Shelfari 50 Book Challenge discussion

Goal 40

1.
2 stars
John Gierach tells stories about his fishing adventures in the Rockies in Colorado, this is where his home is and in different areas of North America.
It is an ok book. Some stories are interesting, other stories leave you hanging or feel incomplete, but his humor does peek through here and there.

2.
1 star
Taken from the book synopsis. "In Potosí, the richest city in the Western Hemisphere, Inez de la Morada, the bewitching, cherished daughter of the rich and powerful Mayor, mysteriously dies at the convent of Santa Isabella de los Santos Milagros, where she had fled in defiance of her father. It looks as though the girl committed suicide, but Mother Abbess Maria Santa Hilda believes her innocent and has her buried at the convent in sacred ground. Fray Ubaldo DaTriesta, local Commissioner of the Inquisition, has been keeping an eye on the Abbess, who is too “Protestant” for his tastes, and this action may be just what he needs to convince the lazy, cowardly Bishop to punish her.

At the same time, Potosí finds its prosperity threatened. The King of Spain has discovered that the coins the city has been circulating throughout the world are not pure silver and is sending his top prosecutor and the Grand Inquisitor to mete out punishment. With the imminent arrival of the Spanish officials, many have reason to prove their loyalty, and keep hidden the crimes and sins they’ve committed. With her life at stake, Maria Santa Hilda finds herself in a race against time to prove the true cause of Inez’s death, aided by her fellow sisters, a Jesuit priest with a dark secret from his past, and a tomboyish girl who’s run to the convent to avoid an unwanted marriage. Together they will discover that Inez was not the girl she seemed, and that greed has no limits."

I had a hard time with this book, I just could not get into the story line. Story runs slow and a lot of characters are not fully developed and has too many long, unnecessary, drawn-out scenes.
What I got out of the story, greed has no boundaries or loyalty, and it sometimes hides behind religions.

3.
3 stars
Taken from the book. "During World War II, a family finds life turned upside down when the government opens a Japanese internment camp in their small Colorado town. After a young girl is murdered, all eyes (and suspicions) turn to the newcomers, the interlopers, the strangers.

"This is Tallgrass as Rennie Stroud has never seen it before. She has just turned thirteen and, until this time, life has pretty much been what her father told her it should be: predictable and fair. But now the winds of change are coming and, with them, a shift in her perspective. And Rennie will discover secrets that can destroy even the most sacred things."

I enjoyed Sandra Dallas' writing style; she gets to the point and does not drag out scenes. The story is sad and yet touching. I have not read a lot of books about the Japanese internment camps, but this fiction book brings it to life like I picture it to be. Families trying to cope, live life as best as they can while being uncertain and at times scared. The Murder of the young girl was not over done with the details, but you get the picture of the ugly truth of what all happened. The Ending was a bit predictable but has a good closer.

4.
1 star
Stopped reading on page 101. I tried but not my type of book.

5.
2 stars
Taken from the book. "Swedish Lapland, 1717. Maija, her husband Paavo and her daughters Frederika and Dorotea arrive from their native Finland, hoping to forget the traumas of their past and put down new roots in this harsh but beautiful land. Above them looms Blackåsen, a mountain whose foreboding presence looms over the valley and whose dark history seems to haunt the lives of those who live in its shadow.

While herding the family's goats on the mountain, Frederika happens upon the mutilated body of one of their neighbors, Eriksson. The death is dismissed as a wolf attack, but Maija feels certain that the wounds could only have been inflicted by another man. Compelled to investigate despite her neighbors' strange disinterest in the death and the fate of Eriksson's widow, Maija is drawn into the dark history of tragedies and betrayals that have taken place on Blackåsen. Young Frederika finds herself pulled towards the mountain as well, feeling something none of the adults around her seem to notice."

I did enjoy parts of the book but not enough to give it more than two stars. The book is filled with lots of set up and drawn-out dialog but gave back very little satisfying results to the point I lost interest in the main characters. The lack of urgency to even find out who the dead person was, just about sent me over the edge so I should have taken that as a warning on how the rest of the book was going to play out.

6.
1 star
Taken from the book. "Jim Stegner has seen his share of violence and loss. Years ago he shot a man in a bar. His marriage disintegrated. He grieved the one thing he loved. In the wake of tragedy, Jim, a well-known expressionist painter, abandoned the art scene of Santa Fe to start fresh in the valleys of rural Colorado. Now he spends his days painting and fly-fishing, trying to find a way to live with the dark impulses that sometimes overtake him. He works with a lovely model. His paintings fetch excellent prices. But one afternoon, on a dirt road, Jim comes across a man beating a small horse, and a brutal encounter rips his quiet life wide open. Fleeing Colorado, chased by men set on retribution, Jim returns to New Mexico, tormented by his own relentless conscience."

I made myself finish this book. I did not care for Jim Stegner and found his plight to be a better person to be pure nonsense. This type of behavior hits too close to home and that is another reason I could not get into the book. A narcissist will never change. Author used too many words to describe what was going to the point I found myself skimming. I was looking forward to this book but fell short of my expectations. I enjoyed and gave "The Dog Stars" five stars., this book will be getting one star.

7.
3 stars
Taken from the book "The year is 1867. Winter has just tightened its grip on Dove River, a tiny, isolated settlement in the Northern Territory, when a man is brutally murdered. Laurent Jammett had been a voyageur for the Hudson Bay Company before an accident lamed him four years earlier. The same accident afforded him the little parcel of land in Dove River, land that the locals called unlucky due to the untimely death of the previous owner."

The book was starting to pull me in when all of a sudden it felt like the Author decided to change their writing style. I just could not keep up with all the characters and which first person was talking. Then add in all the flash backs it made the story too much to get a clear picture and to follow what was going on. The story is in there and I did enjoy enough of the book to give it three stars.

8.
4 stars
Taken from the back of the book. "It’s the unfathomable modern legend that has become a testament to the resilience of the human spirit: the 1972 Andes plane crash and the Uruguayan rugby teammates who suffered seventy-two days among the dead and dying. It was a harrowing test of endurance on a snowbound cordillera that ended in a miraculous rescue. Now comes the unflinching and emotional true story by one of the men who found his way home."

Eduardo Strauch Urioste gives a very raw look into his survival. He does a good job not going into a lot of the graphic detail about the state of the bodies and what was done to them, but he does give a very real peek into this tragic event. Urioste also tells stories about what all happened after the rescue and all stuff he had to deal with.

The book is disjointed and lacks an emotional attachment to really attach the reader to the scene. Such a tragic story and he needed to tell his side.

9.
1 star
At a young age Roxane Gay had a horrible and unforgiving thing done to her. The book is about her struggle to deal with it and turning to food is one of a few things she found to deal with it.

This book is very raw and open, but I do have mixed feelings on what I read.
The book is repetitive and her blaming the world for how she feels gets old plus not liking how the world looks at her. The first step to recovery is to acknowledge you have a problem, the next couple of steps, seek help and then let go. I did not see any of these steps fully develop. I do hope she finds peace one day and able to let go and move into peaceful bliss of happiness.

10.
2 stars
Taken from the Goodreads book synopsis. "Tommy Orange's wondrous and shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize. Among them is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, pulling his life together after his uncle's death and working at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil, coming to perform traditional dance for the very first time."

I find myself torn on what to say about this book. I struggled with trying to keep up with all the characters, lack of story line structure and random unnecessary descriptions that has nothing to do with story line.

I don't care for the blame game when you alone have the freedom of choice. Poor choices and good choices are made throughout the book.

What I did like is you do get a different look into the life of a people who are struggling to make sense of what all happened to their ancestors and finding their place. This is about an urban Native Americans trying to go back to their roots in their own way.

11.
5 stars and add to favorites.
Dr Francois S. Clemmons draws you into his world of struggle. I just could not put this down; it is heartbreaking and yet inspirational. The beginning of the book he talks about his childhood and then goes into growing up and struggling with is feelings about being attracted to the same sex. Clemmons talks about trying to find his place in life and what kind of entertainer he wants to be. If you are looking for a book just about Mr. Rogers and him then pass on this book. The friendship and work relationship are discussed in the last part of the book, but it is truly and wonderful, thoughtful story. I have much respect for Dr. Francois S. Clemmons on writing this straightforward memoir. Adding to my favorites list.

12.
3 stars
Taken from the book. "In 1887 Deputy U.S. Marshal Dan Maples was shot and killed in Tahlequah, Indian Territory. As Mihesuah recounts in unsurpassed detail, any of the criminals in the vicinity at the time could have committed the crime. Yet the federal court at Fort Smith, Arkansas, focused on Christie, a Cherokee Nation councilman and adviser to the tribal chief. Christie evaded capture for five years. His life ended when a posse dynamited his home—knowing he was inside—and shot him as he emerged from the burning building. The posse took Christie’s body to Fort Smith, where it lay for three days on display for photographers and gawkers. Nede’s family suffered as well. His teenage cousin Arch Wolfe was sentenced to prison and ultimately perished in the Canton Asylum for “insane” Indians—a travesty that, Mihesuah shows, may even surpass the injustice of Nede’s fate.

Placing Christie’s story within the rich context of Cherokee governance and nineteenth-century American political and social conditions, Mihesuah draws on hundreds of newspaper accounts, oral histories, court documents, and family testimonies to assemble the most accurate portrayal of Christie’s life possible. Yet the author admits that for all this information, we may never know the full story, because Christie’s own voice is largely missing from the written record. In addition, she spotlights our fascination with villains and martyrs, murder and mayhem, and our dangerous tendency to glorify the “Old West.” More than a biography, Ned Christie traces the making of an American myth."


I tried to get into the book, but it lacked a cohesive picture. The book is filled with speculation and seems one sided in some areas. I did learn a lot and found the story to be fascinating and deeply troubling. Yet another story that needs to be told over and over. Ned Christie was not a perfect person, and the author makes that clear, but he did not deserve what happened to him nor his people. He was just doing the best he could with what he had and fighting for his rights and people.

13.
1 star
Taken from the book. "Imagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.

There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.

Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family."

I liked the premise of story, but I just could not get into the book. It failed short on believable connections of the characters, and I did not like the writing style, all over the place with how to tell a story. I might have liked this book when I was younger, but it lacks structure, so I doubt it. The book is borderline young adult, more middle school.

14.
2 stars
I wish I could give the book more than two stars, but I just can't do it. What I did enjoy is reading, it is a book about another person who has a love, lust and obsession with books. At a young age Lewis Buzbee found himself on many vocations all having to deal with books, when he was not buying them.

My problem with the book is it was not connecting on a level of a memoir, it lacked depth of emotion and warmth. It was reading dry story after dry story.

I did learn some history which was a pleasant surprise, was not expecting little history lesson here and there. Nice touch.

15.
2 stars
I have no clue how this book got to my TBR mountain, but it did, and I read it. I had never heard of Jenny Lawson until I read this book, which will be my only book of hers to read. I did not mind the endless cussing, but if you can't handle those words, skip this book.
I did not like her inability to understand she is not as funny as she thinks she is, nor did I like her wing it everyday approach to living. Her husband has far more patience than I would have had while dealing with the situations she got herself into.

16
2 stars
Taken from the book. "The author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be delivers her most ambitious and powerful novel to date: a captivating story of two very different women who build an unexpected friendship: a 91-year-old woman with a hidden past as an orphan-train rider and the teenage girl whose own troubled adolescence leads her to seek answers to questions no one has ever thought to ask.

Nearly eighteen, Molly Ayer knows she has one last chance. Just months from "aging out" of the child welfare system, and close to being kicked out of her foster home, a community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping her out of juvie and worse."

I wanted to like this book, but I just could not get into it. The story is depressing as a whole but the dialog dragging along made it tedious to read and hard to truly connect to anyone. It is also filled with cliches. The troublemaker dresses goth and has nose ring, Yep, I have had enough of that stereotype. I also had issues with the dialog here and there. I am still giving it two stars because the story did keep me reading plus, I had to know how it ended.

17.
3 stars
Taken from the book "The summer before Troy Stotts turns seventeen, his mother dies. Troy and his father barely speak, communicating instead by writing notes on a legal pad by the phone. Troy spends most of his time with his closest friends: Tom Buller, brash and fearless, the son of a drunk; Gabe Benavidez, smart enough to know he’ll never take over the family ranch; and Gabe’s sister, Luz, whose family overprotects her, and who Troy has loved since they were children.

Troy and his friends don’t want trouble. They want this to be the summer of what Troy calls “ghost medicine,” when time seems to stop, so they won’t have to face the past or the future. But before the summer is over, their paths will cross in dangerous and fateful ways with people who will change their lives: Rose, a damaged derelict who lives with a flock of wild horses and goats; and Chase Rutledge, the arrogant sheriff’s son.

Troy and his friends want to disappear. Instead, they will become what they least expect —brothers, lovers, heroes, and ghosts."

The synopsis sounds like it would be a wonderful fun filled adventure with a few teenagers making wrong choices here and there. It is more, it is about teenagers learning to connect, protect and having to grew up way to fast.
Good story line but did drag here and there with the exception of the last few chapters, they had me on the edge of my seat on what was going to happen next but overall, slow moving story.
If you like cowboy books then this is a good book for you, if you can't handle cowboy way of life books, pass on this book. Lots of tobacco scenes.

18.
1 star

Taken from the Facebook synopsis. "Lovely Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. Bereft of a mother, she is comforted by her six brothers who love and protect her. Sorcha is the light in their lives, they are determined that she know only contentment.
But Sorcha's joy is shattered when her father is bewitched by his new wife, an evil enchantress who binds her brothers with a terrible spell, a spell which only Sorcha can lift--by staying silent. If she speaks before she completes the quest set to her by the Fair Folk and their queen, the Lady of the Forest, she will lose her brothers forever.
When Sorcha is kidnapped by the enemies of Sevenwaters and taken to a foreign land, she is torn between the desire to save her beloved brothers, and a love that comes only once. Sorcha despairs at ever being able to complete her task, but the magic of the Fair Folk knows no boundaries, and love is the strongest magic of them all..."

I just could not get into this book. I was enjoying the first chapter and then it just became a Cliché.
Mother of young daughter dies; evil Stepmother appears and causes trouble. Her brothers must defend and kill for Sister. Young woman is both strong yet defenseless all while pining over her true love. Also, could have done without the graphic rape scene that the brothers witness yet did nothing to stop it. Story could have been told in 300 pages not 400. There are two more books in this series, and I will not be reading them.

19.
2 stars
Taken from the Book. "Gilley’s whirlwind romance with creative director Stuart Jacobs began in Paris, where Stuart was sourcing fabric for the world-renowned Texas Rose Festival, which he is heading up for the first time. The festival is nothing short of spectacular, bringing in half a million people (and their wallets) to see the artistic displays, and exquisite gowns and jewels worn by the Rose Queen and her court. Stuart and his crew seem to have it all under control. But the night Cat arrives in Texas, someone is shot in cold blood, and a member of Stuart’s staff is named the prime suspect!"

"The Rose Festival is too important to the city’s economy to cancel, so while Stuart scrambles to prevent the festival from derailing, Cat and Gilley launch their own investigation into the murder. With a parade of potential suspects to parse, and an even longer list of motives, they bring in East Hampton Police Detective Steve Shepherd to help. As rumors of arson, burglary, and professional sabotage swirl around the already fraught festival planning, Cat and her team immerse themselves in the cutthroat pageantry to identify the killer, who has already picked their next victim . . ."

Very little mystery and lots of drama. Cat and Gilley are closer than ever. Cat and Shepherd hit a rough spot in their relationship and must work it out. I had the, who done it, figured out before the revival, but I almost got it wrong. Story line was interesting enough to finish the book, but this one is my least liked of the series.

20.
2 stars
The Eric Carr story in the book plus the last few pages of the book dedicated to him by people giving stories as they remember him, overall, it is more of a Kiss history story book.

The Contents are broken up by years and each cast of characters give a very short story about what was going on and how they felt about things.

Contents Index included Note from Eric's Parents, Cast of Characters. That was a nice touch, and I enjoyed the pictures.

I would have liked a book dedicated to just Eric Carr so is one reason for two stars and the other could not get into the flow of the stories, felt choppy with the set up.

21.
3 stars
Taken from the book. "Reg Dodd grew up at Finniss Springs, on striking desert country bordering South Australia’s Lake Eyre. For the Arabunna and for many other Aboriginal people, Finniss Springs has been a homeland and a refuge. It has also been a cattle station, an Aboriginal mission, a battlefield, a place of learning, and a living museum. With his long-time friend and filmmaker Malcolm McKinnon, Dodd reflects on his upbringing in a cross-cultural environment that defied social conventions of the time. They also write candidly about the tensions surrounding power, authority, and Indigenous knowledge that have defined the recent decades of this resource-rich area. Talking Sideways is part history, part memoir, and part cultural road-map. Together, Dodd and McKinnon reveal the unique history of this extraordinary place and share their concerns and their hopes for its future."

The book is part history and memoir. Reg Dodd talks about him and his family growing up in and around Finniss Springs. He does not hold back on showing greed, abuse of power, loss, holding on to oral history and dealing with changes.

In the back of the book is a timeline. It starts with 1836 when Australia was colonized, and the "Aboriginal Natives" rights were blatantly disregarded. It ends with 2017 when. " Finniss Springs is identified by Australian government as one of two sites for priority assessment for the National Heritage List, with a proposed determination in 2020."

22.
1 star
I tried to like this book, most of it was over my head (could not understand) and other parts are very depressing and political feeling.
I just don't care for this form of poem writing; it feels more like very short stories.

23.
1 star
Taken from the book "Laney Kilpatrick has been renting her vacation home to strangers. The invasion of privacy gives her panic attacks, but it’s the only way she can keep her beloved Hemlock Island, the only thing she owns after a pandemic-fueled divorce. But broken belongings and campfires that nearly burn down the house have escalated to bloody bones, hex circles, and now, terrified renters who’ve fled after finding blood and nail marks all over the guest room closet, as though someone tried to claw their way out…and failed.

When Laney shows up to investigate with her teenaged niece in tow, she discovers that her ex, Kit, has also been informed and is there with Jayla, his sister and her former best friend. Then Sadie, another old high school friend, charters over with her brother, who’s now a cop.

There are tensions and secrets, whispers in the woods, and before long, the discovery of a hand poking up from the earth. Then the body that goes with it… But by that time, someone has taken off with their one and only means off the island, and they’re trapped with someone—or something—that doesn’t want them leaving the island alive."

This would have been a wonderful mystery, The mystery is in there, but it was surrounded by annoying characters with a poorly excecated story line. The character interactions were cumbersome and lacked maturity, it was like reading about a bunch of adults with a lack of life skills. The cop Garrett Emerson is a joke. He does not conduct himself as a cop and his mystery solving skills are a joke. The overall things that annoyed me the most was the fact that with this big killing/mystery there was not a lot of other law enforcement involved and the contamination at the crime scenes were done by the amateur sleuths. I disliked this book; a little more realistic characters goes a long way with me.

24.
2 stars
Taken from the book "The unforgettable story of one woman’s perilous journey to save, The Forbidden.
Rebaa’s adopted tribe lies slaughtered behind her. Rebaa’s lover, Juran, lays down his life for hers and now she must use all of her cunning and extraordinary powers to survive the inhospitable wilderness alone, ensuring that Juran’s sacrifice was not in vain.
But Rebaa’s battle for survival has only just begun ...
Hunted by savage predators and more terrifying still, the nightmarish Eldrax, a murderous chieftain who will stop at nothing to possess Rebaa’s mysterious powers for his own, her very existence becomes a life or death chase in the pursuit and quest to reach the one place that surely offers salvation and a safe haven she can call home.
But what haven could possibly exist for one who bears ... The Forbidden?

Will Rebaa find her salvation, or will crushing loss, hardship and the burden of carrying The Forbidden, first destroy her from the inside out?"

I did not hate the book, but I did not love that book, it was just an ok book. I was told it was like The Clan of the cave bear, I did not like that book so why try this book, only one reason to, to read for a tag for a group game.
The story drags and the woman day to day survival struggle becomes repetitive. It says it is a romance book, a hint of romance does not make it romance book. I am going to skip the rest of the series but still giving it two stars. It was interesting enough to finish.

25.
5 stars
A collection of Rick Bragg's published short stories. Some are funny, others sad but all interesting. I like his straightforward storytelling and his ability to draw you into the stories. Some of the stories I could relate to and others I have had my family members tell similar stories. I highly recommend this wonderful book.

26.
5 stars
Taken from the book. "In 2010, Sergeant Craig Grossi was doing intelligence work for Marine RECON—the most elite fighters in the Corps—in a remote part of Afghanistan. While on patrol, he spotted a young dog "with a big goofy head and little legs" who didn’t seem vicious or run in a pack like most strays they’d encountered. After eating a piece of beef jerky Craig offered—against military regulations—the dog began to follow him. "Looks like you made a friend," another Marine yelled. Grossi heard, "Looks like a 'Fred.'" The name stuck, and a beautiful, life-changing friendship was forged."

Craig Grossi tells his story about why he joined the Marines, why he became one of the most elite fighters in the Corps and how he meets a presentient, kind and wonderful dog. Craig went through a lot and this Dog came into his life when he needed him to. Stories do have some sad, heartbreaking parts but Craig never goes in deep with graphic details of just all went on over there, but he does keep it real. Both Fred and Craig had one agenda, survive and be there for each other. Beautiful Story.

27.
2 stars
Taken from the book, "Bernadette Simmons wasn't sure what to expect when she left L.A.--and her no-good, cheating boyfriend--to move back in with her family in New York. And her sister Libby had no idea what she was in for when she hired Bernie to work for her catering business. But in between cutting up canapes and dishing up desserts, the two find themselves in the midst of a mystery they can really sink their teeth into. . .
It's only been a few days since Bernie and Libby started working together at A Little Taste of Heaven, and already they've got their hands full--baking cookies and slicing rare beef tenderloin to serve at a high school reunion. The dinner has a "Dracula" theme and a very strange guest of honor: Laird Wrenn, a New York Times bestselling author of vampire novels. Libby and Bernie know this will be an evening unlike any other. And they're proven right when Laird pours a glass of water, takes a long sip--and drops stone-cold dead. . .
Now, with murder on the menu and Libby under suspicion, the sisters will have to put their heads together to figure out whodunit--in a mystery that promises to be deadly to the very last bite."

The above sounds like a good who done it with a couple of interesting characters. I did find the characters interesting would have liked for them to be more developed and calm down a bit. The story itself was all over the place for me, at times boring, other times I felt lost, other times stupid dialog but here and there interesting enough to finish the book. I will give the next book in the series a try. I am hoping this is a set up book and next will be better.

28.
5 stars
On Dec. 1, 1958, a fire started in the basement of Our Lady of the Angels Catholic school in Chicago. It was overcrowded and had outdated fire preventions.

Taken from the book. "If burying a child has a special poignancy, the tragedy at a Catholic elementary school in Chicago almost forty years ago was an extraordinary moment of grief. One of the deadliest fires in American history, it took the lives of ninety-two children and three nuns at Our Lady of the Angels School, left many families physically and psychologically scarred for life, and destroyed a close-knit working-class neighborhood. This is the moving story of that fire and its consequences written by two journalists who have been obsessed with the events of that terrible day in December 1958. It is a story of ordinary people caught up in a disaster that shocked the nation. In gripping detail, those who were there―children, teachers, firefighters―describe the fear, desperation, and panic that prevailed in and around the stricken school building on that cold Monday afternoon. But beyond the flames, the story of the fire at Our Lady of the Angels became an enigma whose mystery has deepened with its cause was never officially explained despite evidence that it had been intentionally set by a troubled student at the school. The fire led to a complete overhaul of fire safety standards for American schools, but it left a community torn apart by grief and anger, and accusations that the Catholic church and city fathers had shielded the truth. Messrs. Cowan and Kuenster have recreated this tragedy in a powerful narrative with all the elements of a first-rate detective story."

This well written book is mind blowing. The story is raw, heartbreaking and terrifying. You can tell David Cowan did a lot of research and did a great job with the layout. Started the book with a simple day at school and walks you all the way to Memoirs. I am amazed more were not taken by the fire and in awe of the heroes that put their safety aside to save others. Excellent book.

29.
2 stars
Taken from the book. "An unforgettable portrait of a woman who became one of the most notorious figures of her day and whose scandalous story sheds fascinating light not only on her own tumultuous time but ours as well." ― Harold Schechter, author of Hell's The Mystery of Belle Guinness, Butcher of Men Sex, corruption, and the rise and fall of the Red Widow of Paris Paris, 1889: Margeurite Steinheil is a woman with ambition. But having been born into a middle-class family and trapped in a marriage to a failed artist twenty years her senior, she knows her options are limited. Determined to fashion herself into a new woman, Meg orchestrates a scandalous plan with her most powerful her body. Amid the dazzling glamor, art, and romance of bourgeois Paris, she takes elite men as her lovers, charming her way into the good graces of the rich and powerful. Her ambitions, though, go far beyond becoming the most desirable woman in Paris; at her core, she is a woman determined to conquer French high society. But the game she plays is a perilous navigating misogynistic double-standards, public scrutiny, and political intrigue, she is soon vaulted into infamy in the most dangerous way possible. A real-life femme fatale, Meg influences government positions and resorts to blackmail―and maybe even poisoning―to get her way. Leaving a trail of death and disaster in her wake, she earns the name the "Red Widow" for mysteriously surviving a home invasion that leaves both her husband and mother dead. With the police baffled and the public enraged, Meg breaks every rule in the bourgeois handbook and becomes the most notorious woman in Paris. An unforgettable true account of sex, scandal, and murder, The Red Widow is the story of a woman determined to rise―at any cost."

I finished the book because it did hold my interest, but I found it to be repetitive and here and there
Author relied on speculation about why a little too much. The murder was gruesome and personal, and Horowitz did a good job of not going into the nasty details. As far as Meg, who the book is about, she made her choices and had her goals in life and did anything to achieve them, I can't help but wonder, was it all worth it.

30.
2 stars
Taken from the book. "When Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally hacked to death in Fall River, Massachusetts, in August of 1892, the arrest of the couple’s daughter Lizzie turned the case into international news and her trial into a spectacle unparalleled in American history. Reporters flocked to the scene. Well-known columnists took up conspicuous seats in the courtroom. The defendant was relentlessly scrutinized for signs of guilt or innocence. Everyone—rich and poor, suffragists and social conservatives, legal scholars and laypeople—had an opinion about Lizzie Borden’s guilt or innocence.

The popular fascination with the Borden murders and its central, enigmatic character has endured for more than a hundred years, but the legend often outstrips the story. Based on transcripts of the Borden legal proceedings, contemporary newspaper articles, previously withheld lawyer's journals, unpublished local reports, and recently unearthed letters from Lizzie herself, The Trial of Lizzie Borden is a definitive account of the Borden murder case and offers a window into America in the Gilded Age, showcasing its most deeply held convictions and its most troubling social anxieties."
This is a trial book with a little background story. I found it boring because there was very little new information just a different way of telling the story. Lots of speculation about a crime that I believe will never be solved. Too many people in charge of the case dropped the ball and did not investigate all leads or possibilities of who could have done this horrible act and why.

I am giving it two stars because I am fascinated by this whole story, and I finished the book.

31.
1 star
Taken from the Facebook synopsis. "Set in late 1980s Europe at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, "Black Dogs" is the intimate story of the crumbling of a marriage, as witnessed by an outsider.

Jeremy is the son-in-law of Bernard and June Tremaine, whose union and estrangement began almost simultaneously. Seeking to comprehend how their deep love could be defeated by ideological differences Bernard and June cannot reconcile, Jeremy undertakes writing June's memoirs, only to be led back again and again to one terrifying encounter forty years earlier - a moment that, for June, was as devastating and irreversible in its consequences as the changes sweeping Europe in Jeremy's own time.

In a finely crafted, compelling examination of evil and grace, Ian McEwan weaves the sinister reality of civilisation's darkest moods - its black dogs - with the tensions that both create love and destroy it."

I could not get into this book even a little bit. I found story line to be boring which made it hard to follow. It just was not my type of book.

32.
1 star
Taken from the Goodreads synopsis page. "At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers - one they are determined to conceal.

A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship."

I did not connect with any characters in the book. The overall story line is boring and drawn out. The story is another we like to have sex together but unsure of ourselves or what else we like or can do together. The story does have some realistic aspects to living life but overall, OH PLEASE live your lives and be grateful for what you have, stop overthinking.

33.
5 stars
Taken from the Goodreads description page. "In this gripping memoir of a young man, a wolf, their parallel lives and ultimate collision, Bryce Andrews describes life on the remote, windswept Sun Ranch in southwest Montana. The Sun’s twenty thousand acres of rangeland occupy a still-wild corner of southwest Montana—a high valley surrounded by mountain ranges and steep creeks with portentous names like Grizzly and Bad Luck. Just over the border from Yellowstone National Park, the Sun holds giant herds of cattle and elk amid many predators—bears, mountain lions, and wolves."

I am giving this book five stars because of its very raw real look at the life of a modern cowboy. Do I agree with everything done and about this life, no I don't, there is a lot more to this lifestyle and work. If you don't like reading about death of animals and humans making stupid choices, then skip this book.

34.
1 star
Taken from the Goodreads ."Ever since Cosmo became a big brother to Max ten years ago, he's known what his job was: to protect his boy and make him happy."

I stopped reading about halfway through the book. It is a good for children but as an adult found it to be hard to read. The story line is slow, the dog voice telling the story is unrealist and annoying at times. I did like the concept, but the delivery was lacking. Again, good for kids.

35.
5 stars
Taken from the book. "The outspoken actress, talk show host, and reality television star offers up a no-holds-barred memoir, including an eye-opening insider account of her tumultuous and heart-wrenching thirty-year-plus association with the Church of Scientology."

Leah Remini is everything you would expect a celebrity to be, arrogant, motivated to be famous, outspoken and calls out people while not liking people calling her out. I have never been a fan of Leah Remini and the book does not change my mind on being one. I will say, after reading the book I have a better understanding of why she is the way she is and find myself having respect for her for going after and exposing Scientology.

36.
3 stars
Taken from the Goodreads synopsis. "At eighteen months Hillary Reston, a happy, healthy toddler, was struck by a remarkably high fever. On the advice of her doctor, her parents, James Reston, Jr., and Denise Leary, administered Tylenol and anxiously waited for the fever to subside. Five days later it did, but the damage was done. Over the course of the next five months their bubbly, highly verbal child was radically and irrevocably changed. Worse yet, no doctor could explain what evil and still unidentified force had stolen Hillary’s ability to speak or understand language, hurtled her into a seemingly endless cycle of seizures, destroyed her kidneys, and taken her to the very brink of death.

For her parents, discovering what had happened to their child and how to assure the quality of her life became an obsession. This quest for answers would take them from the nation’s hospitals to the office of a pioneering geneticist in Texas and the vaulted halls of the National Institutes of Health."

I found this book both a wonderful read and a dreadful read. James Reston Jr's first part of the book walks you through what life was before the fever and what happened during and after. From there Reston goes on a rant by telling off others on all the things people did not do or should have done. Never once really examining himself or his wife. Yes, I felt they had their own hand in things on getting things done faster and second guessing the ones with degrees in the field. The last few chapters I did not like even a little bit, they were clearly a speech.
Why the three stars? It is still a thought-provoking good book.

37.
1 star
I stopped Reading on Page 184. The over-the-top drama was just too much and unnecessary details made the events longer than they should have been. I just did not like the way the characters talked and acted with each other, felt like amateurs trying to save the world.

38.
1 star
I made it about halfway through the book and gave up. His stories are all over the place and it is a dry read.

39.
Taken from the book.
"Holly Marie was forty-two years old the day she found out she was missing.
At ten months old, Holly Marie was brought to the door of a church by three barefoot women in white robes and head coverings. Adopted by the pastor and raised in a loving Christian home, Holly nevertheless struggled with the ache of not knowing what had happened to her biological parents. She still felt their absence even as she married and started a family of her own.

When two detectives showed up at the restaurant where she worked and informed her that she had a large family in Florida who had been searching for her for over 40 years, Holly’s past became the reality of her present, and she began the sometimes painful journey of discovering the truth about her Her parents had been brutally murdered, their case still unsolved.

With the help of law enforcement across four states, forensic genealogists, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and her newly discovered family members, the missing pieces began to come together. Except these— why had her parents been murdered? And who had murdered them? She soon found out that the truth leads not always to answers but sometimes to more questions, that it also brings healing and restoration, and that we must surrender our unknowns to God until, in His perfect timing, all truths are revealed.

Finding Baby Holly is the true, inspiring story of a wife and mother who was “missing” for over forty years after her parents’ murders, the persistent detectives who never stopped investigating, and the birth family who never lost hope in finding her."


This is a fascinating story, but the Author fell short on telling it. In serval parts of the book the story was going along and pulling you in when all of a sudden it went off to another direction or left you hanging. The bouncing around in the timeline and repetitive story telling did not help in keeping my full attention. The story is in there and it is raw, sad and surreal. It does have a few uplifting moments but overall, I felt the whole story was not put together very well. I am still giving it two stars because Holly Marie is proof that no matter what, the truth will be shown.

40.
2 stars

Taken from the book. "Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map―the key to a legendary treasure trove―seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

In Daughter of the Pirate King, author Tricia Levenseller blends action, adventure, romance, and a little bit of magic into a thrilling pirate tale."

I liked the idea of the book, and it does deliver. The female lead character, Alosa, knows what she needs to do and goes for it. What I had trouble with and reason I gave it two stars, it is boring, and I did not like the young characters interactions. Alosa's "few tricks up her sleeve" was the use her feminine wiles. Nothing wrong with it but it has been done in so many books about a lead female character it becomes cliche. I wanted more than another young woman working the boys to find what she needs. The younger me would have loved this book but the older me, it is just a two-star book. The teenage angst gets old.

41.
3 stars
On May 22, 2011, in Joplin Missouri, 161 people lost their lives when an EF5 tornado hit the town.
The book is a collection of short stories telling the stories of survivors and about loved ones lost.
The stories are not edited so some read choppy and others are all over the place and did not give a cohesive story. All stories where raw to read, I felt all the emotions, this is why I am giving it three stars.
Pictures are sprinkled in here and there. At the end of the book is a list of all 161 loved ones lost, some have a complete obituary, and others have information about them and their lives. That was a very nice touch, just wish there were pictures too.

42.
1 star
Quote from book. " ‘A letter is handed to you. In broken English, it tells you that you must now vacate your farm; that this is no longer your home, for it now belongs to the crowd on your doorstep. Then the drums begin to beat.’

Taken from the inside book cover. "Pat and Mandy Retzlaff lived a hard but satisfying farming life in Zimbabwe. Working all hours of the day on their sprawling ranch and raising three boisterous children, they savored the beauty of the veld and the diverse wildlife that grazed the meadows outside their dining room window. After their children, the couple's true pride and joy were their horses."

There nothing I liked about this book. I wanted to like it, but it was a waste of my time, and I can't believe I made myself finish it.

43.
2 stars
Quote from the book's synopsis. "In 1977, in an Ohio Amish community, pregnant wife and mother Ida Stutzman perished during a barn fire. The coroner’s natural causes. Ida’s husband, Eli, was never considered a suspect. But when he eventually rejected the faith and took his son, Danny, with him, murder followed. What really happened to Ida? The dubious circumstances of the tragic blaze were willfully ignored and Eli’s shifting narratives disregarded. Could Eli’s subsequent cross-country journey of death―including that of his own son―have been prevented if just one person came forward with what they knew about the real Eli Stutzman? The questions haunted Gregg Olsen and Ida’s brother Daniel Gingerich for decades."

The Amish Wife is a rehashing of "Abandoned Prayers". Just more indepth, updated and new information. Only thing I found interesting is the detailed timeline in back of the book. The rest was repetitive, boring and lacked the consistent story telling flow that "Abandoned Prayers" had.
With the new information Gregg Olsen found it does make you look at the crime differently, but it gets lost in all the other nonsense of trying to make a killer look more of a victim.

44.
5 stars and added to favorites
Quote from the book synopsis. "A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door."

I can't get over how much I enjoyed this book. It made me laugh out loud, angry, sympathetic and had me shed tears.

I will say I have seen and loved the movie, and it is all in there, but the book has much more. It has a different feel that I just can't explain. Ove is a man you don't like/hate, grown to tolerate, like, sympathize with, understand and then hits with love. My emotions were all over the place with this well written and deeply touching story.

45.
1 star
Taken from the Goodreads synopsis. "Karen Grassle, the beloved actress who played Ma on Little House on the Prairie, grew up at the edge of the Pacific Ocean in a family where love was plentiful but alcohol wreaked havoc. In this candid memoir, Grassle reveals her journey to succeed as an actress even as she struggles to overcome depression, combat her own dependence on alcohol, and find true love."

If I had known what the book was going to be about, I would have skipped the book. She was not a happy person. Her life choices could have had a lot to do with that. That is all I am willing to say about the book.

46.
2 stars
Taken from the back of the book. "From boyhood, Tim Winton's relationship with the world around him-rock ponds, sea caves, scrub, and swamp has been profoundly vital. Camping in hidden inlets, walking in high rocky desert, bobbing in the sea between sets, Winton has learned to see landscape as a living process."

Tim Winton takes you through the changes that he saw as he was growing up to his adulthood.
Some in the beginning looked like good changes but as he got older sees them as not good changes. The book has some interesting parts but overall, a dull read. What is happening in Australia is happening all over the world. The need to cover the world with concrete and development is going to make us miserable in the end. We will become unfulfilled because we will have lost nature.

47.
3 stars
Taken from the Goodreads synoptics. "A no-holds-barred look into the remarkable life and career of the prolific musician, songwriter, and producer behind Eurythmics and dozens of pop hits.

Dave Stewart's life has been a wild ride-one filled with music, constant reinvention, and the never-ending drive to create. Growing up in industrial northern England, he left home for the gritty London streets of the seventies, where he began collaborating and performing with various musicians, including a young waitress named Annie Lennox."

I am all over the place on how I feel about this book. I am a fan, but this book was a little underwhelming. Either the stories were so drawn out that it did not get to the point fast enough and I lost interest, or they did not develop enough. I did learn some things about Dave that I had not heard but overall, it was an ok read. I wish I could have given it more than three stars, but the book needed editing.

48.
1 star
Taken from the Goodreads synopsis. ". When the Nazi’s invade his home in Salonika, Greece, the trustworthy boy is discovered by a German officer, who offers him a chance to save his family. All Nico has to do is convince his fellow Jewish residents to board trains heading to “new homes” where they are promised jobs and safety. Unaware that this is all a cruel ruse, the innocent boy goes to the station platform every day and reassures the passengers that the journey is safe. But when the final train is at the station, Nico sees his family being loaded into a large boxcar crowded with other neighbors. Only after it is too late does Nico discover that he helped send the people he loved—and all the others—to their doom at Auschwitz. Nico never tells the truth again."

The book is centered around Eleven-year-old Nico Krispis, his brother Sebastian, and their schoolmate Fanni but has other characters that come and go in the story lines.
The story line is somewhat ordinary as far as Nazi survival stories go. I just could not get into the book, too many details or it did not have enough believable story line. At times it drew me in but not enough to give it more than one star. The ending it foreseeable but yet complicated.

49.
4 stars
Taken from the Goodreads synopsis. "Tue Tales of the American Southwest by Howard Bryan offers a treasury of stories, anecdotes, and personal histories published here for the first time. Drawn from his personal archives, Bryan’s book is based on the recollections of pioneering “oldtimers” who lived in the Southwest in the 1800s and early decades of this century as the frontier era was drawing to a close. In extended informal interviews during the 1950s, Bryan gathered authentic accounts of the West that reflect the determination, humor, and courage of men and women surviving in dangerous and violent times. The stories yield a variety of adventures and anecdotes about frontier life. Bryan presents new information on famous characters such as Pancho Villa, Geronimo, Victorio, Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and Black Jack Ketchum, many of whom the oldtimers knew personally. A pioneer woman remembers almost being “rescued” by Geronimo- who believed she was an Indian child held captive by whites. "

A collection of sixteen people's stories. Some of the stories are very interesting and shows the ugly and good in people. Other stories are not put together very well, seem like things are missing. Overall a good book about long gone people living their lives as best they could, some are good people and others not so much.