read for me. I give this book 5 stars.