Author: Michael Quinn
Genre: Self-Help
Publisher: Lightening Source, Inc, 2015
Pages: 105
Rating: Highly Recommend
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.
Author: Marie Benedict
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks, 2016
Pages: 336
Rating: Recommend
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.
Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press, 2023
Pages: 368
Rating: Recommend
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
Author: David Kessler
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Hay House, Inc., 2011
Pages: 192
Rating: Recommend
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.
Author: Rhys Bowen
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Amazon Publishing, 2024
Pages: 379
Rating: Recommend
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
