Shelby Van Pelt

Fiction 2022 | 360 pages

I finished this book about two hours ago and am still smiling about how the title emerges near the end of book.

Once again, a debut novel that astonishes me! The story is scrumptious!  Marcellus McSwiddles is a Giant Pacific Octopus who cannot only think and feel as humans do, but also figures out how to let himself out of his tank every night.  Remarkably, the information about octopuses in this novel is true.  They are warm and intelligent and really do know how to unscrew a jar!  (You will likely learn a few octopus facts.  I did!)

Tova, our main character, cleans at the Sowell Bay Aquarium (a fictional town in Washington).  She is 70, widowed, and also grieving the loss of her son Eric when he was 18.  Tova and Marcellus develop a beautiful relationship, as she helps him navigate his excursions outside his tank.  At the beginning of the book, Marcellus determines that he can be outside this tank for 18 minutes before he encounters "The Consequences."

The novel, however, is not only about Tova and Marcellus, but also about Cameron.  The first few times we meet Cameron, who lives in California, is 30, and cannot hold onto a job or a relationship or any sense of stability, we don't know who is he is or how he will fit into the story.  But eventually, all is revealed, And Cameron and his relationship with Tova are a central theme of the book.  Well, perhaps THE central theme.

This book is warm-hearted, delightful, hard to put down.  The characters have depth, the story line is surprisingly interesting, and the short sections written by Marcellus will tickle you!  Do not hesitate to read this debut novel as soon as possible.  What will she write next?  I have joined her email list so that I will know!

October 2023

Rainbow Rowell

Fiction 2012/ 323 pages

A clever plot .... Lincoln is hired by the Courier, a local newspaper, to provide internet security.  A specific part of his job is to read emails that have swear words in them or some other messages that seem inappropriate for the workplace.  A piece of software called WebFence flags these emails and puts them in a folder for Lincoln to read.  Lincoln has the ability to send people warning notices to cease and desist.

Lincoln is uncomfortable with his job .... he works nights and feels like a Peeping Tom.  But then WebFence captures some emails between best friends Jennifer and Beth, and Lincoln becomes an e-mail voyeur.  He falls in love with Beth, without ever meeting her or even seeing her.

Meanwhile, Beth keeps seeing this "Really Cute Guy" at work, though she never finds out his name or what he does at The Courier.

Of course, you know from this summary where the plot will take us.

As I say, it is a clever plot.  However, its execution is a little too "cutesy" for me.  The book is an easy, entertaining read, but I cannot find a truly redeeming reason to recommend it.   It is entertainment and nothing more.  And so, read it if you want something light and fluffy.  And cutesy.

October 2023

Kim Richardson

Fiction 2019 | 320 pages

(I do not know how to put two photos in my blog, so I am leaving the book cover out and using this photo of the Fugate family instead).

The truth:  The Blue Fugates were a family from Eastern Kentucky, notably recognized for their blue skin, a genetic condition passed down over generations.  The peculiar story of the Fugate family begins with a French orphan named Martin Fugate. In 1820, Fugate claimed a land grant in Eastern Kentucky on the banks of Troublesome Creek.  He, and four of his seven children, were blue.  They married and had children, and the number of blue people in eastern Kentucky grew.

The blue-skinned Kentuckians existed for 200 years, until modern science discovered the genetic reason.  The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is historical fiction.  The story, the characters are fiction, but the contextual facts are true.

And what a delightful story this is!  Not only did I fall in love with our main character, Cussy Mary (aka "Bluet"), but the writing thrilled me.  Cussy Marie is 19 years old for much of our story, which takes place in 1936.  She is a "book woman."  She rides her mule Junia into the hills five days a week, delivering books, magazines, and other reading materials to extremely poor and very remote homesteads. She is also "colored" by the definition of that time, and experiences all the disrespect and brutality of those times.  She lives alone with her father, who is dying from the grim, sad, and ubiquitous employment in Kentucky, coal mining.

I had many examples of the writing that tickled my inner logophile. Here is a short one.   "Junia raised her upper lip and nibbled the breeze with tall, talking teeth."  (End of chapter six).  I love the visual!

There is a sequel; I intend to read it.

Yes, certainly, read this novel.  You will be glad.

October 2023

Mónica Guzmán

Nonfiction 2022 | 257 pages

The author's personal experiences and convictions make this a very plausible and realistic telling.  She stays in conversation with and continues to love her parents who are Mexican immigrants (she was only allowed to speak Spanish at home) and avid supporters of Trump, while she describes herself as a moderate liberal, who voted for Hilary Clinton.  She is SO committed to listening, finding common ground, respecting, thinking ... with these two people who are very important to her.

This book is really grounded in creating relationships across difficult differences, such as politics, values, race, gender, guns, health care .... However, the skills, tools, and ideas apply in ALL relationships!  I was thinking about a difficult conversation I had recently, and how I stepped over some of what Monica Guzman tells us about curiosity, listening, bonding, assumptions, getting traction, clarity, honesty, attachment and non-attachment.  (Okay, I didn’t step over ALL these skills in my difficult conversation, but you get the idea…!)  Her writing is engaging, light, and it opened me up to new ideas.  She also includes a lot of (IMHO) cute little graphics.

I recommend this book, yes.  Whether you are on a journey to bridge the divides we are facing, or simply want more self-development, you will find some gems in here.

September 2023

Richard Osman

Fiction 2021/ 355 pages

The Man Who Died Twice is the second book in Osman's "Thursday Murder Club Mystery" series.  As with The Thursday Murder Club (see my review in August), we are privileged to be a part of the four-member Thursday Murder Club and watch the (often brilliant, often humorous) interactions of Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim. These characters remain interesting, sometimes surprising, always engaging of the reader.

20 million in diamonds (nearly $25 million in US dollars) are at the center of this mystery.  Did Douglas (Elizabeth's former husband) actually steal them?  And why does he come back to her to protect him when his life is at stake?  And the subplot ... who stole Ibrahim's cell phone and beat him up severely?  Both of these plots are interesting and complex, and you cannot miss the love between the four main characters.

I enjoyed The Man Who Died Twice but am giving it three hearts instead of four because the denouement, the solving of the mysteries, is overly complicated, with a variety of minor characters. I am no mystery writer, and I assume it is difficult to craft a meaningful yet hidden "who done it and how was it done" mystery, but I became lost at the roles some of the minor characters played.  I wish we had the same cops (love Chris and Donna and don't need additional investigators), and a sufficiency, but not a plethora, of supportive characters to add juice to the mystery.

I will give Osman the benefit of the doubt and have just requested the third book in the series, The Bullet that Missed, from the library. The Man Who Died Twice was an enjoyable read, but not as engaging as his first book.

September 2023

Jim Defede

Nonfiction 2002 | 244 pages

This is a fascinating and inspiring story that I certainly missed, and perhaps you did, too. On 9/11, thirty-eight jetliners bound for the United States (commercial, military, and private) were forced to land at Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada.  6595 passengers and crew and a dozen animals descended on this town with a population of 10,000.  This is the inspiring story of how the people (the heroes) of Gander cared for stranded passengers with gestures of friendship and acts of kindness and goodwill.

The unintentional visitors were housed in schools, the VA Hall, the Salvation Army, churches, and townsfolk's homes.  The town rose to the occasion, taking the sheets off their beds and the towels and sheets from their linen closet to these locales.  The people of Gander cooked for them, provided showers, medicine, toys, access to phones, beer and most of all, listening ears and hearts filled with compassion. Local businesses such as WalMart and Canadian Tire donated camping equipment and as many clean clothes as they could scrounge up.

It is a hopeful record of the best of humanity ... generous, thoughtful, and deeply caring.  Gander embraced all these strangers for four or five or six days, dropped everything else they were doing, and made these temporary refugees very welcome.

This isn't a long book, and is certainly an easy read.  Frankly, I think we all could benefit from reading this book, and regaining a modicum of hope in our world and caring for our co-inhabitants on Planet Earth.

September 2023

Gu Byeong-Mo

Fiction 2013, 280 pages

This is a story of an organization that provides contract killing services for clients.  The killers, who receive assignments and work on their own, have names like Hornclaw and Bullfight.  Reading about their killings and their relationships with each other seems to have no redeeming value.  Besides, I find the book poorly written.  120 pages in, I am moving on to some other read.

Keep looking elsewhere for your end-of-summer novel!  That is what I am going to do.

September 2023

Pema Chödrön

Nonfiction 2022 | 221 pages

This is one of the more engaging, interesting, inspiring, and provocative books on my recent spiritual quest.  Thank you for the recommendation, my friend.

Chödrön talks about death from a Buddhist perspective, but you need not be Buddhist to gain insight and wisdom from How We Live is How We Die.  As with many (all?) spiritual writings, I think you will take what you are ready to take from Chödrön's writing.  A few concepts and teachings that particularly resonated with me, I include below.

One specific teaching that I especially appreciate is “using our emotions as the path to awakening." She speaks to the five "kleshas" or negative emotions (craving, aggression, ignorance, jealousy, and pride), and how, when we are able to 1) refrain from reacting and 2) adopt a positive view of these emotions, and 3) use these emotions as the path to awakening, we can gain the wisdom that each of these emotions teaches us.  If we build these habits as we live, we will be able to face death with curiosity and learning, and not fear.  Whatever klesha consumes us most frequently and most powerfully is the one we can gain the most wisdom from.

I also found quite fascinating the "stages of dissolution " or the changes our bodies and minds experience as we journey near to death: earth into water (body feels heavy, sight disappears), water into fire (feel thirsty, hearing goes), fire into air (feel cold, smell goes), air into consciousness (hard to breathe, taste goes), consciousness into space (respiration ceases, touch goes).

What you take with you into death are your "propensities."  Your propensities follow you into the death process.  For example, if you have a propensity for anger, you are likely to be angry as you die.  But we can change our propensities now.

There are some concepts Chödrön presents that I have heard too many times, or that simply do not resonate with me.  I will be curious to hear what resonates with you, if you take me up on this recommended and satisfying read.

September 2023