October 31, 2024

Chop Wood, Carry Water

Author: Michael Quinn
Genre: Self-Help
Publisher: Lightening Source, Inc, 2015
Pages: 105
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Guided by "Akira-sensei," John comes to realize the greatest adversity on his journey will be the challenge of defeating the man in the mirror. This powerful story of one boy's journey to achieve his life long goal of becoming a samurai warrior, brings the Train to be CLUTCH curriculum to life in a powerful and memorable way.

Review: This book is excellent, and maybe the best I've ever read in this genre. So much good information, and I found myself wanting to share this book with everyone I know.

October 30, 2024

The Other Einstein

Author: Marie Benedict
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks, 2016
Pages: 336
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: This novel resurrects Einstein's wife, a brilliant physicist in her own right, whose contribution to the special theory or relativity is hotly debated. Was she simply Einstein's sounding board, an assistant performing complex mathematical equations? Or did she contribute something more?

Mitza Maric has always been a little different from the other girls. Most twenty-year-olds are wives by now, not studying physics at an elite Zurich university with only male students trying to outdo her clever calculations. But Mitza is smart enough to know that, for her, math is an easier path than marriage. Then fellow student Albert Einstein takes an interest in her, and the world turns sideways. Theirs becomes a partnership of the mind and of the heart, but there might not be room for more than one genius in a marriage.

Review: My sister recommended this book, and toward the end I texted her, "Einstein, what a jerk." My prior issue with Marie Benedict is that she doesn't take a deep dive into her subject matter, but that concern is unfounded in this novel. I'm glad someone finally told Mileva Maric Einstein's story, even if the author did have to fill in some of the gaps herself.

October 15, 2024

Zero Days

Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press, 2023
Pages: 368
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect - her.

Review: With the completion of Zero Days, I have read all of Ruth Ware's novels. After reading two Ruth Ware novels back-to-back with similar plots and feel, this was a refreshing change. 

Ruth Ware Novels
One by One
One Perfect Couple
The Death of Mrs. Westaway
The It Girl
The Lying Game
The Turn of the Key
The Woman in Cabin 10

October 14, 2024

Visions, Trips, and Crowded Rooms: Who and What You See Before You Die

Author: David Kessler
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Hay House, Inc., 2011
Pages: 192
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: David Kessler, one of the most renowned experts on death and grief, takes on three uniquely shared experiences that challenge our ability to explain and fully understand the mystery of our final days.

The first is "visions." As the dying lose sight of this world, some people appear to be looking into the world to come. The second shared experience is getting ready for a "trip." The phenomenon of preparing oneself for a journey isn't new or unusual. In fact, during our loved ones' last hours, they may often think of their impending death as a transition or journey. These trips may seem to us to be all about leaving, but for the dying, they may be more about arriving. Finally, the third phenomenon is "crowded rooms." The dying often talk about seeing a room full of people, as they constantly repeat the word crowded. In truth, we never die alone. Just as loving hands greeted us when we were born, so will loving arms embrace us when we die. In the tapestry of life and death, we may begin to see connections to the past that we missed in life. While death may look like a loss to the living, the last hours of a dying person may be filled with fullness rather than emptiness.

Review: First, a little back story. I was close to my maternal grandmother, and she passed two weeks before my youngest child was born. She was 96 yeas old and had told me nearly one year earlier, on her birthday, that she did not want to live to see 97. She was ready to be reunited with her family, all of whom had passed on before her, her husband, and it was time to just rest. Her mind was good, but her body was failing.

I was at peace with her passing. I had her in my life for 37 years, she had met my daughters and they were old enough to have lasting memories. There was nothing left unsaid, and she had told me herself that she was ready. I attended her funeral, very very pregnant, but not going was never an option.

I packed my bags and had my closure, or so I thought.

She passed away on February 1, and my son was born on February 15. Either later on the 15th, or it could have been the 16th, he and I were alone in the hospital room. He was napping, and I was in that weird in-between state between awake and asleep. Laying there with my eyes closed and about to drift off, I felt my grandmother speak to me. Right in my ear I felt her say, "he's perfect, and we love him." At the same time, eyes still closed, I had a vision of a veil (or scrim), and behind it a mass of people (unrecognizable to me) standing shoulder-to-shoulder, and as far back as I could see. Trying to see both my grandmother and those who were in the room with us behind the veil, I rolled my head from side to side against the pillow and struggled to open my eyes. Finally, I forced my eye muscles to work and wrenched them open. I saw a flash of burgundy, the color of the only winter coat I ever remembered her wearing, and she was gone.

I've reflected on this experience for almost a decade now. When this book came to my attention, it was a no-brainer to read it. I had a glimpse into life after death.

October 9, 2024

The Rose Arbor

Author: Rhys Bowen
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Amazon Publishing, 2024
Pages: 379
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: London 1968: Liz Houghton is languishing as an obituary writer at a London newspaper when a young girl's disappearance captivates the city. If Liz can break the story, it's her way into the newsroom. She already has a scoop: her best friend, Marisa, is a police officer assigned to the case. Liz follows Marisa to Dorset, where they make another disturbing discovery. Over two decades earlier, three girls disappeared while evacuating from London. One was found murdered in the woods near a train line. The other two were never seen again.

As Liz digs deeper, she finds herself drawn to the village of Tydeham, which was requisitioned by the military during the war and left in ruins. After all these years, what could possibly link the missing girls to this abandoned village? And why does a place Liz has never seen before seem so strangely familiar?

Review: I enjoy Rhys Bowen's historical fiction. This novel was a bit different than others I've read. Since becoming a mom, I've had a really hard time reading novels where children are injured, abused, or kidnapped, and this had it all. As a result this took me longer to read than a Rhys Bowen novel typically would. The way this wrapped up had 1960s Nancy Drew mystery vibes. 

Other Rhys Bowen Novels
Above the Bay of Angels
In Farleigh Field
The Tuscan Child
The Venice Sketchbook
Where the Sky Begins

September 30, 2024

One by One

Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Gallery / Scout Press, 2021
Pages: 384
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Getting snowed in at a luxurious, rustic ski chalet high in the French Alps doesn't like the worst problem in the world. Especially when there's a breathtaking vita, a full-service chef and housekeeper, a cozy fire to keep you warm, and others to keep you company. Unless that company happens to be eight coworkers. . .each with something to gain, something to lose, and something to hide.

When the co-founder of Snoop, a trendy London-based tech start-up, organizes a week-long trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other: PowerPoint presentations and strategy sessions broken up by mandatory bonding on the slopes. But as soon as one shareholder upends the agenda by pushing a lucrative but contentious buyout offer, tensions simmer and loyalties are tested. The storm brewing inside the chalet is no match for the one outside, however, and a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world. Even worse, one Snooper hadn't made it back from the slopes when an avalanche hit.

As each hour passes without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further. . .one by one.  

Review: I wondered if I should read One by One so soon after reading One Perfect Couple since the premise sounded similar. There were some differences, but yeah, basically the same book. One by One was the more interesting of the two. It was also published four years earlier. 

Ruth Ware Novels
One Perfect Couple
The Death of Mrs. Westaway
The It Girl
The Lying Game
The Turn of the Key
The Woman in Cabin 10
Zero Days

September 17, 2024

Women Behind the Wheel

Author: Nancy A. Nichols
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Pegasus Books, 2024
Pages: 240
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: Since their inception cars have defined American culture, but until quite recently car histories were largely written by and about men - with little attention given to the fascinating story of women and cars.

In this engaging non-fiction narrative, Nancy A. Nichols, the daughter of a used car salesman, uses the cars her father sold and the ones her family drove to tell a larger story about how the  car helped to define modern womanhood. From her sister's classic Mustang to her mother's Chevy Convertible to her own Honda minivan, Nichols tells a personal story in order to shed light on a universal one.

Cars helped women secure the right to vote, change the nature of romance, and influenced both fashion and child rearing customs. In the just over 100 years since their inception, cars have created possibilities for commerce and romance even as they expose
d women to new kinds of danger.

Women Behind the Wheel explores the uniquely gendered landscape of the automobile, detailing the many reasons why cars are both more expensive and more dangerous for women drivers.

The automobile is on the cusp of momentous change. As we advance into the era of electric, connected, and autonomous vehicles, Nichols shows us why we should hit the brakes and look back in the rear-view mirror at this long and fascinating history.

Review: This book did not know what it wanted to be. The author tried a mash-up of a memoir and non-fiction, and I think had she chosen one or other, the book would have been more successful and more interesting. As a big fan of road trips and travel and general, I usually enjoy reading books about the history of transportation, but this one didn't do it for me.