The Whiskey Rebels by David LissMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Friday, July 24, 2026
Monday, July 20, 2026
Friday, July 17, 2026
Review: In an Old Hawaiian Garden: An Album of Hawaii's Flowers
In an Old Hawaiian Garden: An Album of Hawaii's Flowers by Don BlandingMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a very short book, can easily be read in under an hour. Although if you’re one to peer for a long time at a drawing of a flower and contemplate the accompanying poem it may take longer.
There are under twenty of these flowers that can be found in Hawaii. The poems are six or eight lines which praise the flower on the opposing page. The poems are okay, nothing that seems remarkable. The images are done fairly realistically but have a sort of soft focus as well.
My copy, which came to me through generations of my family (my great-grandmother knew the author) also includes an insert about where you can buy the images for framing so as not to cut up the book itself. It also advertises other paper products with these images, like stationary or cards. I'm sure those are no longer available now since this was published in the 1940s.
The description in goodreads about this book is incorrect, as there are more than 8 flowers in the book, although maybe only that many are native to Hawaii and the others are not native. I’m not sure about the horticulture history.
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Review: The Virgin of Waikiki: A Torrid Tragedy of the Tropics
The Virgin of Waikiki: A Torrid Tragedy of the Tropics by Don BlandingMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is a very short book, a poem, only one, that can easily be read in just a few minutes of time. There is a very short introduction by the publisher which states the author delivered this poem at an event and, “It was felt that a number of appreciative souls who were not present…were deserving of the pleasure which this rare and piquant piece affords to Epicurean literary tastes.” The first printing was a small private batch, when quickly sold out there was another, then this third which seems to be the first to include the illustrations.
I am not a fan of the poem, the drawings that accompanied the text, however, I did enjoy. This was printed in 1933, so the humor and social mores were different during that time.
The poem is about a “spinster” woman aged 40, living in Waikiki near the beach, who was still a virgin. Spoilers: (view spoiler)
The very end of the book contained an envelop of types that covered up the last image, or maybe page. Since it was already opened, I cannot be certain of exactly what was hidden.
The poem was a simple rhyming scheme. I will hold out on my opinion on Blanding’s writing overall until I read a longer work of his. I do have several of those, as this book and several others belonged to my great-grandmother, who knew the author. They were in a writing group together, although she never published. The books have been handed down through the generations, with the latest from my dad to me a few years back.
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Thursday, July 16, 2026
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Review: Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage
Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage by Edith B. GellesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Highly enjoyed this biography of Abigail and John Adams. The book perhaps was more of a biography of Abigail than of John.
Both Abigail Smith and John Adams came from pious backgrounds with families well established in America before the revolution. They married while John was 29 and Abigail just 19. And quickly after their marriage their lifelong habit of letter writing began, as John being a lawyer, would travel to the various colonies for work. This also established a pattern for their marriage with John being absent from home much of the time.
Since they were great letter writers and their correspondence survives, even to their numerous relatives and friends, it enables books like this. The book was not so narrow to only discuss their marriage. It is a wider biography which discusses their entire lives. Such as how John became involved with the revolution, and the long years apart while he was in Europe serving the new country while Abigail dealt with living in a revolutionary war zone, while managing a farm. During this time women did not own property or assets, yet to keep the family afloat Abigail bought land and other assets in John’s name. She even started trading goods to keep the family afloat during this time of struggle.
There is a lot of material here in the book. To note, one surprising fact is how their young boys spent many years apart from one parent or another, or often both. The family believed in Duty and their children learned the lesson well. Duty to others came before self. The youngest boy barely knew his father as John was in Europe for much of his life.
It was noticeable the author’s opinion that John Adams was not a monarchist, as many of his detractors, and historians state. She proves this several times in the book. This being the only book about him I’ve read, I cannot say, but she makes a convincing argument.
Their lives are quite detailed, until we get to the post-presidency of John Adams and near the end of their lives. Other than discussing the renewed friendship with Thomas Jefferson, the latter era is glossed over. Now I would like to read a biography of their eldest son John Quincy Adams, he had an unusual childhood.
I had this book for many years, not sure why I waited so long to read it. This year of a focus on American history finally gave me the impetus needed.
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Friday, July 10, 2026
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Monday, July 6, 2026
Thursday, July 2, 2026
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Friday, June 26, 2026
Thursday, June 25, 2026
Review: Burn Down Master's House
Burn Down Master's House by Clay CaneMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
In the introduction the author states this book will make you uncomfortable and he definitely achieved that. We have four stories that could be four individual short stories. However, they build on each other. The main character in each story changes, but in the last they all come together more fully. The book takes place in the time of slavery in the South in United States with the main characters being enslaved, with a couple of exceptions.
The first story introduces us to Magnolia Row, the plantation, one of the cruelest in the area. After the events in this story the slaves scatter. The characters in all of the stories are all related in some way to Magnolia Row. In the last story the civil war has begun.
Each character finds a way to fight for their freedom, often in brutal way, paying retribution on their masters. But not always. In one story we have Charity Butler who is gains her freedom (for a time) by the laws in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This story in particular is based on true events.
Several other aspects of these stories are historically accurate. It does take some of the more brutal parts of history, but also shows how people persevered and reclaimed their lives. The book overall feels one sided, with very minimal white people being decent. The characters are not very nuanced. However, it does have one black man being just as cruel when becoming a slaveowner himself.
I listened to the audio which is narrated by the author, but did not really enjoy the narration style. It made a difficult book even more difficult to get through. The words were enunciated very deliberately and slowly, with a pause after every word. I had to speed up the narration more than I typically would to find a better reading pace, which helped. If there is any interest in reading this book my suggestion is to avoid the audiobook.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Thursday, June 18, 2026
Review: The Autobiography of My Mother
The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica KincaidMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
After taking a Caribbean literature class in college I bought this book, then did not read it. So after a couple of decades it was finally time. I went into the book somewhat blindly knowing nothing about the story.
Xuela Claudette Richardson was born without a mother as she died in childbirth. Her father, not knowing what to do with her gave her to his laundress as if she was dirty laundry. This woman did not love her. Her father ruled her life, to some extent, but was distant and one could hardly say he loved her. She was born of mixed race in Dominica. Her father sent her to school, actually more schooling than would be expected of a girl in that country. She did not make any close friends. Zuela instead would find what she needed from her own self. She could only rely in her own mind and body.
For much of the book it is somewhat sexual but the language used is not graphic nor what you may find in most typical books. It is the language that propels this book. It is poetic it is sensual.
Zuela’s world is a harsh one. That she claims herself and knows what she wants is amazing. She makes no apologies, lives fully in the world where she is born into, surprising self-accomplishment.
The book is all Zuela’s words of her mind and very little interaction with others as far as dialogue. Yet it works. This is to be read for language and writing style, not so much for the content. And that is what my rating reflects.
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Monday, June 15, 2026
Review: The Good Girl
The Good Girl by Mary KubicaMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Decided to try this audio book which I’ve had for a long while and got for free from audible, who knows why. It could be classified as a thriller, or a police procedural, maybe a mystery. There was a kidnapping. The book reveals the details it in real time and after the fact. This is not my favorite genre, but just having the book propels me to read it, get it off the TBR.
Mia is kidnapped from a bar, where she was to meet her boyfriend, who cancelled again to work late. The before time line is not perfectly linear, but mostly and describes what happened, mostly from Colin’s point of view, but we also get Mia’s mother, Eve and her view of before. One other voice is the police detective trying to solve the case.
The kidnapper, Colin or Own, was to hand her over to another guy who was running the show. The problem is the kidnapper didn't want to see this woman hurt or killed, which would happen if he had handed her over. So he takes her to a remote cabin in the woods to figure out what to do.
The other time line, after, is the current time line. This is when Mia is now back at home recovering. She has memory loss of what happened those months she was missing, she also only responds to a different name. Mia goes to therapy, the mother tries to take care of Mia and the detective is still trying to fully solve this case.
In the audiobook there were multiple narrators, one for each character. I don’t mind this type of narration, and sometimes prefer it. In the end the book was okay, and as seemingly typical there are a few twists that were not that surprising.
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