Review 480: This Tender Land

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an enjoyable book. It had the feeling of a fable, along with an adventure and many lessons learned on the way.

Four orphans, two are brothers, escape from a boarding school for Native Americans, although only one is an Indian. Most of the students are Native Peoples. The woman running the place was cruel and nicknamed by the kids the Black Witch.

The narrator of the story is the younger brother Odie. To facilitate their escape, they canoe down the river towards St. Louis in search of an aunt, the only family out of all of them. Along their stops they run into interesting characters.

The book takes place during the depression era, the kids encounter many shantytowns along the way. Perhaps this helps them, as they fit in a little better during their journey.

The later part of the book brought up some aspects that were beyond believable, in an otherwise straight-forward type of fiction.

Review 479: The Forgotten Botanist

The Forgotten Botanist: Sara Plummer Lemmon's Life of Science and Art by Wynne Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fascinating biography of Sara Plummer-Lemmon. She was quite an independent woman for the time, the mid-1800s. Leaving home at age 33 in 1870 she travelled alone by ship to California from New York City. Her heath was poor and the dryer climate would allow her to live a longer life. She lead a full life, even getting married at the late age of 43. But her work is what sets her apart, an artist and botanist.

Sara is responsible for getting the California government to make the California Poppy it's state flower. Just one of her many accomplishments. Also, was the first to start a public library in Santa Barbara. Fascinating woman!

While I enjoyed the book, the narrator not so much. Her inflections in the reading were a bit off for my taste. Normally I can get used to a narrator's speaking patter, but I had a very hard time with this one, but I was too interested to hear about the subject I kept with it.

Review 478: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

The book was a challenge for me, as it started out strongly in moralizing us Americans how poorly we eat, which may be true, but it's hard to read being constantly chastised. It eased maybe a little as the book went on, or I started to just ignore that part and enjoy reading about how Kingsolver and her family grew their own food and ate locally for a year.

Kingsolver’s husband Steven Hopp owned a farm in the southern Appalachians when they married, but they lived in Tucson, Arizona for many years, visiting the farm during the summer months, growing some food. After some years they decide to move permanently to the farm. Then they came upon the idea of eating locally for a year, with the majority of their food coming from their own farm, which did include some animals like chickens and turkeys.

The book included side bar essays by Steven Hopp and end of chapter small essay by the daughter Camille along with some recipes and examples of meals they would eat.

Certainly the goal of this book is to educate people on how food is grown, and how the monoculture is destroying the land. The book is slightly dated now. Eating local and organic foods are something people are now aware of more than a decade or so ago, right? My local grocery stores have produce labeled grown local and a section for organics that I didn’t see when I was younger, so things are changing, but yes we can do better. I can do better.

Review 477: The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading by James Patterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is like a very long love letter to Librarians and Booksellers, the people who try to get books into the hands of everyone. I work in a library and used to long to own a bookstore, so this book is very much something I should love. It did help me understand a little more on what it takes to run a bookstore, and maybe that’s what this book is really about – helping people who love to read if a job as a bookstore owner or a librarian is for them.

Readers may find some interesting bits here, but more likely this is a book for those who work in those jobs, or are curious about it.

While every person has their own unique story, there are striking similarities, unfortunately, after a while it became a little repetitive. It’s understandable not wanting to cut any one of these stories. And yet…it would be a better book being shorter.

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 476: The Drowned World

The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard
My rating: 2 of 5 stars



 Didn't do much for me. I would have stopped reading if I hadn't listened to the audiobook and if it wasn't so short. Had higher hopes for this "classic".

Review 475: People of the Morning Star

People of the Morning Star by W. Michael Gear
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is book #21 in the series North America's Forgotten Past as well as the first book in a sub-series: People of Cahokia.

In this book we are introduced to a huge city called Cahokia, located in the south. The people build huge mounds, with the elite living on the top of these mounds. People from all over, all languages, have come here to live near the miracle that happened with a living God being embodied in a human body. The bulk of the book is trying to figure out why the rulers are being attacked, killed or nearly. 

I will have to read the next in the series sooner than later, so I don't forget the story line.

March 25, 2024 – Started Reading

March 25, 2024 – 

page 21

 

 3.28% "read through introductory material, now beginning the story..."

March 26, 2024 – 

page 63

 

 9.84% "starting chapter 5 -- there is a plot to kill Morning Star, a resurrected Sky World soul into a human body. Also, Fire Cat Twelvekiller high war chief and three others from Red Wing Nation were captured and being brought to Morning Star as prisoners."

March 27, 2024 – 

page 140

 

 21.88% "starting chapter 15. Well, the first assignation attempt did not work. And Night Shadow Star has become inhabited by the Underworld spirit of Piasa."

March 28, 2024 – 

page 216

 

 33.75% "mid chapter 24 ....they are searching for the people who are attempting these assassinations, they did get kill one person, but two were caught just in time. Meanwhile we do get the killer's view point, very briefly and he's trying to rope in High Dance, leader of the House of Evening Star."

March 29, 2024 – 

page 249

 

 38.91% "starting Chapter 28: still on the hunt for who is attempting to create chaos and assassinate the leaders."

March 30, 2024 – 

page 341

 

 53.28% "starting Chapter 41"

March 31, 2024 – 

page 433

 

 67.66% "starting Chapter 54. Feels like the story just needs to wrap up, have the final confrontation. Yet so many pages left. (too many?)"

March 31, 2024 – Finished Reading