review – powerfulwomenreaders

FOR THE LOVE OF THE BARD by Jessica Martin: A Review

a second chance at romance after goofing up the first time

Miranda Barnes, literary agent and secret writer is conned by her mother, professor of literature and head of the annual Shakespeare festival in Bard’s Rest, a small town in New England, into directing Twelfth Night on one of the stages featuring The Bard’s plays. She is avoiding “the guy who broke her heart on prom night,” Adam, son of the local veterinarian, who is standing in for his father who has had heart surgery.

Since Miranda is directing and Adam is in charge of set design, they are unavoidably “thrown together” as they navigate the plans for the festival.Shakespeare’s observation that “The course of true love never runs smooth” is proven as miscommunications that cause plot twists and turns occur. Family relationships including Miranda with her parents, Amanda with her younger sister, and family secrets from the past are revealed as the reader quickly turns the pages in this 2022 publication.

I had to wait weeks to get this book from my local library, but the wait was worth it. There is one fairly graphic sex scene, but it is not offensive, nor does it use “bad” words; instead, it carries the element of attraction, and ultimately love between the main characters.

I would label this novel a good, fast, “sweet” read.

This was one of the three books I finished in my Labor Day Readathon.

A PERSONAL CHALLENGE UPDATE AND A REVIEW: Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell

I started this book years ago, but for some reason, it didn’t catch my interest right away as did Blink or The Tipping Point. Whatever the reason, I gave up on it at that time. Recently it turned up in a box of donations for my LFLs and the possible bookstore. Because I had enjoyed Gladwell in the past, I gave it a second try, and voila! it “took.”

Not my favorite Gladwell offering, but a good non-fiction book

Subtitled “What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know,” this 2019 publication poses the question, “Why do our interactions with strangers so often go wrong?” As usual, Gladwell uses anecdotes and examples from current events, this time, the Sandra Bland case, Hitler’s ability to make people think he was a good guy and to hide his agenda to take over the world from them, how the US was fooled by double spies during the Cold War, how Bernie Madoff was able to fool so many people, and more. Interestingly enough, Gladwell pulls off a skillful writing technique of weaving unequal, seemingly unconnected events and things to get his point across: x happened because we failed to communicate with people we did not know, and thus, were fooled–often to dire results and consequences.

It is an interesting book, well-written, and even though the current events used for examples are now out of date, it gives the reader a cautionary warning that can be heeded in the present.

“Because we do not know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world.

I had hoped to read 22 Non-fiction books in 2022. Strangers is number 21.

Challenge Update and a Review

Because I messed up, I have done the 2021 What’s in a Name challenge this year. Oh well….

I have one book left to complete the short, but interesting What’s In a Name Challenge. It needs to have some reference to speed in the title, like the quick_____ or the slow _______ or something like Racing in the Rain, which I’ve already read. Can you think of a good suggestion and help me out? Comment in the reply below.

In the meantime, I have completed a “book with a color in the title, The Pink Suit. Nicole Mary Kelby has written a beautiful, engrossing story which is sort of a historical novel and sort of an alternative history novel. In it, JFK orders this suit from Chez Ninon, a NY boutique. Kelby imagines the Irish immigrant seamstress who created the pink suit. It is a knock-off from a Chanel design, which was something Chez Ninon did often for Jackie Kennedy, whom they refer to as “The Wife.” Tidbits of historical fact permeate this novel from the fire in the neighborhood of Patrick’s (love interest) neighborhood to the fabrics and every stitch of the suit Jackie Kennedy wore on several occasions, finally on the day of his assassination.

The protagonist, Kate, is torn between the “excess and artistry” of Chez Ninon and the “traditional values of her insular neighborhood.” She loves Patrick, the butcher, but also loves her job, her opportunity to express her creativity and her skill. Critics has called this, “a novel about hope and heartbreak, and what became of the American Dream.”

At times I became impatient with Kate because Patrick was a really great guy, and he definitely loved her very much. However, I could understand her desire for a career in a creative industry as well. How Kate comes to make her choice and the compromise both young lovers make leads to a very satisfactory ending.

It is a darned good read.

HALLELUJAH ANYWAY by Anne Lamott: A Review

Anne Lamott writes honest, often humorous, always witty essays. She is one author I intend to read more of.

This 2017 publication, subtitled “Rediscovering Mercy” is one of Lamott’s bests. She defines mercy as “the promise to receive relief and forgiveness,” something we all need after the years of pandemic and shutdown. She also defines it as ” the medicine, the light that shines in dark places” and “lets us soften ever so slightly.” The purpose in this book is to help us understand each other, but in so doing, we come to understand ourselves.

Overall, it is a joyful book, and it is also (as Lamott always is) an honest one. I think it is a good tool to help us navigate scary, unsettled times that we find ourselves in currently. It “reveals through truths a path home.” And, that is where we all desire to go. Her words of wisdom are tempered in humor, and Lamott makes us want to find the joy she has found and shout, ‘Hallelujah Anyway!’ “

Borrowed image from another blogging friend who also spreads joy.

NEVER HAVE I EVER by Joshilyn Jackson: A Review

Rarely do I read books described as “thrillers.” Either they don’t deliver or the thrill part is so good that it makes me anxious. Never Have I Ever falls into the latter category. This 2019 novel kept me on the edge of my chair and turning pages late into the night.

The story begins with a book club meeting (definitely a plus), and a strange woman who comes to the door wanting to join the group. This new-to-the-neighborhood woman, Roux, is as exotic as her name, especially to the mundane every-day housewives and mothers gathered at Amy’s house for book club. Time magazine calls this a novel with “dramatic reveals about [each] woman’s complex histories.” As the story progresses we meet up with blackmail. family secrets, relationships, second marriages, and step parenting issues.

It is a story of two women, both complex, compelling characters. Amy, the protagonist, the “good guy,” or is she? and Roux, the antagonist, the “bad guy, is she ever! plot against each other as they play out a dangerous game started that fateful night at the book club meeting.

Who knew what lurked in Roux’s past? Who knew the dark secret Amy was hiding? The women of the book club, although secondary characters are well-developed and integral to the progression of the twists and turns of the plot. And the ending–oh the ending –is both exciting and satisfactory.

This is a thriller I highly recommend. It was a “darned good read.”

DEVOTIONALS IN DECEMBER

I find this particular Holiday season more meaningful for many reasons. First, my health is good for the first time since July; we had the opportunity to help out a refugee family this year; we simplified the gift-giving and card sending this time around, and I am reading four devotionals during each day; yes, four, and it has given me a sense of contentment, no matter, what and peace.

First, I am going a second time through Simple Abundance, a book I refer to as my “secular devotional.” It often speaks directly to me just when I need to hear the words set out for that day.

I am passing this one to a friend and book buddy after Christmas this year.

Another is a beat-up small but powerful book reminding me of God’s promises and includes snippets from some of my favorite inspirational writers like Charles Standley and Max Lucado.

In sync with the season, the week before Advent began, I started a book that was donated to my Little Free Library, A Child in Winter.

A Catholic publication, this book has guided my Baptist mind through the meaning of Advent and the celebration of it for the first time.

Finally, a friend gave me a book for my birthday in November with the admonition, “I haven’t read it yet, so I want it back when you’re finished.” Courtney, I finished it Monday and will bring it over soon.

This has been a lovely, meditative look at a tranquil life and how to achieve it. It *has* made a difference in my “season” that hopefully will carry on into the year.

DeMoss opens this 2000 publication with a discussion of what makes up the “Devotional Life.” Each chapter ends with thought questions under the title, “Making it Personal”. Also, at the end of each chapter is a selection from an inspirational writer titled “From the Heart of.” Some of my favorites appear: Elizabeth Elliott, Vonette Bright, Kay Arthur, etc.

This manual on how to create one’s own “devotional life” includes many questions or issues I have/had in trying to do just that. My favorite chapters were “The Purpose of a Devotional Life” and “The Problems of a Devotional Life.” Each had helpful thoughts, questions to think about, and practical “solutions” to try. An appendix at the end of the book offers a list of recommended Devotional Books, which may be very helpful.

Hmmmmmm, maybe my friend may not get her book back until I have copied copious pages. LOL

FRONTERA STREET by Tanya Maria Barrientos: A Review

A very engaging novel of female friendships

This 2002 publication showed up in my Little Free Library, and I read it before putting it back in for neighbors to read. As a gringa, I learned a great deal about the Hispanic culture and even a few Spanish words. The buttons on the cover is what caught my attention, as well as the dark and light women pictured there. The novel shows how female friendship can transcend age, culture, and ethnicity. Dee, an Anglo woman visits a fabric shop in the Barrio, and after arriving, faints, causing the Hispanic women who own and work in the shop to go into a “tizzy.” Septima, the owner takes pity on this seemingly down-and-out woman and offers her a job, much to the displeasure of her employee, Alma.

The working environment is strained because of tension between Dee and Alma, and even becomes worse when Dee goes to “stay” with Alma and her ballerina daughter, Socorro. What the Hispanic mother and daughter don’t know is that Dee has a secret, a very unusual one. The longer Dee keeps her secret, the harder it is to “come clean” with the mother and daughter she comes to care for. Many contrasts pepper this story: the barrio vs the affluent neighborhood nearby, the Mexican vs Anglo culture, and all of the women involved must learn to set emotional boundaries. These are all strong women with strong ties of friendship, but are these ties strong enough to withstand the revelation of the secrets held between Dee and Alma, or Alma and Socorro? If nothing else, this novel ends on a note of hope and healing.

Celebrating Color Progress: DEAR MR. KNIGHTLY by Katherine Reay

Thanks to Carla at Carla Loves to Read for introducing me to this great author. I checked this one out from my local library in big print. Knightly was Reay’s debut novel, and perhaps the one I enjoyed most. It is epistolary in nature, told in the form of letters from Samantha, a “bookish” grad student who often quotes classics and sometimes hides behind the words of their characters, to an anonymous donor who pays for her school and gives her a monthly allowance. I guessed early on who the donor was, but instead of ruining the story for me, it just made it all the better.

As in most of Reay’s novels, there is a touch of romance, and Alex, a published author five years older than Samantha provides just that. Christian values and integrity are present as well, and instead of making the story “sappy,” it allows the “good guys” to win.

There are also additions at the back of the book: a reading group guide, a list of the books Samantha quotes or mentions with enough to make the reader say, “Aha, I see… ,” and questions and answers with the author. This would make a fine book club selection.

BOOKWORM: A MEMOIR OF CHILDHOOD READING by Lucy Mangan, THURSDAY REVIEW

This lovely, nostalgic memoir/reading list is written by a “born and unrepentant bookworm.” A book for all readers who love books and all things “bookish,” Bookworm deals with both British and American authors. It describes books Mangan loved from ages one to three when she was still being read to (Most were UK authors and unfamiliar to this American reviewer.) and books from the time she learned to read, to her choices during her “coming of age period,” both physically and intellectually, as a reader.

The books mentioned range from Barbar the Elephant (She did not like it.) to Bette Greene’s Summer of My German Soldier. (She describes herself, as a discriminating reader, thinking this one was “dense, beautiful, astonishing.”)

One of the best “to the reader” asides of the book, and there are many delightful ones, comes near the end where Mangan gives advice to parents of bookworms: “We are rare and we are weird…there is nothing you can do to change us…Really, don’t try. We are so happy, in our own way…Be glad of all the benefits it will bring, rather than lamenting all the fresh air avoided, the friendships not made, the exercise not taken, the body of rewarding and potentially lucrative activities, hobbies, and skills not developed. Leave us be. We’re fine. More than fine. Reading’s our thing.”

This was a most enjoyable Book about Books, a continuation of a challenge left from 2019. It was a gift from Deb Nance of Readerbuzz.

REVIEW: REDHEAD BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD by Anne Tyler (2020)

Ann Tyler’s latest offering, Redhead by the Side of the Road, delivers what we have come to expect from Ann Tyler: excellent characterization, “ordinary” protagonists, and middle aged angst.

The opening lines, “Micha Mortimer is a creature of habit,” introduce us to the most neutral man in the United States, and our first impression of him, as well as our empathy for him is just that–neutral. Micha is a handyman and manager of an apartment building who also runs a computer fix-it business, “Tech Hermit.”

The storyline is described as being, “an intimate look into the heart and mind of a man who finds those around him just beyond reach.” We, as readers, are vaguely interested in Micha, this vague man who just “doesn’t seem to get it,” yet is satisfied with his mundane life. He goes about his scheduled routine, a specific day for each household chore, a specific daily round of activities, beginning with a morning run. It is on one of these runs that the reader sees the world through Micha’s myopic eyes, as he looks at a fire hydrant and sees it as a person, “a red head by the side of the road”–thus the title.

The book/narrative itself is not dull nor myopic, it is written in a witty, clever, detailed, pleasing style and never loses the reader from the first line to the last, a darned good read.