MAY 2021

Greetings Book Lovers!

We met on the 27th of May in Geri's back yard.  It was a lovely night and we were happy to be together even though we were fewer in number.  Here are the books that were discussed:

MARYANN STEVENS

TRACK OF THE CAT by Nevada Barr (2 stars)  Park Ranger Anna Pigeon solves 3 murders and singlehandedly subdues the murderer in hand-to-hand combat. Story not too bad until the last 20 minutes. Completely unsatisfactory wrap-up and ending.

WINTER OF THE WORLD by Ken Follett. Book 2 of the Century Trilogy. (3.5 stars)  World War ** and post war to 1949.  Story continues to follow families in America, Britain, Russia and Germany and recounts the horrors of war and the particular cruelty of the first Nazis and then the Communists. Great story telling but too much raw sex. 

BLEACHERS written and narrated by John Grisham.  (4 stars)  I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book.  A football town in the South. A winning coach for nearly 4 decades and the love/hate relationship evokes.  The lives of the players post high school.

OUR REVOLUTION by Bernie Sanders & Mark Ruffolo.  (4.5 stars) Bernie recounts his political life and his staunch, lifelong adherence to social justice and moral politics. The first 10 hours Ruffolo recounts Bernie's policy statements and realistic solutions proffered on the campaign trail. 

MARLENE MATHESON

The Answer Is by Alex Trebek - A very interesting autobiography by Jeopardy host. 

The Radium Girls by Kate More - An excellent account of the radium dial factories in the 1920's with personal stories of the girls who became sick from the radium and their long fight for justice. 

Hello, Neighbor! by Matthew Cordell - A short, illustrated book about Fred Rogers' life.

The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King - A biography about Fred Rogers. This is the 2nd time I've read it and it was every bit as inspiring as the 1st time.

The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton - An eye-opening account of his experience of being on death row for 30+ years. His eventual release was due to the efforts of lawyer, Bryan Stevenson (Just Mercy) 

The Power of Lift by Melinda Gates - Her experiences: getting a job at Microsoft, marrying Bill Gates, seeing the world's less fortunate in her travels as a philanthropist, and starting organizations to help them. She shares the personal insights she gained through this work. 

GERI CHRISTENSEN

HOW TO RAISE AN ELEPHANT by Alexander McCall Smith.  Another delightful tale of how Mma Romatswe deals with an elephant her assistant Charlie became responsible for and how she manages to find a home for it along with solving other minor problems concerning a distant cousin who comes to her asking for money.  (3.5 stars)

THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES by Kristin Harmel.  This is a fascinating and very absorbing story of a young Jewish girl who is a very gifted forger who risks her life helping young Jewish children escape from the Nazis by forging new identity papers for them so they can cross the border into safety in Switzerland. At the same time she tries to preserve their real identities using a secret code.  Wonderful book!  (5 stars)

SYCAMORE ROW by John Grisham.  An intriguing story about a very wealthy man who has two adult children and at the last stages of his cancer he decides to change his will and leaves all of his money to his black maid. Although she has served him loyally for several years, she doesn't understand why she would be his heir.  A courtroom battle ensues and it is very interesting how it all plays out.  This is a sequel using many of the same people from the author's first successful novel, A TIME TO KILL.  (4 stars)

BAD COMPANY by Jack Higgins.  A good World War II thriller with one of the author's favorite main characters, Sean Dillon.  Well-written and fast-paced.  (3 stars)  

BETH HEDENGREN

The Paper Daughters of Chinatown by Heather B. Moore

Donaldina (“Dolly”) Cameron runs a refuge for Chinese girls who have been forced into prostitution or other slavery in the late 19^th Century. She bravely goes on rescues to take these girls from brothels, and then lovingly teaches and cares for them. Based on a true story.

 

A Taste for Death, by PD James

As always for PD James, a very thoughtfully written mystery where justice is served, but also wisdom and insights on human nature are shared. Adam Dalgliesh is called in to investigate the murder of an aristocrat Minister whose throat is slit in the Little Vestry of St Matthew’s Church.  

 

The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig

Three boys and dad on the Montana frontier around 1903 are recovering from the death of their mother. Their house in disarray, they hire a housekeeper (“Can’t cook but doesn’t bite). The oldest boy narrates from an adult perspective—so beautifully written it makes me think of My Antonia. The new housekeeper, young and beautiful, brings along her brother and sets in motion many changes for the family.