A Dirt Road To Somewhere. Finished 9-20-19, memoir, 3.5/5 stars, 248 pages, pub. 2017

Raised in a tiny, poverty-stricken town in rural Missouri, Romona Robinson, along with her ten siblings, knows what it means to struggle. Under the tutelage of her hardworking, protective, and God-fearing mother, Romona develops an affinity for the Bible and Walter Cronkite. She also believes her home on a dead-end dirt road would lead her to somewhere. And it does. While crossing paths with the likes of the Ku Klux Klan, Nelson Mandela, and Barack Obama, Romona experiences unimagined pain, love, and success. Her compelling story will inspire you to examine your own purpose and leave you filled with a desire to walk in faith, not fear.   from Goodreads

Romona Robinson is a beloved Cleveland broadcast journalist who also lives about five minutes from me (not that I’ve ever been invited to her house :)).  She spoke at our Friends of the Solon Library annual meeting in the spring and did an encore in the fall.  She’s a presence: tall, beautiful and confident.  Not only has she won numerous awards but she started her own charity, Romona’s Kids, some of whom were in the audience.  She spoke for about 45 minutes and shared stories from this book.  I’m glad that I waited until after she spoke to read it because I could picture her telling the stories and that added to my enjoyment.

I think this book is a good choice for Clevelanders, but also kids growing up in poverty.  She found her way out and has inspired many I’m sure.

 Indeh. Finished 8-3-19, 3.5/5, graphic historical, 231 pages, pub. 2016

The year is 1872. The place, the Apache nations, a region torn apart by decades of war. Goyahkla, a young brave, has lost his family and everything he loves. After having a vision, he approaches the Apache leader Cochise to lead an attack against the Mexican village of Azripe. It is this wild display of courage that transforms the young brave Goyahkla into the Native American hero Geronimo. But the Apache Wars rage on. As they battle their enemies, lose loved ones, and desperately cling to their land and culture, they utter, “Indeh,” or “the dead.” When it appears that lasting peace has been reached, it seems like the war is over. Or is it?    from Goodreads

The history of the Native American Indians in this country always angers me and makes me sad.  This was no different.  The way they were treated was horrifying.  The illustrations in this graphic novel are perfection, the black and white showing the stark reality.  I learned a lot about the Apache Wars and Geronimo, both good guy and bad guy, just like us all.  I admit that I found the story confusing in some places, but kept with it and came away with a clearer picture. A quality graphic novel with an important part of history to be told.

 I Know Who You Are. Finished 7-26-19, 3.5/5 stars, suspense, pub. 2019

Unabridged audio read by Stephanie Racine. 9 CDs

l Know Who You Are is the brilliant tale of two stories. One is about Aimee Sinclair—well-known actress on the verge of being full-on famous. If you saw her, you’d think you knew her. One day towards the near-end of her shoot on her latest film, Aimee comes home from filming to find her husband’s cell phone and wallet on the dining room table. He never goes anywhere without them. But he’s nowhere to be found. She’s not too concerned—they had a huge fight the night before. They both said things they didn’t mean. He might have done things he didn’t mean, things she can’t forget. Even though she has a history of supposedly forgetting. After all, she’s a very good actress.

Alternating with Aimee’s story is that of a little girl who wandered away from home. We always tell our kids not to talk to strangers or bad things will happen. Well, bad things happen.   from Goodreads

Aimee is one of those characters you can’t quite trust.  Yes, she’s an actress but she’s acting all wrong and you’re not sure why.  Her husband goes missing and obviously they had their problems and she’s lying to police, but why?  She’s not quite likable enough to pull it off.  You also get the story of the little girl and it’s no surprise that it’s Aimee’s story and it helps explain why she seems so off.  The police are sniffing around and she is totally unconcerned.

Honestly, I really didn’t really care one way or another but it was just interesting enough to continue listening and I’m glad that I did.  For any fireworks that were missing for most of the story they all showed themselves in the last part of the book and they were worthy of a grand finale.  I think the end will shock you, maybe even more than once.  So, if you are willing to go slow and wait for he payoff this is your book.

 Stella Bain.  Finished 6-13-19, 3.5/5 stars, historical fiction, pub. 2013

Unabridged audio read by Hope Davis.  7 hours

An epic story, set against the backdrop of World War I, from bestselling author Anita Shreve. When an American woman, Stella Bain, is found suffering from severe shell shock in an exclusive garden in London, surgeon August Bridge and his wife selflessly agree to take her in. A gesture of goodwill turns into something more as Bridge quickly develops a clinical interest in his houseguest. Stella had been working as a nurse’s aide near the front, but she can’t remember anything prior to four months earlier when she was found wounded on a French battlefield. In a narrative that takes us from London to America and back again, Shreve has created an engrossing and wrenching tale about love and the meaning of memory, set against the haunting backdrop of a war that destroyed an entire generation.    from Goodreads

After I finish a book I might write a few thoughts on a piece of scrap paper and slide it in the book until I share my thoughts here, but in between those two I’ll probably take a gander at Goodreads to see if something jumps out as something I forgot.  Well, let me save some of you the trouble and tell you straight up that this is a prequel of sorts.  The fact that I didn’t know this makes me more than a little miffed.  So, Shreve’s earlier book was written from the perspective of Stella Bain’s husband about their marriage.  I wish I had read that one first I think, but it may not stop me from picking it up now, even knowing how abhorrent he is.

So, with that fair warning out of the way, let’s get to Stella.  When we first meet her she has no idea who she is, but at some point early on she remembers that she drove an ambulance in the War (WWI).  The doctor and wife who take her in help her to recover enough memories to know she must go to the military headquarters in London.  Here she remembers everything and we’re not even halfway through the book.

I’m not sure how much more to tell you because I don’t want to spoil anything, but will say that I grew to respect ‘Stella’ but I never truly got a handle on who she was.  Some of her choices were hard to accept.  I did learn a lot about how shell shock (PTSD) was misunderstood and even feared during the time and I thought that was a strong part of the book.  I thought it was a good book, but probably would have liked it more if I’d read All He Ever Wanted first.

  Handbook for the Soul. Finished 5-9-19, rating 3.5/5, spiritual, 215 pages, pub. 1995

America’s most celebrated spiritual writers offer inspiring words on the state of the soul today. This collection of more than thirty original essays addresses both the importance of caring for and nourishing the soul and the ways in which these individuals tend to their own souls on a day-to-day basis.  from Goodreads

I was working in a bookstore when this came out (way back when readers had to buy their books at an actual store) and remember scoffing at its new agey popularity.  Oh how far I’ve come in my life’s journey to be able to say that I actually read it and liked it.  This is what I posted as I was reading….

Handbook for the Soul edited by Richard Carlson and Benjamin Shield has been very interesting.  The different perspectives by the contributing authors have been a good way to start the day in meditation and introspection.  This morning’s reading was by Nathaniel Brandon and he was talking about keeping the soul engaged.  He asks two questions every morning.  “What’s good in my life?” and “What needs to be done?”  Yesterday, I read about the connection between spiritual frustration and disease.  It’s always good to open your mind to other perspectives, whether you adopt the beliefs or not.  I’m over halfway through.  

I found some of the essays more meaningful to me than others, but I think that’s the way it should be.  Now I have a few authors who I want to read more from.  I particularly liked Thomas Moore’s Embracing the Everyday.  “I think we would be able to live in this world more peacefully if our spirituality were to come from looking not just into infinity but very closely at the world around us – and appreciating its depth and diversity.” (page 25)

There are many heavy hitters featured so you are almost guaranteed to find a least a few that speak to you.  Steven Covey, Bernie Siegel, Marianne Williamson, Wayne Dyer, Ram Dass, Rabbi Harold Kushner, Jack Canfield, Melody Beattie and many others.  So many perspectives to digest and I thought it was a meaningful collection.

Hello Stranger. Finished 5-16-19, 3.25/5 stars, historical romance, pub. 2018

Unabridged audio read by Mary Jane Wells.  10 hours.

The Ravenels book 4 (1-Cold-Hearted Rake) (2-Marrying Winterborne 3-Devil in Spring)

Dr. Garrett Gibson, the only female physician in England, is as daring and independent as any man—why not take her pleasures like one? Yet she has never been tempted to embark on an affair, until now. Ethan Ransom, a former detective for Scotland Yard, is as gallant as he is secretive, a rumored assassin whose true loyalties are a mystery. For one exhilarating night, they give in to their potent attraction before becoming strangers again.

A man who breaks every rule

As a Ravenel by-blow spurned by his father, Ethan has little interest in polite society, yet he is captivated by the bold and beautiful Garrett. Despite their vow to resist each other after that sublime night, she is soon drawn into his most dangerous assignment yet. When the mission goes wrong, it will take all of Garrett’s skill and courage to save him. As they face the menace of a treacherous government plot, Ethan is willing to take any risk for the love of the most extraordinary woman he’s ever known.     from Goodreads

I have really liked this series about the Ravenel family.  I’m picky about historical romances and this series has hit all the right notes for me.  Until this one.

Dr. Garrett Gibson has appeared in a few earlier books and I was excited for her story.  But, but, but…  instead of celebrating her mind and strength, it became weighed down between the sheets.  Ethan was a fine hero who fell deeply in love with Garrett from afar, but he too became just a vessel for lots and lots of sex.  This is why I’m picky about romance series, too much sex often just feels lazy.

I’ll still read the next one, but I’m a little less excited about it.

Beauty Queens. Finished 3-28-19, 3.5/5 stars, YA, pub. 2011

Unabridged audio read by the author. 14 hours 30 minutes.

From bestselling Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray, the story of a plane of beauty pageant contestants that crashes on a desert island.

Teen beauty queens. A Lost-like island. Mysteries and dangers. No access to e-mail. And the spirit of fierce, feral competition that lives underground in girls, a savage brutality that can only be revealed by a journey into the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Oh, the horror, the horror! Only funnier. With evening gowns. And a body count.   from Goodreads

This was on my Goodreads Cleanup list and even though no one said they loved it I stil thought it looked like fun and the library had the audio.  The audio is the way to go with this one.  Author Libba Bray read it and she was so good.  I mean like really good.  Thanks to her I laughed out loud throughout the book.  Each of the girls had their own voice and the “Sarah Palin” character (that’s not her name and it doesn’t mention her, but some of the scenes are recognizable) earns much respect for Bray.

Beauty queens stuck on an abandoned island could have been fun but add it reality show pirates and evil dictators trying to take over the world and you’ve got a story.  The book was too long, but the funny parts made up for it.  Did your state make it?  I’m proud to say that Miss Ohio made it to the end, but not too many did.

The Immortalists.  Finished 3-21-19, 3.5/5 stars, fiction, pub. 2018

If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life?

It’s 1969 in New York City’s Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children—four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness—sneak out to hear their fortunes.

The prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in ’80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality.

A sweeping novel of remarkable ambition and depth, The Immortalists probes the line between destiny and choice, reality and illusion, this world and the next. It is a deeply moving testament to the power of story, the nature of belief, and the unrelenting pull of familial bonds.       from Goodreads

Would you want to know the day of your death?  I can see both sides of this argument, but always seem to come back to the same thought.  I wouldn’t want to lose the joy and miracle and possibility of every day by knowing.  We chose not to know the sex of our baby either.  I wonder if there’s a correlation between the two?  Let me know what you think.

Anyway, we’re talking about the book.  So much potential.  Simon, the first sibling story, is by far the best section of the book.  It made the most sense.  He knew he was going to die young, when he had the opportunity to move across the country and embrace his homosexuality, he took it and never looked back.  His story overlapped a bit with Klara’s since they were roomies in San Francisco, so by default, her story also felt genuine.  It was Daniel’s story that derailed a decent novel.  Daniel and Varya both fell prey to too much sensationalism, in my opinion.

I liked it, but did feel like it wasted so much potential, especially the second half of the book.  This feeling was shared by most of my book group and we even had one who didn’t make it through Simon’s story before putting it down.  But hey, at least we had good food and company 🙂

My Name is Memory. Finished 3-3-19, 3.5/5 stars, YA, pub. 2010

Unabridged audio read by Lincoln Hoppe and Kathe Mazur. 11 hours.

Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. For all the times that he and Sophia have been connected throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart.

But just when Sophia (now “Lucy” in the present) finally awakens to the secret of their shared past, the mysterious force that has always separated them reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.  from Goodreads

Do you believe in past lives, reincarnation?  This is an interesting take on the idea.  It introduces the concept, past lives included, without going into a ton of detail.  What happens when you’re a new soul and you see your soul mate, but it’s too late?  What if she keeps showing up in your lives, but never in a way that the two of you can be together?  Not only does she show up in your lives, but the brother you wronged does too and he’s holding onto a grudge?

I never really ‘got’ the obsession over centuries, but I did like the current time that Daniel and Lucy had.  I liked the concept of being surrounded by the same people, life after life, only in different ways each time.  I liked the searching and the yearning that made the story move forward.  I did not like, clearly, the maniac and evil brother that somehow broke all reincarnation ‘rules’.

This was a fun listen, BUT, and this is a big but, this story was to be the first in a series or trilogy and no follow up books were ever published.  The book ended with a cliff hanger, not at all resolved and I don’t know that I’d recommend it without a follow up.