The Dead Key. Finished 1-12-17, rating 4/5, pub. 2015
Unabridged audio read by Emily Sutton-Smith. 13 hours 47 minutes.
It’s 1998, and for years the old First Bank of Cleveland has sat abandoned, perfectly preserved, its secrets only speculated on by the outside world.
Twenty years before, amid strange staff disappearances and allegations of fraud, panicked investors sold Cleveland’s largest bank in the middle of the night, locking out customers and employees, and thwarting a looming federal investigation. In the confusion that followed, the keys to the vault’s safe-deposit boxes were lost.
In the years since, Cleveland’s wealthy businessmen kept the truth buried in the abandoned high-rise. The ransacked offices and forgotten safe-deposit boxes remain locked in time, until young engineer Iris Latch stumbles upon them during a renovation survey. What begins as a welcome break from her cubicle becomes an obsession as Iris unravels the bank’s sordid past. With each haunting revelation, Iris follows the looming shadow of the past deeper into the vault—and soon realizes that the key to the mystery comes at an astonishing price.
In 2015 I had the opportunity to hear Pulley speak (wrote about it here) and the talk made me excited to read the book (the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Award winner). So much of what she writes about came from her experience as an engineer and being able to see the safe deposit boxes left as they were described in an old bank she was surveying. I think seeing her presentation definitely made the book better. If you’re interested this is a talk ( link )she gave at a local library.
The mystery follows the popular two storylines taking place in different time periods approach and works well enough, but I almost wish there’d been less of the 1998 story because the storyline and main character weren’t nearly as interesting as 1978. I loved young Beatrice getting caught up in scandal and intrigue at the bank during a time that women had less options than they do today. I was rooting for her to make her way out of the mess without getting caught but we never really knew until the last chapter with Iris in 1998.
Beatrice had all of the dignity that Iris lacked. Iris drank too much, smoked too much, was late for work too much and maybe let her curiosity get the better of her too much. I didn’t have problem with her but it was Beatrice’s story that kept me reading.
I liked it and am glad that I was able to hear her speak first because it put the story in context. I also loved that it took place in Cleveland (and that means I can count it for my Read Harder Challenge).
Jason and I are watching a documentary a day for our January 30 day challenge. We are on schedule with the watching but two reviews behind. I blame it on the snow day Gage had yesterday. Over the weekend we watched one that I thought my romance reading friends might like.
Love Between the Covers, 2016, is on Netflix.
For three years, we follow the lives of five published romance authors and one unpublished newbie as they build their businesses, find and lose loved ones, cope with a tsunami of change in publishing, and earn a living doing what they love—while empowering others to do the same.
They had a few of my favorites – Jennifer Crusie, Kristan Higgins, Eloisa James, Nora Roberts and many others. Have any of you watched it? What did you think?
You can read our thoughts here and scroll through the documentaries we’ve watched (and reviewed) here.
Here Be Dragons. Finished 1-9-17, 4.5/5 stars, parenting, 204 pages, pub. 2016
Before our three kids, we had been decent people. Interesting even. One of us had taught Shakespeare to gang members while the other flew reconnaissance missions off North Korea. But our own children had proven our biggest challenge. We were passionate and service-driven folks, except we were not demonstrating this to our kids. We spent so much time trying to be good parents that we forgot to be good people. Something had to change.
Two parents challenge one another to find balance between work and family life. Their stories are both uproarious and poignant as they raise children and strive to leave their mark on the wider world. Filled with tender moments and plenty of laughs, Here Be Dragons recounts the adventures of a family trying to stay afloat, and offers a life raft to the rest of us in choppy waters. from Goodreads
When Annmarie emailed me about reviewing the book she had written with her husband it was plum luck that I read it. I confess that I am a book blogger who very rarely opens up requests from people I don’t know. For some reason I clicked it open and saw that that it was being published on my birthday and that Annmarie and her family live in the Cleveland area so I asked her to send me a copy. What fun it was to read about Annmarie and Ken’s journey to parenthood and beyond. I don’t usually use an author’s first name unless I know her but after reading the book I feel like I do and you will too.
Annmarie and Ken met in college and were friends who eventually saw a future together. Both independent and driven they each sought to make a difference in the world, sometimes that meant they were in the same place on a map, but often it didn’t. They married and had kids. Usually this is where the story would become all about raising baby and how life stopped, but that isn’t what happened. Amidst the trials of being a first-time stay-at-home mommy (been there and Annmarie made me laugh with her spot on observations) Annmarie and Ken still strived for more adventure, more purpose.
Their search for adventure and purpose has led them to live from coast to coast and in Ken’s case continent to continent, again, sometimes together and sometimes not. More babies came but that didn’t stop them from moving when they felt called to do so. They spent several years in the village next door (the one I’m always trying to convince Jason we need to move to) before heading to California with three kids and a packed car.
These are two parents trying to teach their kids what it means to be fully engaged by living a fully engaged life themselves. Their giving spirits come through loud and clear. They show the ebb and flow of a marriage with kids and they do it with warmth and humor.
The book is told in alternating voices. They are both skilled writers so the book is beautifully written. If you google them you can find links to some of their writing (Annmarie has quite a few pieces I loved on Huffington Post). They also have a blog.
Ken spends a chapter or so writing about his time with Team Rubicon. They put veterans to work in disaster areas and it looks like a great program that would do good things with a donation.
I really liked this one and think any parent will too. They have given me inspiration to do more (and move to Chagrin Falls ;)).
Who knew that when I published my first post here that I would still be around nine years later talking about books, movies, trips? Not me that’s for sure. I think that years 2-4 were the most successful ones. I was active in the book blogging community and I had time to visit my blogger friends EVERY DAY. Times have changed and bloggers have come and gone, but there are many of you who have been here since the first few years and I appreciate your friendship so much. Thanks for sticking around and being a part of my on-line, and often real, life.
I plan on another great blogging year with the admission that the weekly quizzes are gone for the forseeable future. I think it’s fun, but it takes up too much time. I’m not sure how I’ll replace them but I’ve got some ideas 🙂
Here are my favorite pics from each year of blogging. Tell me if you have a favorite. I may use it on my front page this month.
It’s been awhile since I posted about the albums from this book (Over a year. Yikes!). I’ve only managed 25 more, but after I post this will put some more on hold at the library.
Two summers ago I started using this book as a guide to explore music with my son. Gage has been a part to some of the journey, but not all. I try to play at least parts from every album for him, except the explicit ones, and some he likes and some he covers his ears. He is probably more discerning than I am. This post is more for me than you because I know that these lists can get boring, but feel free to comment if I’ve listened to a favorite of yours (whether I liked them or not :)). Happy listening.
I’ve decided to list them in the order I liked them best. If you click on my favorite song on each album it will take you to the video.
Each year Sheila at Book Journey hosts First Book and First Word. I’ve done the First Book for a few years and here’s this year’s selection…
Here be Dragons:A Parent’s Guide to Redicovering Purpose, Adventure, and the Unfathomable Joy of the Journey by Annmarie Kelly Harbaugh and Ken Harbaugh. Annmarie contacted me in October to read the new book she had written with her husband. I saw that she was local and decided to take it. I started it in November, but since I was writing a book (NaNoWriMo) I was wasn’t devoting much time to reading. I decided to table it until the new year and here we are. I will be picking it up on page 53, after she’s had her first baby and decides she needs to go back to work. The book is good and the Harbaugh’s sound like the couple everyone wants to be friends with (hey, we’re local so who knows? ;)).
One Word is something Sheila does every year and I’ve always been intrigued by those who could decide on just one word. In the last week or so a word came to me and I’m going with it. Those who know me or follow me on Facebook or Twitter know that the election in November saddened me for so many reasons. I think we are in for a tough, long four years, BUT in a way it also opened the door for me to become passionate again. I plan on using Facebook and Twitter to highlight my word every day this year.
I want to live an INSPIRED life. I want to be inspired by God, my country, my community, my family and friends, and myself. I want to weed out the noise and negativity and look around that the good that is happening all around me. When I see an injustice or a problem I don’t just want to complain about it. I want to find the people who are doing something about it and become one of them. I want to look outside at the beautiful earth we live on and be inspired to be a steward. I want to be inspired by those who know God. I want to find those changing the world and support them. At first it seems that inspired can be a passive word, but if you are truly INSPIRED you will be changed and have the power to inspire those around you.
What’s your first book of the year? And did you choose a word this year? Why not be inspired along with me?
I watched 41 movies. That’s way down from 54 last year, probably due to our new 30 Day challenges.
I wrote 2Book vs. Movie posts (The Blind Side, Still Alice), reviewed1 of my 100 favorite movies (#29 Serendipity), tried to get a few movie features going but failed due to lack of time and effort, and continued my 5 word movie reviews asking for your participation. Please consider adding your thoughts to these reviews since they count towards money for charity, maybe even yours!
January was the month I saw the most movies with 7.
2016 was my most watched movie year with 13.
Sadly, Hope Floats (1998) was the oldest movie I watched. I love old movies so I expect this to change next year.
Cutest Couple – Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr. in Hope Floats.
I usually list the movie I hated the most, but this year there were 2 movies I hated and they were BOTH Nicholas Sparks movies. Message in a Bottle and the worst of the worst, The Best of Me.
Every year I list my 5 favorite movies of the year, but this year I’m adding a category with just one movie in it. I can’t call it a favorite because it devastated me, but it was the best movie I saw this year.
Okay, this is the last one for 2016 and I’m hoping you can help me move that number up. If you haven’t seen these movies but want to scroll the past year and add your 5 words we could get to $100 by tomorrow. Scroll here.
Another month and another chance to contribute money to charity. Add your 5 words (or less!) to mine in a comment 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.
We’re at $37.
I hope that you will take a few minutes to participate when you can each month. It’s fun for me and for everyone else who reads it. I’m not looking for a critical review, just a few words about how you felt about the movie. This is ongoing so you can leave your 5 words anytime.
Manchester By the Sea, 2016 (Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol) Grade A
Devastatingly raw Oscar worthy drama.
No Strings Attached, 2011 (Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline, Cary Elwes, Lake Bell, Mindy Kaling) Grade B
Cute leads pull it off.
Waffle Street, 2015 (Danny Glover, James Lefferty) Grade B
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Bleachers– John Grisham. Grisham is usually reliable, if not great at least a fun read, but this one did nothing for me. And it was about football, which I love!
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
Ethan Frome– Edith Wharton. I love when classics surprise me like this one did.
I Am not a Serial Killer – Dan Wells. I was expecting to be wowed by this child serial killer wanna be, but the book jumped the shark in the middle and never quite recovered for me.
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
The Sparrow– Mary Doria Russell. I pushed my book group to read this and it was a little out there for them. It was a reread for me and though I still loved it, it wasn’t as much as the first time almost 20 years ago.
5. Best series you started in 2016? Best Sequel of 2016? Best Series Ender of 2016?
After You – Jojo Moyes. Loved revisiting Louisa and finding out how she fared after Will.
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?
Sara Gruen, Hester Young, Susan Mallery
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Dear Almost: A poem – Matthew Thorburn. I’m no poetry buff but I am glad that I read this poem written by a father after his wife’s miscarriage.
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Home & Fool Me Once – both by Harlan Coben. He’s my go to guy for unputdownable books and he didn’t disappoint with his two this year.
9. Book You Read In 2016 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
None of them. Although I will probably dip into I Dare Mefrom time to time for inspiration. This reporter tried something new every day for a year!
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2016?
I could choose lots of passages from Living Buddha, Living Christ– Thich Nhat Hanh but I think this is so relevant in today’s political climate.
Professor Hans Kung has said, “Until there is peace between religions, there can be no peace in the world.” People kill and are killed because they cling too tightly to their own beliefs and ideologies. When we believe that ours is the only faith that contains the truth, violence and suffering will surely be the result”…”Do not think the knowledge you presently possess in changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive others’ viewpoints.” To me, this is the most essential practice of peace.
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – John Tiffany, JK Rowling, Jack Thorne. Loved being a muggle looking in into Harry Potter’s World once again.
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2016?
A Housefly in Autumn – Scott Nagele. I loved this book written by a former B&N boss. It was really good and I’m not ashamed to say that I shed a tear once or twice.
The Dead Key. Finished 1-12-17, rating 4/5, pub. 2015
2009
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