Friday, August 1, 2025

Review: Martha Peake: A Novel of the Revolution

Martha Peake: A Novel of the Revolution Martha Peake: A Novel of the Revolution by Patrick McGrath
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Found myself disappointed by this book, as it turned out to be something different than I expected. So maybe I should be disappointed in myself for misunderstanding what I was about to read.

Well, it seemed that despite the subtitle stating “A Novel of the Revolution”, that was not the main focus of the book. Instead it focused heavily on Harry Peake, Martha’s father. Oh, yes, Martha was there in the book but not as much as Harry.

Throughout the book, the story telling is overly dramatic. Then, a good way in the book, out of nowhere, this ghost type scenario appears. Strange sounds coming around in this old manor house and being told no one else was there.

After finishing the book I found out the author is known for his gothic tales. Someone more familiar with the author’s writing then would not be surprised.

I kept going with this to the end, mostly to see how it would all turn out. There is a bit of a twist, or surprise at the end. Not sure it was worth it sticking with the book. Certainly this book would work better for people who like gothic horror, or know what the book is about beforehand.


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Review: Martha Peake: A Novel of the Revolution

Martha Peake: A Novel of the Revolution Martha Peake: A Novel of the Revolution by Patrick McGrath
My rating: 2 of 5 stars



View all my reviews

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Review 597: Water Moon

Water Moon
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars




This one was outside of my usual reading genre, but I enjoyed it. The book takes place in another world that mostly only interacts with our world through a pawn shop. The current owner retires and his daughter takes over, however on her first day her dad goes missing. Thus begins the quest, to find her father. Along for the ride is an outsider, one who is from our world.
Very interesting world building here, inventive.

Although this book is a quest theme and fantasy it is also about choice one makes in life. There is this thread running through the entire book about choice and how it changes you, making one decision or another. And sometimes these choices are subtle but lead to a big difference in your life as it goes along. This aspect I enjoyed.

I thought this book was for adults but maybe not, it could be young adult. The writing style makes me think it was more for a younger audience.



Sunday, June 29, 2025

Review 596: The Risen

The Risen The Risen by Ron Rash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Two timelines and two brothers. A fateful summer of love. Short enough book to listen entirely during a day of travel across the country. Kept me entertained while I watched the land and clouds roll by through the plane window.

Read this book while traveling across the country yesterday.  I listened to the audiobook, narration was done well. Perhaps more notes on this when I've returned from my travels.


Monday, June 23, 2025

Review 595: Fire

Fire Fire by George R. Stewart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This book is all about a fiction fire that blows up in California. The location is fictionalized using real place names, but they aren’t near each other as stated in the book. The location is generally in the Sierra Nevada Mountains somewhere between Reno and Sacramento.

The characters are not fully fleshed out characters in the book, they are mere placeholders really for the jobs they do. A few characters do get some motivations and an extremely small amount of their life outside of the fire, but generally even then not more than a couple of sentences. Instead the main character that is fully explained and detailed is the fire. The Spitcat.

The book is broken up in “days” as the first day is the lightning strike that will create the fire. This first two chapters/days are more involved with the people, such as the Supervisor of the forest district and the fire lookout, which is a young woman. This is the only woman taking a “man’s” job during the firefighting operation. The only other women are not even named, but are secretary timekeepers or cooks.

The book was written in the 1940s, and the date does show. Not only with the sexism but also with the techniques of fighting fires and the approach to it.

I liked how the book described all the ways they pulled men in to help fight the fire. There were first the young boys, high school age doing summer work in the mountains. Then they had the smoke jumpers come in. By the time the fire blew-up they needed an army of men, they came in from other districts. They went and recruited from the streets of skid-rows in Stockton, Reno and Sacramento. They called these men pogies. They also brought in soldiers and convicts.

The book has two viewpoints, one that the forest is there to be used by man and the other to be remain pristine as a natural park for beauty. While the animals are of concern, there isn’t any concern about ecology or natural systems in how everything is connected.

In any case, this is a through telling of a fire burning through a forest.




Previously Read George R. Stewart books:

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Review 594: The Wedding

The Wedding The Wedding by Dorothy West
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The Oval is a rich enclave of African American residents. Many own summer homes here, they all know one another. This season is the upcoming wedding of Shelby Coles, marrying a white man, a musician no less with no regular income. Shelby was expected to marry someone that has a profession, well to-do as she was brought up. And someone of her own race.

There are many character in this story. Shelby’s parents, her sister, Gram, and several other generations of ancestors. Also, a neighbor man who has his sights on Shelby. The story is not linear, and often goes in the past. It is somewhat confusing. I had a hard time getting hold of who was who and related and what was going on. The family tree in the beginning of the book helped.

I nearly gave up on the book half-way through out of sheer confusion of these mass of varied stories. But I found and watched half of the tv-mini series made near around when the book came out. Things clicked in from there, but there are major differences from the film version and the book (isn’t that always?).

The major theme for this book is race and racism. It shows many sides of this and not just from the whites but within black families as well. The question is also was Shelby’s decision to marry a white man because of race?

When the book takes a closer look at marriages and why people married who they did, there is something else. Shelby may be trying to change that dynamic and he just happens to be white. But Shelby has been beginning to question her choice even up to the day before the wedding. The ending seemed a bit abrupt to me, hastily finished.

Friday, June 13, 2025

Review 593: Notes to Myself

Notes to Myself Notes to Myself by Hugh Prather
My rating: 3 of 5 stars




Hugh Prather decided to be a writer, while his wife supported them on her teaching salary. Back in the late 60’s this may have been an usual set-up. After a few years he wasn’t getting very far, so he gleaned statements from his journal and the result was this book

They are mostly notes of helping him become a better person. They can be philosophical, or help you think about ways to approach life. It's not quite self-help. I feel like my description here is faulty.

The book has a lot of white space. The notes can be a sentence or two, often longer to a paragraph or more. In-between there is a small graphic of two leaves, at least in my copy of the book.
This book did well for him and these notes became very popular in the 1970s. It started him on a series of a similar theme.

I bought a used copy of the book when I was in my early-twenties and read about half of the book. I liked it at the time, thought it was profound. Not sure why I didn’t finish, but I always wanted to return to it.

Now many years later, I’m trying to get to some of these older books. Started over and read through in a couple of days, and, well it was okay. Didn’t find it amazing or anything. Perhaps the book was more profound while young or the intervening years I’ve lived more. Not sure.

I expect this may be one of those books that when it finds you at the right time it very good, but if not it’s just okay.

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Review 592: Buffalo Justice

Buffalo Justice: A Contemporary Western Mystery Buffalo Justice: A Contemporary Western Mystery by W. Michael Gear
My rating: 3.25 of 5 stars



The Gear’s (husband and wife writing team) have a long list of books under their names, most written together, some separately. This is a new genre for the Gears, from their long series of Native Peoples called: North America's Forgotten Past. Instead of focusing on the historical past we have “A Contemporary Western Mystery” based in Montana and Wyoming, buffalo country.

The book starts with the murder of a very rich man and conservation lawyer Ryman Banks. Ryman runs an organization based on saving the purity of the buffalo. Along the way he’s made several enemies, including his soon to be ex-wife, who gains his estate with his death which she was not getting in the divorce.

This becomes a high-profile case for the state of Montana and the DOJ assigns a new agent Jillian Masterson. What follows is trying to piece out who and why Ryman was killed.

It’s a fast-paced book, as many of the Gear’s books can be. I read this based on my enjoyment of their historic series, but this type of book is not really my usual fare. While it was well written, and I learned about genetics and buffalo, I'm not a fan of police procedurals. For those who do enjoy this genre they will find much to enjoy here.




Thanks to Wolfpack Publishing /BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Review 591: The Strange Case of Jane O.

The Strange Case of Jane O. The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars



This is a psychological case of Jane O. The book uses the view point of the psychiatrist, Dr. Henry Bryd, and Jane, as letters to her baby son. Jane has perfect memory, except in a couple of cases and lost time.

Jane goes to Dr. Bryd because she had a day of lost memory, she didn’t know where she was or what happened and this was very unusual for her. The book tries to piece together what's going on as she has more of these "fugue states".

This does become an interesting case.

I had a strong interest in psychology when I was younger, which was why this book appealed to me for reading. It’s interesting how reading tastes or interests change through the years. In any case, this book is set up like a psychological case, which added to the appeal.


Thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I listened to a published audiobook copy of the book.

Monday, June 9, 2025

Review 590: Nellie Taft

Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era by Carl Sferrazza Anthony
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Very much enjoyed this biography of Nellie Taft, named Helen Louise Heron, but always went by Nellie. I liked the writing style and how the information was presented, linear, and perfect for this type of biography.

While young she decided she wanted to marry a man who would be president and in William Taft she found her man, even though his ambition was to be on the Supreme Court. Well, he managed both.

Nellie was quite the woman, her own mind and did a lot of "firsts" as a president's wife. If alive today she likely would have run for president instead of her husband.

I would like to say more, but this is all I can manage at this moment. Oh, except to add she is responsible for all the Japanese Cherry Trees in Washington, D.C.

Friday, June 6, 2025

Review 589: River of the Gods

River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is somewhat a biography of Richard Burton, with John Hanning Speke being a companion on several expeditions into Africa being backed by the Royal Geographic Society.

Richard Burton is quite the character. The book begins with Burton attempting to complete the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca completely disguised as a Muslim. Being found out he faced certain death. However, he pulled it off and later wrote about it.

Burton was a polyglot and was easily able to understand new languages. While in the 18th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry he learned 12 languages in 7 years, often placing first in the exams over other officers who studied for years. He was aiming to rise in the ranks quickly by being an interpreter.

Burton was able to get commissions from the Royal Geographic Society to lead an expedition into the interior of Africa to find the source of the Nile, or White Nile as they often called it. Ended up being several. One ended before it really began being attacked by 350 Somalis. Burton took a javelin through his face, which left a permanent scar across his checks.

Speke was there as well and barely escaped with his life, but readily joined Burton when he set out on the next expedition. This time the men battled many illness. Speke was blinded for a while from one illness, then a beetle ended up inside his ear. This left him partially deaf but somehow helped heal his vision issues.

Amazingly, these men were still willing and excited to go back to Africa again, even after all the illnesses they suffered and being attacked.

Without making this too much longer, I did enjoy this book. However, it felt like the expeditions were not as detailed and drawn out as one would think. Perhaps many details were left out in order to keep the book a shorter length? The book is not long, just over 300 pages, but easily could have added 100 more.

A good portion of the book was about other biographical aspects of Burton, which often included Speke. He betrayed Burton in reporting to the Royal Geographic Society. People tended to side with Speke over Burton, who’s reputation was not all that good. The book was quite compelling.



Friday, May 30, 2025

Review 588: Two Old Women

Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This oral story of the Gwich'in band, one of eleven groups in the Alsakan Athabaskan People. The story has been told for generation. Wallis felt the need to write it down and share with a larger audience. It was one story her mother told her of the many stories she shared. Wallis grew up as a Native person in the same area where this legend takes place.

The tale tells of a village of The People facing a particularly hard time of starvation and winter upon them. The chief makes the difficult decision to leave behind two old women while they move camp, leaving the women behind to die of starvation and cold. What the women do next perhaps surprises even themselves.

I've this print book for so long, over 20 years, that I’m not sure why I hadn’t read it until now. When I discovered my local library had an audio copy I decided to listen to it. Since it was originally an oral story I think this may have been the better way to read it. Except my print book did come with line drawings and a couple of maps that enhanced the text.

It is a short book, not much over two hours in audio and under 150 print pages. Again, I’m not sure why I overlooked this book on my shelves. Easily able to read this in one day, which I did. One thing the audio did not have was Editor’s note at the end. It shared briefly a little about the author but also explained how they had difficulty getting the book published in the late 1980s. One problem was the author was a women, the other that the native peoples thought the story made them look bad. Finally they were able to find funding to get the book published through a subscription model in 1993.

Review 587: The Changing Lives of Joe Hart

The Changing Lives of Joe Hart The Changing Lives of Joe Hart by Shawn Inmon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is the sixth book in the Middle Falls Time Travel series. Each book addresses something slightly different. This time the main character, Joe Hart, tries to change history. First by trying to prevent his two friends deaths while young, more globally to prevent John Lennon's death in New York.

Another twist with this story is that when Joe Hart dies it is accidental and he is still “rebooted” like in a video game, In previous books this resetting of one’s life happens when the death was self-inflicted. The moment the character returns to is when they were on the cusp of making an important life choice.

This book fell a little into a pattern somewhat like the other books, despite the difference, which actually are quite small. One of the reasons I typically don’t read long series books is they do become somewhat formulaic. However, I did decide to continue on with these as they do tend to make one think about grander philosophic questions which makes them interesting.



Previously Read Middle Falls Time Travel Series books:

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Review 586: Wild Girls

Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation by Tiya Miles
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is one of the first two books in a new series called Norton Shorts, by publisher W.W. Norton. They are calling it “Brilliance with Brevity”. Further description “Written by leading-edge scholars, these eye-opening books deliver bold thinking and fresh perspectives in under two hundred pages.”

For this book, and one of the inaugural books for the series, I think it missed the mark. It was short, and I think that was part of the problem with the book. It was even under 150 pages, it needed more length.

The author Miles focused only on a few women and it needed more depth to hold up to that subtitle. I don't think the author proved her thesis. Also, even with these few women it was occasionally a stretch in placing the outdoors with the women, although not for all of them.

The main subjects were: Harriot Tubman, Louisa May Alcott, and Genevieve Healy, Jane Johnson Schoolcraft and Mamie Gavin Fields get a few pages, along with mentions of Sakakawea. Miles also writes extensively about a girls basketball team of Native Americans. It was highly unusual for the time. I do appreciate the author finding some women who may have made a mark during their time, that are not well known. However, I was still wanting more.

The book contained some photos, all in black and white, and the back had an extensive section of notes on sources and quotations. Which then brings the text to 120 pages, yes, very short.



Friday, May 23, 2025

Review 585: Go

Go Go by Kazuki Kaneshiro
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars



This was not an enjoyable book for me. I disliked the main character, Sugihara through much of the book. But I kept reading as I haven’t read many Japanese books, and none where the main character is considered Korean. It’s a different life to explore.

Why I didn’t like Sugihara is mainly due to all the fighting. I’m much more for peace than fistfights. And fighting scenes are not what I want to read. When the book shifted to the girl Sugihara dates it became more pleasant for me, less fighting. But the ending, I did not like.

The book highlights prejudice and assumptions. Sugihara was born and raised in Japan. His father, however, was born in Korea. He left and settled in Japan. Both of Sugihara’s parents retain North Korean passports. There was a choice but his father was somewhat idealistic and chose the north, so his son was raised in the North Korean schools.

When Sugihara was about to enter high school his father wanted to visit Hawaii, which was impossible to do with a North Korean passport so he just switched to South Korean and was able to visit. This was a revelation for Sugihara, as he realized you can just switch your nationality and it means nothing. You are who you are regardless of which passport you hold.

What Sugihara has difficulty in accepting is the harassments for Korean people in Japan. How is he different than a Japanese as he was born and raised there? Why does Japan treat him like a foreigner? Interesting questions.

Since this book became a success in Japan when it came out over 20 years ago, one may hope there has been some changes. Although racism is hard to overcome in any country. Glad I read this despite my somewhat lack of enjoyment, still got something out of the book.

Thursday, May 22, 2025

Review 584: Lost at Sea

Lost at Sea: Poverty and Paradise Collide at the Edge of America Lost at Sea: Poverty and Paradise Collide at the Edge of America by Joe Kloc
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

Just north of San Francisco in Marin County is Richardson Bay and the city of Sausalito. This location is where the book takes place, with stories and life experiences by a community of people called anchor-outs.

They live in the bay on boats not sanctioned by any government agency so the city and harbor master take to removing the boats. When someone isn’t living in one every day, the boat is impounded then destroyed. Although some called the people unhoused before they lost their boat, now they really are homeless.

This is a collection of stories but lacks solutions or other commentary than just stating what this community has experienced over the past ten years or so.

People have been living in boats for a long time, over a hundred years, since the time of the great earthquake in San Francisco in 1906. Some of the current community members have been living on their boats for decades. This is not a new community. Except the number of boats expanded by nearly doubled when the financial crisis hit.

Marin County is a wealthy community and some residents complained about their view. There were complaints about the anchor-outs polluting the waters, although no ecological testing proved this was an issue.

The author spent nearly ten years visiting these people, hearing their stories and at times living with them. When nearly all of the boats had been impounded and torn up a tent city erupted. Kloc slept in the tents for a few days as well, this being around the time of the pandemic.

Kloc and some of the anchor-outs attend city council meetings. It becomes very eye-opening when you realize a city, or other government agency is willing to spend thousands of dollars, in this case close to half a million dollars, on legal fees to evict and otherwise harass these unhoused individuals. None of this money is spent on providing any relief for these people.

Something missing from this book is more information on the house boats that are legally in the bay. They are mentioned very briefly but not deeply enough to provide context. How is it that there is a community of people living on boats in the bay accepted and others are not. It may just boil down to money, as usual, but this part of the story is lacking.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much of a conclusion to the book either. No solutions or options were provided, it really is just a collection of stories about some of the people’s lives who lived in the bay in unusual living conditions.




Thanks to Dey Street Books and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I listened to a published audiobook copy of the book.


Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Review 583: Henry Thoreau as Remembered by a Young Friend

Henry Thoreau as Remembered by a Young Friend Henry Thoreau as Remembered by a Young Friend by Edward Waldo Emerson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a somewhat small book recounting the character and person of Henry David Thoreau. The author, Edward Emerson was a child growing up in Concord and knew Thoreau quite well being the son of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Emerson does not rely solely on his own experiences and memories, he includes other people's remarks about Thoreau. There are also passages of Thoreau’s that were from his diary or other published works. He also has a few poems, or lines of poetry that is sprinkled throughout.

The book was published about 70 years after Thoreau's passing and is a response to those who criticized his character. Some of the townsfolk of Concord at that time thought he was lazy or didn’t do right by his family by spending time wandering around the woods. Emerson here points out how Thoreau was wisely spending his time. He also shows how Thoreau was ahead of his time. If that was noticeable in 1917 he is every more so now another 100 plus years later.


Friday, May 16, 2025

Review 582: The Ancients

The Ancients The Ancients by John Larison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is quite an epic, but it didn't really wow me. It felt like one long fable almost. I see that many people are calling this science fiction and future looking, but it is the opposite, takes place in the very far past. The title says it all – the ancients.

These people are dealing with climate change, but don't understand it as such.

The story follows several characters, and some from peoples...they are enemies, likely only because they are other, different. We have a family, three siblings lost their parents. They do not know they were kidnapped, her mother survives. These three go in search of their auntie who a while before left to walk up and across the mountains.

There is also a noble, who has his own struggles, one being a lover of men in a world where it is unknown. He is a scholar, but only in his spare time. His father recently died and now he is in charge of the production of wool.

The noble lives in a grand city, while the family lives in a village, a small place. There are many adventures, of a sort that take place.

Throughout there is hope that conveyed. Your ancestors survived and so shall you. The author is telling us there has been climate change before, humans survived and we will again.

Wish I did enjoy it more. Maybe it’s a book to be reread and glean more out of it with a second reading.

Review 581: Old King

Old King Old King by Maxim Loskutoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The book starts in 1976 from Salt Lake City and quickly moving to Lincoln, Nebraska where most of the book takes place. We follow mainly three men, Duane who had to leave SLC as he was broken from his wife giving him divorce papers. Then there is the hermit Ted Kaczynski, yeah that guy who builds bombs and mails them to people. And there is Nep, a Postal Service inspector trying to catch this bomber.

For most of the book it is told from Duane’s point of view. We get much shorter passages from the other two men. We also get the POV of other characters. Jackie is the lone female voice in this book. She’s divorced and a long time native of this place, while some of the others are more recent transplants, even if they arrived a decade ago. Lincoln is almost like another character, a very small town in the middle of the woods, some of which is being clear cut.

Menace is laced through the book with Ted’s nefarious actions. The book opens with a bomb that goes off when a security guard at a computer lab in a university campus goes off. It doesn’t kill him. Ted is intent in killing someone. It’s eerie. Never does he become a sympathetic character.

The timeline and how things move forward in the book is a bit confusing. It may say years later, then Duane had been here a year…something like that. I just decided to go with the flow and not pay much attention to it closely.

Overall this was a decent read.

Monday, May 12, 2025

Review 580: A California Bestiary

A California Bestiary A California Bestiary by Rebecca Solnit
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



A very small book showcasing 12 animals in California. A couple are now extinct, or nearly, while others have been close to extinction, yet rebounded successfully, such as the elephant seal. Then there are a few that are abundant.

Each animal is accompanied by a color image drawn by Mona Caron. The essays are short and informative. My only problem with the book is that it was entirely too short.

Friday, May 9, 2025

Review 579: When It All Burns

When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World by Jordan Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



While working on a graduate degree Jordan Thomas takes a break from research to understand fire better and joins the hotshots and battles wildfires for a season. He didn't put it this way, others and himself questioned why he wanted to join this elite firefighting team. One of his explanations was simply he needed money. But there are a ton of ways to earn money. Thomas was also interested in fire and wanted to understand it more thoroughly, and why not experience it by fighting it.

The book is not only about working as a US Forest Service Hotshot, it also delves into the history of fire and environmental changes being seen due to the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

The book was a blend of personal story, history and more, but it also felt somewhat uneven. The history aspect turned into outrage against corporations, while it may be understood, it changed the tenor of the overall book.

It was fascinating to get an inside look at this dangerous job, that is being even more necessary as more of these firestorms and super-heated wildfires will increase in the coming years.


I listened to the audiobook version of this book, which was narrated by the author. Oftentimes author narrators don’t do this very well, but this was an exception and was well done.


Thanks to Penguin Group Riverhead and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book, and PRH Audio for advance access to the audiobook.

Friday, May 2, 2025

Brief Review 578: The Time Machine

The Time Machine The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I saw a movie version of this years ago, so I knew the story line. Still I found myself enthralled. I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Scott Brick. One of the rare times I listened to the entirety in one go, without stopping. It's short enough you can do that. What a classic!

Review 577: Scotland: An Intimate Portrait

Scotland: An Intimate Portrait Scotland: An Intimate Portrait by Geddes MacGregor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This is a slightly dated book with the original copyright of 1980 and first published in 1985 under the name: Scotland Forever Home. This edition was published in 1990, but hard to say if anything was changed from the original. It reads like this was written in the 1980s.

The later chapter about Scottish politics and outlook on independence was where the age showed itself the most. As part travel guide it there may be some changes there. Then again, some buildings, castles, and bridges have been around for centuries so a few decades may not make much of a difference.

The book is partly history, partly travel guide, partly cultural guide and partly entertaining. MacGregor has a way of writing that made sure the book wasn’t dull. Peppered throughout were small vignettes, stories, or tales that would help give the flavor of the people of Scotland.
One I found hilarious, paraphrased here found in the description of Aberdeen and tradition of fishing. A “fishy story” of a fishwife and a man asking about the freshness, who also happened to be a ventriloquist. He asks if the large cod she was carrying around to be sold was fresh, of course she answered yes, “I’ve just brocht it in fae the sea.” The cod replied “Sh’es a lee-ar. I’ve been here for a week!”

Just about all aspects of Scotland was covered, although not thoroughly as that would be way too much to fit all in. Such as the section on islands, MacGregor had to pick some to describe and provide some information, but many of the 787 islands had be overlooked.

The book concludes with 9 appendices, two are for Scottish words, two for historic dates, one on cuisine, another on whisky and a few others. It does feel like MacGregor covers it all.

I would be remiss not to mention how MacGregor is writing this for the Scottish Diaspora, particularly the American with Scottish ancestry, which would mean myself. Several times he says you must visit the homeland, perhaps like a pilgrimage. I’ve had this book many years, perhaps since the mid-1990s and I’m not sure why I neglected to read before. It certainly would have been a good book to read before either of my visits to the homeland.

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Review 576: The Red Umbrella

The Red Umbrella The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is another freebie book from Sync some years back (2017). I did not finish the book. I listened to just under 14%, which equals to around 40 pages, not too far into the book, but I wasn’t enjoying it.

The writing is very simplistic, which this is billed as young adult sometimes it can be overlooked. I read a few reviews, both those who liked it and those who did not, and decided my reading time would be better spent with a different book and leaving this one. (I’m not good at letting a book go.)

The book starts in early May 1961. The book point of view is from a young teenager, Lucia Alvarez, her quinceanera is coming up in November. She comes from an upper-middle class family, her father is a banker. Lucia and her family are Cuban and this is during the time that Fidel Castro takes over the government.

The title of the book comes from the (embarrassingly) red umbrella Lucia’s mother carries with her all the time.


Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Review 575: Here in Harlem

Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices by Walter Dean Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars




This book I got for free as an audiobook from Sync some years back (ten years now!). They used to have summer offerings of free audios, one or two month, and most in the young adult arena. I picked up a handful of these books, yet never listened to any and thought I should get around to it. I started with this fairly short book.

This book of poetry is written in the style of the Spoon River Anthology. Myers wanted to create a community of voices of Harlem that reflected the time of his youth. So each poem is a different person, that starts with their name age and what their job. There is one exception, a woman character who repeats six times and her info is not given.

The audio has sound effects and music accompanying the poems so it makes for an immersive experience. The poems of each person vary to what looks more like a poem than not. While poetry is often abstract and combines words together unexpectedly, these here are more descriptive, more like sentences. Some rhyme some do not.

Taken as a whole you do get a sense of community, the people who populated Harlem and for that I think this book succeeds.

I listened to it all at one time since it is short enough to do so. I have a feeling the audio book is a better way to experience this book than in print, but likely both would work well.

Friday, April 25, 2025

Review 574: The Emancipation of Veronica McAllister

The Emancipation of Veronica McAllister The Emancipation of Veronica McAllister by Shawn Inmon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is the 5th book in the series: Middle Falls Time Travel.
While this was a very quick read, I didn’t like this book as much as the others in the series. The storyline was okay, it was the writing style. None of them are excellent in the craft of writing, but they are plot driven and the questions and premise make these books interesting.

For this book the writing style was bugging me. One example is the pointing out at this time there wasn’t certain technology or way of doing things today. It happened a few times and was clunky and pulled me out of the story. (like reminding us cell phones didn’t exist.)

For this book we have a woman POV for the first time in the series. Veronica’s character was near the end of the previous book, taking her life as she was dying of cancer. This taking of one’s own life is what resets the character’s life, and goes back to a pivotal point. For Veronica who was 80 or so she reverted back to a teenager in the last few months of high school before graduation. The next day she meets her husband to be, at least in the first life.

Veronica ends up having several lives, each restarting at the same point and the story repeats some of those first moments for most of those restarts. Yeah, that gets repetitive too. Veronica ends up killing herself during each life as she isn’t fulfilled and wants to do it again, until she finally gets it right.

What the author choses to fill in these lives is always an interesting choice as well, and maybe didn’t make the best decisions. There were moments that seemed to make no sense why it was included and other moments that were didn’t get fully explored.

Yet, there are still glimpses of philosophical questions that these books bring up. Some that are explored in the series such as: What would you do different if you had a chance to do it again? What would you do the same? Ultimately, what is your best life?

I will read the next book, since I have it and these are short books. Then I will consider about continuing the series or not.



Other Middle Falls Time Travel Series books:

Review 573: A Sand County Almanac: with other essays

A Sand County Almanac: With Essays on Conservation from Round River A Sand County Almanac: With Essays on Conservation from Round River by Aldo Leopold
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Many years ago I read about half of this book, the first Part – A Sand County Almanac, for an Environmental Literature class while doing my undergraduate studies at University. The professor said the rest of the book wasn’t worth reading, as it wasn’t his best work. But I had always wanted to get back to the book and finish the rest of it. Now, I finally have.

Perhaps he was right in that the first portion is very good, but the other essays were very much worth reading.

Aldo Leopold died in 1948 and this book was first published shortly after his death, being over a decade before Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Leopold’s book then being the first to warn of the ecological damage.

The book is broken into 4 Parts:
Part I: A Sand County Almanac
Part II: The Quality of Landscape
Part III: A Taste for Country
Part IV: The Upshot

Each part is then divided into many more sections and subsections. Part I is broken down to each month, with some further subsections. Part II is divided by some geographic regions. Part III is the only one that doesn’t have subsections. The last two parts are essays, all with the same theme as the rest of the book. My print book is accompanied by line drawings throughout the book. Sometimes the bird or animal doesn’t quite match what is being discussed, but still it is a nice accompaniment.

I listened to an unabridged audiobook for much of this, but it was lacking many of the essays, such as the entire part 3 of my print book. Perhaps there are different versions of this book of what is included.

The author is a hunter, but you can see by the end of this book that he begins to think that taking photographs is perhaps a better way to hunt. Other than the pro-hunting aspects, this is an excellent book. There are many well-turned sentences and passages that make this one of those books you can return to time and again. I’m glad to have finally read the entire book.



Prior to this latest reading:
Read the first half - A Sand County Almanac portion, the other two shorter portions I haven't yet read: Sketches Here and There, and The Upshot. Keep meaning to get back to it.


Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Review 572: Challenger Deep

Challenger Deep Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was a slightly tough book to get through, as it entails reading about a teenage boy succumbing to schizophrenia. Caden’s reality becomes mixed up with hallucinations or something that makes sense to him for what is going on.

When he becomes hospitalized it is that environment that becomes like a ship. They are cruising the waters and talk about going down into a deep trench at times.

There are many chapters, over 150, which are usually quite short. They switch between what is going on in Caden’s life and other times what is going on in his head. The book starts with him going to high school, hanging out with his friends, but the chapters about the boat are there early on as well. The timeline isn’t quite straightforward.

Neal Shusterman’s own son has been diagnosed with mental illness and this book was written to help understand what it is like to be the one dealing with the illness. His son also contributed drawings that are sprinkled throughout the book.



Monday, April 21, 2025

Review 571: The Fisherman's Gift

The Fisherman's Gift The Fisherman's Gift by Julia R. Kelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The book was decent, but just not what I wanted at the moment. I pushed through and finished the book anyway and found the ending somewhat satisfying. Since I wasn't in the mood I found the book a bit long, but honestly it probably wasn't.

The story takes place in a small village along the coast of Scotland. A place where everyone knows everything. The main character, Dorothy arrives as the new school teacher. As an outsider she difficulty fitting in, the women shun her. She's used it from growing up, but the man she's interested in decidedly pushes away since some of the women claim he is already spoken for.

But the larger issue in the book is about a young child that washed up on the shore after a big storm. Dorothy takes him in, cares for him until his family can be found. This boy is about the same age as hers who was lost in a big storm many years ago. Taking care of the boy helps her to heal, come to terms with all that's happened in the past.

The book is told in two timelines, then and now, where then isn’t exactly told when but around 15 years ago, maybe more. It’s a fairly sad book. There are so many misunderstandings, secrets kept, and the absolute tragedy of losing a child.


Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I listened to a published audiobook copy of the book.


Thursday, April 17, 2025

Review 570: Boat Baby: A Memoir

Boat Baby: A Memoir Boat Baby: A Memoir by Vicky Nguyen
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars



Although Vicky Nguyen is on a popular broadcast news network, I have never heard of her. I’m not one to watch broadcast news actually. In any case, her story of being an immigrant from Vietnam was one I wanted to read. There are some similarities to my sister-in-law and her family, to some degree. Although, I think my in laws had a more harrowing experience with the pirates on their boat.

The first half of this book describes her parents background, their leaving Vietnam, and her early years; these were great reading. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author and loved hearing the Vietnamese pronunciation, even though it may be an Americanized version as she states.

Somewhere along the way the story seemed to lose some focus, or maybe it was my interest. There were some things discussed, talked about in the book that wasn’t full explored, left me as a reader wondering why was that included. Other times, a situation felt important to her and her family, but not to me as a reader. Maybe I just don’t get memoirs sometimes.

For myself the ending was abrupt, or overall there was a missing part of the book, what exactly I’m not entirely sure. Maybe it is emotion, although that is not fully absent. In any case, I’m glad I read this book, learned about another person’s lived experience which is different than mine. There definitely needs to be more books like this.



Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book. However, I listened to a published audiobook copy of the book.

Friday, April 11, 2025

Review 569: The Final Life of Nathaniel Moon

The Final Life of Nathaniel Moon The Final Life of Nathaniel Moon by Shawn Inmon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars




This is the 4th book in the series: Middle Falls Time Travel, and was slightly different than the previous three. The author’s note at the end helps to explain it as this story was something he had thought about for a very long while, since before he started writing novels.

The premise of each book in this series has an essential part, which is being called time travel: a character dies, then is reborn again as the same person, but at an earlier part of their life and they remember everything. I find this an interesting premise. What would someone do differently if they could change the trajectory of their life? The person always returns to a pivotal moment in their life.

In this book there the main character, Nathaniel Moon is born as a new person and changed. The first glimpse of this is when he talks to his mother while still in the womb. At age four he discovers he can heal people.

This book brought in more philosophy or spirituality than the previous three books. This was a fairly short book and the ending seemed to come abruptly, but after finishing I can see that it was a good stopping point.

So far I'm still intrigued about this time travel concept and will continue the series.



Other Middle Falls Time Travel Series books:

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Review 568: Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This collection of 8 short stories took me longer to read than a typical book of similar length. It isn’t a long book either, under 250 pages. I think it is the format. It feels like the older I get the less I like short stories. Maybe I would have liked these better when I first got the book, over twenty years ago.

These stories had a little length to each, so they didn't feel like they ended entirely too early. One good thing about short stories is that if you don't like the characters, well it's over soon enough.

My favorite in the group was the last one: Doris is Coming. Here a high school student, Doris is trying to come to terms with the differences of black and while people. She is black and this is the 60s with Martin Luther King giving speeches, sit-ins at lunch counters and other protests. Doris doesn’t understand why her skin color should dictate a different drinking fountain.

All of the stories are told from the point of view of an African American, usually a young woman or girl. They are complete enough, more than many other short stories are. Some feel like they could be the beginning of a longer story, a few feel like what was given was enough.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Review 567: Uncertain Path

Uncertain Path: A Search for the Future of National Parks Uncertain Path: A Search for the Future of National Parks by William C. Tweed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A slightly academic book by someone who worked for the US National Park System for decades. After Tweed’s retirement he takes a month long hike through the Sierra Nevada mountains. This hike is used as the frame for the book in discussing how the national park’s underlying principles needs to change.

The key phrase used as the guiding principle since the agency was established in 1916 is that the parks will be preserved "unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Tweed writes extensively about how there are several problems with this phrasing. The inability to change, the word even, unimpaired, is going to be nearly impossible with the effects of climate change. Already there are visible stressors to the forests from the warming climate and other pollution levels. The last chapter offers some solutions, even possible new wordings.

However, the bulk of the book is about Tweed’s hiking trip through the sierras. A friend joins him for several weeks. They encounter other park rangers and have discussions about how they are looking for a missing hiker or someone who was abusing the rules. It makes these vast parks seems smaller than they actually are. The hike also has a way of introducing some of the history of the park service. When he hikes up a peak the name naturally introduces the reason why that name adorns that mountain.

There are extensive sections about who uses the park. Stock users, those who use pack animals to get into the high country, have a long tradition but it can be damaging to the trails and the meadows. Contrast with the backpackers whose motto is leave no trace behind. Tweed also comments on the change in backpackers, fewer of the younger generations find their entertainment in the Sierras. Some who do look at it as solely a challenge, who can hike the trail the fastest, or bag the most peaks. Then there’s those people that have traditionally not looked at the forest as a recreational avenue for them.

Perhaps the book’s purpose could be summed up by these words: “The parks will have to undergo a metamorphosis that provides them with both new management goals in tune with our contemporary scientific knowledge and a redefined societal role that attracts new generations of users. Nothing less will succeed.”



Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Review 566: The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue

The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A Story of Climate and Hope on One American Street The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A Story of Climate and Hope on One American Street by Mike Tidwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was a mix of personal story and climate change. Tidwell focuses on what was happening on his street and neighborhood, particularly the trees. The oaks dominated the streets, which had been thriving there for over a hundred years, and now were dying. Why? Tidwell finds out.
The answer to why happens to be yes from climate change, but not in a direct way such as it was hotter and the trees didn’t like the heat. No, instead it is a bit more complicated, and he shows the connections. It felt almost like a mystery the way it was laid out.

While the focus was on Tidwell’s neighborhood he isn’t entirely contained there, as he explores some of the science of solutions. The book is also fairly autobiographical, which makes it quite personable along with the other people who appear in his book, such as some of the neighbors.

Overall the book was quite readable and didn’t get bogged down with too many facts and figures or scientific jargon. One aspect that had me give this book a better rating was the book went beyond the effects of climate change and included solutions. Tidwell explored what is being done now to help get us out of this mess from all the carbon-dioxide that is already in our atmosphere, and how to prevent it from getting worse. There was a heavy focus on one of his scientific neighbors who won an X-prize for his idea of tree sequestration. This was a new concept to me, so I didn’t mind the extra pages devoted to this one solution.

I read this book from a published audiobook version that I got from my local library. The narrator did an excellent job and this could be a good way to read this book. However, I also had an eBook copy, which meant I got to see the images that are included at the beginning of each chapter. Some of the photos include his neighbors too.


Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.



Monday, April 7, 2025

Review 565: The Wandering Season

The Wandering Season The Wandering Season by Aimie K. Runyan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Interesting premise, but the writing lacked polish. There is a bit of magical realism in the book, but despite that there unexplained moments, such as understanding people speaking a different language. If it’s already magical there could have been just a short line explaining this.

The problems, unfortunately, did not end there. Too often, from the character’s POV, the reader is told something that the character would not know. Such as at a bakery in a city unknown to her she finds pastries that were made from recipes handed down through the generations. She does not know this, can only guess, but the wording in the book makes it seem she absolutely knew.

There were many instances where this type of thing occurred, and every time it pulled me out of the story. Also, many of the descriptions were not detailed, instead explained and used general words, such as modern and tasteful, well what exactly is that? It felt clunky and awkward whenever this occurred. Also, there was reliance on too many clichés, and way too many convenient coincidences.
Since this was an advance review copy I was reading, my hope is many of these things were fixed before publication.



I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thanks to HarperCollins Focus/Harper Muse and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Friday, April 4, 2025

Review 564: Tilt

Tilt Tilt by Emma Pattee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



A natural disaster strikes in Portland, Oregon and a woman is trying to make her way to her husband. She is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at Ikea when the world is turned upside down.

Annie talks to her unborn child, calling him Bean, explaining what is going on, what her life is like. More often says, your father instead of my husband or his name, Dom. Annie has unfilled dreams of being a playwright, only had one play produced while Dom is still exploring and trying to get famous working as an actor. This adds tension to their relationship, as he is still trying and she has effectively given up her dream.

The book is told in alternating timelines, the now then the past leading up to now, such as 17 years ago, 9 years ago, up to yesterday and earlier this morning.

The overall book is okay, not as engaging as I thought it might be, the subject matter wasn’t compelling to me as I hoped. The format of alternating time lines does work okay. The ending is somewhat open ended as the book really only takes place over one day.

Thursday, April 3, 2025

Review 563: The Ride

The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America by Kostya Kennedy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is a short biography and history about a famous transformative night, the ride that changed everything. Paul Revere was not alone on April 18, 1775 riding out to warn that an attack was imminent by the British soldiers, but his story is the one that best known. Revere’s ride was also the most effective, where William Dawes was a bit slower, or maybe not as personable as Revere.

The book provides a small amount of biography of Paul Revere. He was named after his father who was also Paul Revere, after he changed from his French name Apollos Rivoire. Revere was a bell ringer in 1750, a teenager then and pledged himself along with several other boys to always ring the bells at Old North Church at least one evening a week for a year.

Revere was given to joining societies and at twenty-five joined the Masons, the St. Andrew’s Lodge which was formed in dissent to the elite St. John’s Lodge whose members were mostly loyal to the Crown. This group of men grew close friendships through the years and tended toward rebellion and independence through the 1760s. It was through this group that Paul Revere became the man who rode the horse on that fateful night.

It felt momentous to read this as we approach the 250 year anniversary. While I knew about Paul Revere and his ride, as we are taught as children, this book filled in many details of the man and the night. The book is somewhat narrow, but not exclusively focused on the ride. I enjoyed learning a tidbit about his many generations later descendants who have been named Paul Revere and are carrying it through the years, with the youngest now being the 4th, although the Patriot Paul Revere is his six-times great-grandfather.


I listened to this book on audio, but did not particularly enjoy the narrator. The way he had of speaking is not a style that I liked, almost like shouting but not loudly. Perhaps it is a just a quirk of mine and others will have no problem with the narrator.



Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Macmillian Audio and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.



Saturday, March 22, 2025

Review 562: There Are Rivers in the Sky

There Are Rivers in the Sky There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars



There are three different story lines in the book. My favorite character is Arthur, named King Arthur of the Sewers and Slums. His name reflects where he was born and grew up, in extreme poverty. Arthur was an unusual boy as he had perfect memory, could even remember his birth, near the River Thames. Arthur’s time line is in the mid-1800s. His chapters are marked as O for oxygen, as the book has water as one of the themes.

The other two main characters are H for hydrogen. There is Zaleekhah, also in London and the most modern timeline in 2018. She is undergoing a change, a recent split with her husband and is a water scientist who just moved onto a houseboat. Then there is Narin, a young girl in Turkey and Iraq in 2014. Narin's story is the most unsettling, as her story is filled with persecution and horrendous treatment by others in her area, particularly ISIS.

All of the characters stories revolve around Mesopotamia, and the epic poem of Gilgamesh. There is only a slight intertwining of the three stories. This was good storytelling and well written. Quite enjoyed this book.

Much of the novel is based in historical fact, which makes it all the more poignant, particularly with the tragedies.

Friday, March 21, 2025

Review 561: The Sound and the Fury

The Sound and the Fury The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was a challenging book, one which I would have appreciated more in a lit class. I had to look up notes to understand what was going on. It is a stream of consciousness book, which is a format I tend to not like. This book is a good literary example of the usage and has been influential in the literary world. Perhaps this was an experimental book at the time, and I can appreciate author’s stretching the bounds of the novel, but typically they are a challenge to read. While I may appreciate it, my enjoyment is another matter.

Add to this mix, I listened to a newly released recording of the book. It made the challenges in the book even more so. The editing and narration of this version perhaps may have helped. There are multiple narrators. The first part which is of Benjamin, or Benjy’s voice, is the most confusing. It truly is all over the place, in time, place and had many different characters, all of this to represent his diminished mental capacities. In the narration there were many voices in the book, so it did help to separate out some of this confusion.

In the written text Faulkner used clues, such as colored text or italics to help the reader understand the shifts that were going on. This is not possible in audio, so the route I took was the more difficult one, or perhaps I should admit to making a mistake.

I also found out there was an appendix Faulkner wrote many years later that he wished would be included with all subsequent editions. Some call this the fifth part, and it may help to understand the family and the dynamics that are portrayed in this book. This was missing from the audio.

This is a book that needs multiple readings to fully understand and appreciate. Had I known what I was attempting by reading the first time in audio, I would have not done so, would have opted for a text version. That said, I do think this newer version with the multiple professional narrators did an excellent job. If this book is one to be revisited or already a favorite, audio may be the way to go. Or just plan on relistening to passages multiple times.

Monday, March 17, 2025

Review 560: Ice

Ice Ice by Anna Kavan
My rating: 2.75 of 5 stars



This is a surreal book with many dream sequences, or hallucinations tossed in that make it hard to know what is real or not. Certainly this was purposeful, but make for uncomfortable reading experience. None of the characters or places are named. The story is about an impending world catastrophe that ices over the planet, meanwhile war is breaking out everywhere.

The narrator is a man who is involved in the war somehow, maybe in intelligence, it isn’t clearly explained. He is haunted by this woman who he almost asked to marry. She is portrayed as childlike, very thin, an albino with silvery white hair, and was raised in such a way that is very docile. He was careful with her, trying to gain her trust, when suddenly this other man married her. Thus the three main characters. This other man is very dominant.

The narrator has these awful dreams about the woman, sometimes they seem to be waking visions of what happened, but he couldn’t actually know this. The narrator often makes statements like “Reality had always been something of an unknown quality to me”, or “it dawned on me that this was reality and the other a dream”. Yet these statements don’t always come with the altered sequence of events.

The narrator can’t stop pursuing her, at times he feels like he is saving her from the other man, or from the imminent emergency. It is cold, snowing artic weather. He travels by boat, plane, or car, whatever means he can get. He ends up in an unnamed town, unnamed country, time and again. He always seems to get arrangements yet it usually isn’t explained how he contacts these people, how he knows to get on this boat at this specific time.

The woman seems to have no say in her life. She is roughly handled by her husband, or this other man, who seems to be her husband, but in different countries. It’s never very clear. He is kept up in a room, not able to leave. Our narrator tries over and over to get to her, to see her, and when he does she wants him to leave her alone. She is often called a girl. It’s uncomfortable to read.
Yet some of this is Kavan blending in her own life into fiction. She had two failed marriages, the men pursued her and she felt she had no say in her life. She travels around during WWII trying to escape the fighting, and this matches the book, although the female is not in control, was Kavan during this time? I don’t know enough about her biography.

The foreword placed this book into the genre of slipstream, not quite science fiction, but blending into other genres. Other authors in this category include J.G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick, and Haruki Murakami to name a few. I think this (new to me) category works well. The book is sometime in an unnamed future, with an ecological world collapse, covering everything with artic snow and ice.

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Review 559: The King's Messenger

The King's Messenger The King's Messenger by Susanna Kearsley
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars



This is a somewhat predictable book, taking place in England and Scotland in 1613. The bulk of the story is an adventure taken on behalf of King James. The King's Messenger, Andrew Logan, is tasked to bringing Sir David Murray from Edinburgh, Scotland to the King to answer on charges of the death of Prince Henry. This is quite a long journey in those days. And Logan is not to go alone, but to bring a scribe with him to record all of what Sir David says along the way.

The King assigns the elder Laurence Westaway as the scribe, and his daughter Phoebe insists on going along to take care of her father. Phoebe has known Logan most of her life and very much dislikes him, and has a paramour waiting her return, a nobleman Valentine Fox. In Edinburgh a young stable lad hoping to become a King’s messenger someday as well is added to the party.

The story took the POV of four characters: Andrew, David, Phoebe and Queen Anna. Overall this was written well, an enjoyable read.

The author’s note, or “About the Characters” section at the end the book was quite long and detailed. Likely one of the longest I’ve encountered, but it is well worth reading.

I listened to the book via audio, which had two narrators Angus King and Beth Eyre, who did an excellent job.




Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark, RB Media/Recorded Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Review 558: A Lesser Light

A Lesser Light A Lesser Light by Peter Geye
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars



A fictional account of a mis-matched couple in the early 20th century. Theodulf Sauer is from a prominent family in Duluth and the now in charge of the Gininwabiko Lighthouse and the other watchers, on the shore of Lake Superior. She is much younger, Willa Brandt Sauer, ripped out of Radcliffe College where she studied astronomy, due to the death of her father.

Now Willa and her mother are stranded without funds or ability to get by, so a quick marriage of convenience to Theodulf was arranged. They don’t get along from day one, it is a marriage of convenience and they hardly seem to even try to be friendly with each other. They had met because of her piano playing. Theodulf was taken by her rendition of Moonlight Sonata. It reminds him of the one time he was truly happy, in Paris when he met and had a brief affair with Paul. Being of a strict religious family this type of behavior is not tolerated, thus the need for a wife.

This is a long book and things move slowly. There aren’t many characters, but the solitary neighbor girl, Silje is quite a character herself, and my favorite in the book. I was intrigued by the premise of lighthouse and the watchers, and it was satisfied as the lighthouse has a prominent place in the book.


 

Thanks to the University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

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