This week we celebrated my dad’s 76th birthday. Not bad for a guy who had a heart attack and double bypass at 37! The kiddo and the cats had various doctor’s appointments and Jason and I have continued our streak of weekly date nights, which we lost track of during these covid years. I met with a mom friend and we signed up our boys for 4 weeks of camps this summer. That’s nice to have out of the way early. This week is going to be crazy and I’m stressed, made worse by the sinus headache that woke me up at 3:30 this morning and is still lingering. Homeschooling during these kinds of weeks is always challenging and when I miss public school the most.
Books read 8 (35 for the year). Loved both Book Lovers by Emily Henry and If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane, reviews to come. I also want to give a shout out to this new picture book about slavery that I loved for the content as much as the outstanding artwork. Do yourself a favor and take a look.
Jason and I went to an actual theater last night and saw M. Night Shyamalan’s latest mind teaser. This was intense and totally messed up. A mom at the theater was there with her son, maybe 8 years old? Don’t do that to your kid. And if you’ve ever had nightmares of planes falling from the sky, consider this your trigger warning.
On the Small Screen
We watched this as a family and it gets three enthusiastic thumbs up!
Puzzling – The fact that I still have a sizeable part of the 3000 piece puzzle to finish is also stressing me out. I had wanted to get it done before we left, but it might have to be left to the cats. That’s not good.
Plans for the weekend First, dinner. Then getting stuff marked off my extensive to do list.
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd, fiction, 4.5/5 stars, 392 pages, 2022
Nell Young’s whole life and greatest passion is cartography. Her father, Dr. Daniel Young, is a legend in the field and Nell’s personal hero. But she hasn’t seen or spoken to him ever since he cruelly fired her and destroyed her reputation after an argument over an old, cheap gas station highway map.
But when Dr. Young is found dead in his office at the New York Public Library, with the very same seemingly worthless map hidden in his desk, Nell can’t resist investigating. To her surprise, she soon discovers that the map is incredibly valuable and exceedingly rare. In fact, she may now have the only copy left in existence… because a mysterious collector has been hunting down and destroying every last one—along with anyone who gets in the way.
But why?
from Goodreads
The Cartographers was in my TBR box last fall and I’m sad that it took me this long to get to it. I didn’t really know much of anything about it and went in blind. Finding some maptastic magical realism along the way made me happy 😁
Nell was estranged from her father and her college boyfriend for 7 years because of a disagreement at the NYPL map division, where they all worked. When her dad is found dead in his office it sets off a hunt that Nell can’t quite quit even at great danger to herself.
I really liked this one. There are a lot of characters, but one storyline. I liked learning more about map making. The mystery was good and told at just the right pace to keep me hooked. If you don’t like bits of magic in your book, you might try a different title.
Jason and I actually went out to someplace new last night. It’s been awhile since we’ve done that. We found a pinball arcade with an all you can play fee, $6, and had lots of fun before it got a little too busy. We headed down the street to The Happy Dog, a hot dog place where you could get pretty much anything on your hot dog and tater tots. Surprisingly, the blue cheese slaw and pulled pork hot dog was delicious, lol.
We also hit up the Cleveland Open Tennis Tournament with Gage this week. It was fun to be so close to the action.
Aunt Gerald takes in anyone who asks, but the conditions are harsh. For her young niece Goldie Taylor, abandoned by her mother and coping with trauma of her own, life in Gerald’s East St. Louis comes with nothing but a threadbare blanket on the living room floor.
But amid the pain and anguish, Goldie discovers a secret. She can find kinship among writers like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. She can find hope in a nurturing teacher who helps her find her voice. And books, she realizes, can save her life.
Goldie Taylor’s debut memoir shines a light on the strictures of race, class and gender in a post–Jim Crow America while offering a nuanced, empathetic portrait of a family in a pitched battle for its very soul. from Goodreads
The Love You Save by Goldie Taylor is a memoir you’ll not soon forget. Growing up in East St. Louis Goldie’s childhood was full of trauma, strength, and ultimately survival. The journalist lays bare a period of her life that will surely inspire others to hold on or to reach out. Aided by her love of literature and a teacher who pushed her to excellence, Goldie saw a way to overcome.
Her ever changing relationships with her Aunt and Mother were beautifully told and some of my favorite parts of the book. The way that her Aunt and Uncle took in anyone who needed a place to stay, even with its hardships and tragedies, ended up being a place that she needed to be.
If you’re a fan of memoirs, like the Glass Castle or I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, then you need to pick up this gem.
The writing pulled me in and her honesty did the rest. Thanks to TLC Book Tours for sending me a copy. I’ll be recommending this to many people, but I’m not sure I want to run the risk of loaning it out and not getting it back!
When I started this monthly list forever ago it was a way for me to track the movies I watched and to involve others on my blog. I’ve been less involved in the blogging community and some of my main participants around anymore, but I’m still going to plug along and hope a few of me will join me when you can 🙂
In a comment, give me your 5 words (or less!) and earn $1 for charity. Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity. Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and the other reviews you can add to. Anyone is welcome to join in at any time. Click here to see past movie posts.
Streaming- We finished up Emily in Paris season 2 and The Recruit season 1
Bullet Train, 2022 (Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito Antonio, Martinez Ocasio, Sandra Bullock) Grade B+
Brad Pitt at his Bradliest.‘
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, 2022 (Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Dave Bautista) Grade B+
More Detective Benoit Blanc please!
The Pale Blue Eye, 2023 (Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, Robert Duvall, Toby Jones, Simon McBurney, Harry Lawtey) Grade B-
Slow moving fictional Poe mystery.
Long Story Short, 2021 (Rafe Spall, Zahra Newman, Ronny Chieng, Dena Kaplan, Noni Hazelhurst) Grade B-
Whimsical take on meaningful life.
To All the Boys: Always and Forever, 2021 (Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, John Corbett, Henry Thomas, Janel Parrish, Anna Cathcart, Ross Butler, Madeleine Arthur, Emilija Baranac, Saraya Blue) Grade B
Touching end to sweet trilogy
Effie Gray, 2014 (Dakota Fanning, Emma Thompson, Greg Wise, Tom Sturridge, Julie Walters, David Suchet, Derek Jacobi) Grade B-
Real love triangle, quiet film
What have you seen this month that I need to watch?
It’s raining right now, but it’s been a snowy week in the Cleveland area. These are the steps down to the waterfall in the next town over earlier this week. I’ve started planning a roadtrip vacay for February and I’m hoping we can avoid the white stuff for a bit. Jason got some new furniture for his home office. Gage has art class once a week just a few minute drive from this picture, so I enjoy the time walking around the village, it even has a bookstore! It’s been a relatively quiet week otherwise.
What a beautiful, heartbreaking, gut wrenching, hopeful picture book about Sachiko Yasui, a survivor of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan during WWII.
Sachiko and her family always ate out of her grandmother’s bowl, filling it with the delicacies of the region, until the war forced plainer fare. At 6, she was half a mile from ground zero. It killed all of her playmates and one of her siblings. Two of her brothers died soon after from radiation exposure.
When the family went back 2 years later they found her grandmother’s bowl in the rubble of their home, unscathed. Every August 9, first her mother and then she, put ice in the bowl to remember those last.
Gage and I are studying Japan this week and this is the only time I set aside to talk about the bombings but what a great discussion we had.
I cannot recommend this book enough for your middle schooler, but be prepared to talk about death and the ugliness of war. Gage knew the details of the war but this story really brought the people to life.
Sachiko outlived her family and died in 2021 at the age of 83. I’ll be feeling this book for awhile.
The fictional story of a young girl from Mexico making her way to the US border with her mother. Once at the San Ysidro checkpoint in Tijuana, they are met with the kindness of the notebook keeper as they wait for their opportunity to enter the US.
It perfectly depicts the reason she leaves Mexico, the stress of getting to the border, and the worry of waiting for the elementary age set.
It also gives some additional information about the notebook keeper, a refugee chosen to keep track of those coming to seek asylum until their own number was called and the responsibility was handed to another refugee.
I loved the illustrations and the story. Highly recommended. 40 pages.
We loved this book. It was a really an all-in-one curriculum for kids. 64 pages of stories, activities, songs, information giving in a fun way. I’ll definitely be looking for more of these as we continue our world travels.
These were so-so
More Than You’ll Ever Know had potential, enough that I made it through the 436 novel, barely. I did almost give up on it a few times, but liked it enough to see it through to the end. This would have probably been a better book if it had been 100 pages shorter. It’s about a woman leading a double life, married to two different men in two different countries. And then one of them is murdered. It’s dual storyline involved the reporter trying to unravel the truth. If the true crime nature of the plot interests you, give it a try.
Beyond Me I’m not a fan of books written in verse, but as a homeschool mom I decided to spread my wings a little and give Beyond Me by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu a try for Japan week.
This is a 304 page middle school novel about a girl in Japan and her experiences after the 2011 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that killed around 20,000 people. She was in a safe area, but didn’t feel safe as aftershock after aftershock and radiation fears from the nuclear plant left her feeling scared.
I read this to Gage this week and liked it well enough, but it didn’t make me love books written in verse any better 🤷🏻♀️. We tried.
When the Sakura Bloom was a pretty little book for elementary kids about the importance of cherry blossom trees in Japan and being mindful of the nature around us.
Jason and I finished season 1 of The Recruit (not a fan, but I puzzled while watching, lol) and season 2 of Emily in Paris (which he claims to hate, but he’s made it through 2 seasons so you decide)
To All the Boys: Always and Forever I’m glad I finally finished the trilogy. The first one was still my favorite, but the conclusion was much better that than the second one.
Long Story Short A sweet romantic movie with an interesting premise. What if you lived one day every year of your life, seeing your life in snapshots? (tip-don’t overthink it)
Happy National Puzzle Day! I’m still working on the same 3000 piece puzzle. It’s coming along slowly.
Plans for the weekend
When there’s a stop in the rain, a family hike. What about you?
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, 4/5 stars, 341 pages, 2021
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture on the New York society scene and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps build a world-class collection.
But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle’s complexion isn’t dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white—her complexion is dark because she is African American.
The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths to which she must go—for the protection of her family and her legacy—to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.
I’ve always loved libraries. Since I was young and my mom used to drop me off for a few hours to now as I volunteer with the Friends of the Library, libraries have always been a comforting space. This book of historical fiction is based on Belle da Costa Greene, the woman who became JP Morgan’s personal librarian who curated his collection and looked after it after his death.
Did I mention she was Black but passed for White in high society and to Morgan himself? What an amazing story to tell!
I love Marie Benedict’s stories about overlooked women in history and I especially love that for this one she had a co-writer, Victoria Christopher Murray. In the letters at the end of the book Benedict explains why she wanted a woman of color to help her get this story just right. And I love the friendship that was formed in the writing of this book.
If you like historical fiction and intriguing women don’t miss this one.
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways. from Goodreads
I finally got to see what all the hype was about! We read this for book club this month and it was mostly loved. I stayed up past 1am to finish it and found it addictively juicy.
Evelyn Hugo was a force to be reckoned with. Abused by her father and determined to become a star, she used the assets she was born with to reach the highest echelons of 1950s Hollywood. She reaches out to Monique, a relatively unknown reporter to write her life story and we find out what can be hidden during a lifetime spent in the public’s eye.
This was a fast read with highs and lows, but always at its heart, a story about the price of fame. It was about other things too, but I don’t want to spoil the surprises of Evelyn’s life. She was unapologetically bold and an honest liar. Let me know if you agree. The choices she made are worth discussion and the reason I loved her character so much is that she owned every one of them.
Recommended.
*
“You’re the most beautiful woman here,” Don said into my ear as I stood next to him. But I already knew that he thought I was the most gorgeous woman here. I knew, very acutely, that if he did not believe that , he would not have been with me.
Men were almost never with me for my personality.
I’m not suggesting that charming girls should take pity on the pretty ones. I’m just saying it’s not so great being loved for something you didn’t do. page 116
*
Evelyn shakes her head,” Heartbreak is loss. Divorce is a piece of paper.”
“If you are heartbroken right now, then I feel for you deeply,” Evelyn says. “That I have the utmost respect for. That’s the sort of thing that can split a person in two. But I wasn’t heartbroken when Don left me. I simply felt like my marriage had failed. And those are two very different things.” page 141
January in Cleveland took a turn for the better as we were able to enjoy sunny day walks this week. It is currently snowing with an inch or so already on the ground 😦 I was able to attend book club for the first time in months and Gage went to a 3 1/2 hour birthday party yesterday, so both of us were able to charge our social batteries with friends. And Gage applied for his first passport!
Stacy's Books 