Dead Wake - Erik Larson

Nerd alert. I love history and I love military history, but my brain always seems to jump from the American Civil War to WWII. I recently read a book about the Napoleonic Wars in Europe (you can read that review here). After reading this book, it seems that Europe was still confused about whether they were fighting the Napoleonic wars in 1915. 

Trench warfare is awful.

Anyway, a lot of the assumptions I had about the Lusitania were wrong. I thought the US went to war right after the Lusitania was sunk. Wrong. I thought the Lusitania was a US ship. Wrong. 

So amid all of these wrong facts, I somehow forgot that in May 1915, the Lusitania was filled with people. Mothers, fathers, children, babies, sons, wives, Vanderbilts! And that's all so sad and tragic. Larson really hits home with the descriptions of families trying to stay together as the ship went down. Even though the water was warmer than the Titanic sinking, the speed at which the ship sank, the 55 degree water, and the distance from shore really made surviving difficult for the passengers. 

The narration of the audio version was slightly irritating as it was a bit too over dramatic, but all in all I really liked this book and learning more about the events precipitating WWI.

4/5 Stars.

Mini Reviews - Filling my Days with Harry Potter Shorts

I know it seems like all I've been doing lately is reading Harry Potter related things (like the play Cursed Child, or the Screenplay for Fantastic Beasts). I probably am due to go ahead and re-read the entire 7 book original series. There's a certain catharsis in reliving all the Harry Potter moments. But when Kindle offers me a $1.99 deal on reading some Harry Potter shorts, well, then, just take my money Amazon. Just take it.



A good collection of Pottermore descriptions which I appreciate being put into an anthology so I don't have to dig around on the site to find.

I'm a total sucker for anything that includes J.K. Rowling's name (or let's be honest, even her fake name) on it. This collection is a testament to the rich world she created with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone. 

Keep creating J.K. I'm ready for anything.





This was a short volume Rowling wrote to raise money for Comic Relief. Written in full Harry Potter world form, the book gives the history of Quidditch from the middle ages through present day. 

It was fun to read about the possible fouls and early forms of Quidditch. A short delightful read for anyone who loves the world of Harry Potter.

U is for Undertow - Sue Grafton

At this point I'm going to assume Grafton has changed up her writing style and we're going to get different points of view from different characters and different time frames in future books. This isn't a complaint, it actually works well but I think this is the fourth book now that has had some shifting timelines and perspectives so it's safe to say that this is the new format to expect.

In this book, Kinzie is hired by Michael Sutton who has been inspired by a newspaper report about an old kidnapping, to come forward with some very old information. The police can't do anything with Michael's vague tip, so he turns to Kinzie. Michael remembers seeing two men digging a hole twenty years earlier, but he didn't know who they were and he wasn't entirely sure what they were burying. 

When the eventual spot is found and exhumed, the only thing buried is an old dead dog. But, Kinsey being Kinsey, she can't quite let go of the thread. So even though her day's work for Sutton is over, she continues to work the problem on her own. 

In the mix is a neighbor dealing with her son's poor choices, a neighbor coming to terms with his poor choices, and a sudden appearance of Kinsey's relatives. 

This book finally finally finally gave us some movement on Kinsey's estranged relationship with her cousins. I don't know why I'm surprised, but it's great to see that after so many novels, Kinsey can still continue to grow as a character.

3.5/5 Stars.

The Girl who Fought Napoleon - Linda Lafferty

I recently had to travel to Seattle for work. The most concrete way I can explain the length of time it takes to get out there (with a layover at O'Hare) is to say that I finished two books during my trip. I received The Girl Who Fought Napoleon from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

I'm a little torn on what I ultimately think of the book. It was entertaining and informative. The author used fantastic source material. Turns out, that during the end of Catherine the Great's reign as Tsar in Russia, there did live a girl, Nadezhda Durova who left home and joined the calvary, disguised as a young man, and went on to fight in the Napoleonic wars for Russia. She did, indeed have a close relationship with Catherine's grandson, the eventual Tsar Alexander I. Later in life, Durov wrote her own biography, which Lafferty used as source material.

So the basis and the general story were great, but in parts it felt like the book was trying to do too much. Aside from Durov and Alexander, we also get snippets from Napoleon's POV which seemed unnecessary as well as fleeting insights from rather minor characters due to a 3d person omniscient point of view during chapters that were not about Durov. At some points, these details seemed completely unnecessary, at at others, there were moments where I wondered why the reader was left in the dark. Amid all of this, the timeline jumped around a lot too. One chapter would be 1799 and then the next would be 1795 and then back to 1799 until finally Durov and Alexander's timelines matched up toward the second half of the novel. It seemed a bit overdone for me - as if the editor wasn't giving the reader enough credit for being able to be away from one particular story for a long time.

And at times, the research got a little lazy. Towards the end of the novel, when Alexander is marching into Paris (1814), the novel notes a young French boy watching the events unfold - Jules Verne. Verne is best known for his adventure novels, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. But, Verne wasn't born until 1828, so he couldn't have been present at Alexander's march into Paris. It was this kind of detail, totally gratuitous and then historically inaccurate, which undercut some of the authentic feel of the book. And while I realize that this ultimately is a work of historical fiction - I like the events to at least be possible. 

The writing itself was well done for this type of story. The prose wasn't overly difficult impacting the speed of the narrative. Durov herself seemed to be given a lot of accolades for her fighting in the war, but considering most of the details of her actions involve her getting yelled at for making stupid mistakes in battle, I'm not really sure how this came about. The end chapter was also a bit grating, as we see an elder Durov coming to terms with her life story - both the outward one she wanted to project, and the actual slightly seedier details she sought to hide. The author's choice to keep these details to the end, when it landed with more confusion than shock, fell flat for me. 

3/5 Stars.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Screenplay) - J.K. Rowling

This is the first screenplay I have ever read and there was a definite learning curve over the first few scenes in the book. But once I caught the rhythm, this was a fast and fun read. I love the world of Harry Potter, I've read all those books through several time (not this year, I had too ambitious a reading goal for the year) and I recently read the libretto for London play Cursed Child (this is the Harry Potter "sequel" - oh what am I telling you for, you are reading a review of Fantastic Beasts, you're probably aware of what Cursed Child is, you can read that review here). 

In any case, Fantastic Beasts is a much more grown up Harry Potter world, with larger consequences, and no teen angst. However, Rowling's humor and wit are ever present even in the scant dialogue or details surrounding some events. I am not sure when I'll have time to actually go see this movie, so getting to read the screenplay was wonderful. And the amazing thing about reading a screenplay is that it's only part of the picture. So many people work with the words on the paper to bring the vision to life, and so reading a screenplay is only part of the overall picture. I don't feel like it's "ruined" the movie for me at all. 

In this story, Newt Scamander arrives in New York to repatriate a rare creature. He has a serious soft spot for magical creatures and is working to advance awareness of their needs and protection. Upon arrival he runs into Jacob, a no-maj (muggle is a way better word - 0 points to America for coming up with a cool term) baker who is looking for a loan at a bank. Tina, a former Auror who can't quite let go of the duties, and Queenie, Tina's gorgeous sister. Oh also, New Scamander is a Hufflepuff (Pottermore says I am too) so of course I'm wishing him loads of success. 

Newt ends up losing a few of his creatures and in his quest to recover them, Tina, Jacob and Queenie get pulled in for the ride. In the background of all this action, Grindewald is looking to cause an international showdown between the magical and non-magical (you may recall this was the cause of his ultimate falling out with Dumbledore who wasn't really down with that kind of elitism), and a Second Salem movement bent on discovery and eradication of witches has some pretty horrible repression going on with some sad and scared children. 

If anything, I was a little disappointed in the climactic scene/showdown portion of the story, but I'll withhold judgment on that until I see it on screen, as I'm sure some nuance is missing from the screenplay that might make this a little more palatable. 

See the movie or read the screenplay if you are a HP fan. It holds up.

4.5/5 Stars

Ploughshares Solos Omnibus 4

Holla! Ploughshares is the best. Solos is the once yearly volume that I get the most excited about. Longer stories, that I could have read online if I wasn't too lazy - instead I wait until Ploughshares beautifully prints them and binds them into a portable volume. 

Omnibus 4 contains 9 stories, all playing on varying themes, all of varying but longer lengths then you'll see in the regular Ploughshares editions. Below are my comments on the various stories in the edition:

Biting the Moon - this first story was probably my least favorite. The prose was experimental - a bit narrative, a bit free form, a bit stream of consciousness. The writing was interesting, but it interrupted to flow a reader can get into while reading a story. This first story took me about a week to read, and for Ploughshares, that's saying something. It's 53 pages long so it should have been much quicker. The story is of a woman who once had an affair with a famous composer who has now died. The story is her reflections on their relationship and how his death has affected her. There were some truly interesting parts, and the process of grief relayed over the course of the story was well done. However, the overall piece lacked in clarity and flow.

The Children's Kingdom - This one turned the edition around for me. This is the story of two parents, left in the aftermath of a heinous act by their only son. They struggle with feelings of guilt, forgiveness, love, and anger. It's brilliant.

Adopting Sarajevo - The story of an adopted girl, now a teenager, an ice skater, who returns to her birthplace of Sarajevo to reconnect with herself. Both she and her adopted mother find something of themselves there that they had maybe thought lost. It's really well done and paints a vivid picture of post-war Sarajevo.

Confession - A first-date between a minster and a farmer. Crackles with sexuality but also funny. 

The Detroit Frankfurt School Discussion Group - I loved this one. Recent divorced, adjunct professor Colin Spanler, PhD is down on himself, and looking for love while living in Ann Arbor. What he finds instead is a group of Detroit citizens looking to use Frankfurt School critical theory to improve their city. It's a great look at the intersection of academic theory and actual community organizing. And watching Colin being forced out of his comfort zone to think of academics as more than just words on paper was refreshing. 

Men Be Either Or, But Never Enough - This is a heartbreaking story of a young girl being raised by her OCD/Schizophrenic step-mother. The failures of the parents for this child are... well heartbreaking. I know I said that already, but these people are awful. 

Cordoba Skies - This was a really beautiful story about a young teen dealing with his mother's chronic illness. His parents live in and run a museum dedicated to aliens and UFOs. He's left on his own a lot to fend for himself and try to figure out who he is. I just loved the narrative and plot choices made by Federico Falco in this one. 

The Soul in Paraphrase - This was a slightly odd story about a priest, a widower, an orphan, and a ghost. The story kind of meanders around as the orphan makes a play for the widower and the priest contemplates the presence of the ghost, who is busy watching the orphan. 

Beach Plum Jam - A "townie" in a Maine beach town is acquainted with an old school friend, who has made a lot of money in her new life. There is some clashing between old and new money, and old and new friends. It's a theme popping up in other stories and popular fiction, sort of like a Sue Miller or Lianne Moriarty. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this edition of the Omnibus!

4/5 Stars.

Where'd You Go Bernadette? - Maria Semple

I really needed this book this week. It was funny, and light and interesting. Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a collection of letters and e-mails pieced together to tell the story of Bernadette Fox, a wife and mother in Seattle Washington who has disappeared. But before Bernadette Fox was those things in Seattle, she was a famous architect, recipient of a McArthur Genius Award, and a free wheeling spirit whose creative side was channeled toward a vision only she could imagine. 

But, 15 years later, she's living in Seattle, wife to Elgin Branch, a VP at MicroSoft working on artificial intelligence technology, and mother to Bee, a super-smart 8th grader who decides as her gift for straight A's - she's going to ask her parents for a trip to Antarctica. Bernadette, who has become increasingly reclusive over the years, responds to the request by outsourcing a position as a personal assistance to an e-mail address in India.

Meanwhile, down the slope from their home (actually an old school for girls), lives Audrey Griffin, a Seattle socialite who has never met a problem that wasn't caused by someone else. Audrey's best friend, Sue Lynn works at MicroSoft and reports back to Audrey all the things that Elgin is up to while his wife spends her day ruining Audrey's life. 

As smart as they are, Elgin and Bernadette don't communicate very well, so much so that when Sue Lynn informs Elgin about some of his wife's more odd behavior, he becomes concerned enough to stage and intervention - an intervention that goes horribly wrong and ends up with Bernadette running away, and an angry Bee left to pick up the pieces and try to discover what happened to her mother. 

I know reading the above synopsis may not actually seem like this book is as funny as it was, but it was actually very funny and delightful. It's a shame I had to rush through it, but I've recently discovered that my library will let you borrow Audiobooks for FREE! (can you imagine) so I may have overcommitted to my borrowing shelf!

4/5 Stars.

Blackout - Mira Grant

I'll start by saying that I probably should have allowed more time to pass between reading the prior book (Deadline - you can read that review here) and this one. I was a little burnt out by the repetitive nature of some of the statements made by the narrators and I understood the conspiracy laid out so I didn't need it needlessly detailed in some parts.

Book 2 ended on such a cliffhanger that I wanted to get right into this one, but that ended up feeling more like reading an exceedingly long book, rather than reading two separate stories and my experience as a reader suffered for it. 

Things that hadn't bothered me in the first book started to bother me in this one. First, both Shaun and Georgia needlessly repeat themes and statements that are no necessary. There is also large parts of unnecessary dialogue between the news team characters at given points. If this were a first book, this would make sense to establish the report between the characters, but at this point it just feels like overkill and unnecessarily lengthened the book. 

In this installment, Shaun and Georgia Mason (the clone version) are reunited and work together to uncover the final chapter in the wide-ranging government conspiracy that is causing people to be killed in the continuing battle against the Kellis-Amberly virus. The story ropes back in President Peter Ryman and Vice President Richard Cousins, both notably absent from the second book in the series. Their involvement shows just how high the conspiracy goes. 

In the end, Georgia and Shaun must decide how much truth they can reveal and whether the world is ready for it. The conspiracy angle is a bit diminished when you consider this is a world-wide issue and even though the United States Centers for Disease Control may be committing crimes and covering up truths, it's hard to swallow that the rest of the world may be playing by the USA's rules and not uncovering these truths on their own.

In any case, the book does manage to wrap up the entire thing nicely, without being overly saccharine or too convenient. The final book just missed some of the freshness and pop that existed in the first book, even if it was a solid ending to the trilogy.

3/5 Stars.

Brooklyn - Colm Tóibín

I'd give this book a solid 3.75 stars. I liked Eilis (pronounced Eye-lish). I liked watching her "come of age" through the process of the book. I like how she makes decisions and isn't overly dramatic or needlessly whiny. She accepts her choices like an adult and makes the next step.

In this story, Eilis is the younger daughter to a widowed mother in Ireland. Smart, but slightly less beautiful than her older sister Rose, Eilis works hard at her studies trying to advance herself and her family's fortunes. When it becomes apparent that there is no work for Eilis in Ireland, her sister and mother make arrangements for Eilis to go to Brooklyn to work in a shop and hopefully take classes to become a book keeper. 

Eilis suffers through a rough crossing, but once in America, gets on well at her job and eventually makes friends. She begins a relationship with an Italian plumber named Tony and corresponds with her sister Rose in secret because she's not quite ready to tell her mother that she's moved on from Ireland. Part of the time Eilis seems like she's inhabiting someone else's life in America, as if she's going through the motions of her day without thinking of who she is becoming. But eventually she starts to make decisions of her own and use her intellect to excel at school. 

Following Rose's death, Eilis must decide if she will go back to Ireland to stay, or if she'll claim the new life she's made for herself in Brooklyn. In a very real question of whether you can go home again, Eilis is presented with what her alternative life would have been had she stayed in Ireland. And she has regrets on both sides of the decision. 

Understated, yet understandable, the story of Eilis is the story of us all, growing up, making decisions, living with the consequences and deciding our own futures. The only complaints were some fairly plodding points in the story that got a little boring, and the fact that nothing ever seems to really happen to Eilis. The lack of drama makes it realistic, but sometimes a bit tedious.

3.75/5 Stars.

Deadline - Mira Grant

Meticulously researched and well written. Mira Grant's second installment in the Newsflesh Trilogy doesn't disappoint, even if it does feel sometimes like it's the middle book treading water until the ultimate finish. 

Deadline continues where Feed left off (you can read that review here) - Georgia and Shaun Mason, brother and sister news team followed the presidential campaign of Senator Ryman to the nominating convention, only to have Georgia killed by a vast conspiracy which included Gov. Tate, the other possible candidate. Tate dies at the hands of Shaun without giving up the head of the conspiracy and Shaun vows to track down those responsible for Georgia's death. You see, a freak accident explained in exquisite detail in the first book, caused two viruses to combine to create a super virus that redirects the body'd energy into becoming a shambling infected vessel determined to infect or eat any living thing. Yay. 

Deadline picks up a year after those events with Shaun as our new narrator. I have to say, I miss Georgia. She was analytical and wry. Shaun's great, but he's no substitute, the fact that Mira Grant has written him to be aware of this drawback is next level aware and I appreciated it. To deal with the trauma of losing his sister, the only person he's ever loved, he latches onto a non-corporeal (not literally) Georgia, who speaks to only him. The rest of the team just rolls with it and it only occasionally becomes a concern. 

In any case, the conspiracy starts rolling once a CDC doctor winds up at Shaun's Oakland apartment, claiming she has some secret information to deliver. While she is delivering the message, a massive outbreak occurs and the team is running for their lives to evacuate the city before it is "cleansed" in a massive fireball. The information the doctor shares is that individuals with dormant virus conditions are dying at disproportionate rates to the rest of the country. In this world that means these people, like Georgia, are being targeted. 

In his quest for answers, Shaun unveils even more secrets that dwell right in the heart of the CDC. But a massive outbreak suggests a terrifying evolution in the disease. The action in this book was more subdued than the last time as the characters aren't moving around quite as much and the book lulled in moments where the main focus was setting up events for the conclusion in book three, but the book took the time to lay it all out and I'm sure book three is going to be a great conclusion. 

It's hard for the second book in a trilogy to outshine it's predecessor and Deadline is no exception. But the cliffhanger ending and the revelations added excitement of their own and made Deadline an enjoyable read. This is a must-read for anyone into the Zombie genre.

4/5 Stars. 

After the Parade - Lori Ostlund

I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I've had some pleasant surprises from NetGalley recently so I probably had higher expectations going into reading this that never fully coalesced into a feeling of satisfaction. 

The story begins with Aaron Englund packing up his stuff and leaving his partner of 20 years, Walter at their home in Albuquerque. It's really unclear what led to this ultimate split, but it appears that Aaron has more or less fallen out of love with Walter and is ready to change his life. So he heads to San Francisco to begin anew.

Upon arrival he rents a horrible studio apartment from a feuding married couple, and begins work as an ESL teacher in a poorly run school. And then Aaron struggles. Part of this is likely based on his background. His father was abusive but died before a cathartic parting would give him mother any satisfaction or confidence. So his mother moves them to a small town, proclaiming it is NOT the kind of place to start over. With that omen hanging over their story, they barely get by together until Aaron turns 15 and his mother leaves. In swoops Walter and the rest is really, well kind of boring (I read another review that used the word tedious - which is probably more on point). 

Aaron is a collector of stories and the vignettes he relays regarding other people are pretty fascinating. But Aaron, who is our eye piece in the story, tries to use these outside stories to define himself. It's a technique that feels almost, but not quite successful. The narrative is harmed by a dizzying skip through time and place which is distracting when it's not down-right confusing. 

I wouldn't say I liked this book in total, although some parts were bright spots. I also wouldn't say I disliked it.

3/5 Stars. 

The Arsonist - Sue Miller

I'm actually pretty torn on how to review this book. On the one hand, Sue Miller stories are a master class in character examination. On the other, the book was a bit slow and plodding and ultimately a little boring. 

The Arsonist follows the life of Frankie Rowley, who returns to her parents retirement home, a place she spent summer vacations as a child, in Pomeroy, NH (again, I'm sorry if these spellings are incorrect, I listened to the audio version of this book). Frankie is coming off another stint as an aid worker in Kenya and she's feeling a little lost, a little forlorn at what seems like the repetitive love and life cycles of "temporizing" in Africa.

She arrives in Pomeroy to find her father mentally deteriorating due to Alzheimer's or perhaps Lewy Body disease. Her mother, Sylvia, is dealing with her own feelings of unfulfillment as she contemplates a retirement life taking care of a man who she never quite loved enough. There's a lot of deep character stuff going on in this book. Whether we can shake who we are, find fulfillment, that kind of thing. Typical stuff that Sue Miller does better than basically any other author I've ever read. 

In the background, fires are being set at the houses of Pomeroy's summer residents. The fires begin to fuel fear and mistrust in the town. This is all covered in the local paper by Bud Jacobs, a man who left Washington DC to escape the big city stories and who's aim was to settle into small town life in Pomeroy. 

Bud eventually falls for Frankie and their romance is complicated by her being unsure about what she wants to do with the rest of her life. The arson does little more than set a backdrop to the characters lives, and to focus the book in time by giving events to move the story forward. 

In all, Sue Miller does such a great job delving into the motivations and lives of Frankie, Bud and Sylvia that you end the book really understanding who they are and why they do the things they do. But there is also a faint unfulfilled longing for change or progress to be made by the characters that really sets in motion the ultimate lesson that people don't change, they make decisions based on their personalities and backgrounds, and sometimes they make good decisions, sometimes bad, but they are fundamentally who they are. And what they do with their lives is entirely up to them. 

While the ending doesn't feel fully satisfying, it does feel overwhelmingly real. And that is what I have come to expect from Sue Miller (you can read my review of another Sue Miller book here). So in that respect, she didn't disappoint.

4/5 Stars. 

Four to Score - Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum #4)

Stephanie Plum is still out there doing mediocre work as a bounty hunter. She's tenacious, but when it comes to the actual apprehension, she's not very good at it. This time around she's trying to find a woman named Maxine, who skips bail for stealing her boyfriend's car. The boyfriend, predictably, is a real piece of work. Oh and this time the ante is upped because Stephanie's nemesis and husband stealer - Joyce Barnhart, has also decided being a bounty hunter could be a good line of work.

Stephanie manages to have yet another vehicle blown up and her apartment fire bombed so she shacks up with Morelli for a few days while repairs get underway. And that's probably the best part of the whole book. FINALLY, after three installments (you can read my reviews of the last book here), Stephanie gets her man. Ahem.

Oh yeah, there's something about counterfeit money, and fingers start getting chopped off of witnesses too. In addition, we get a new member to Stephanie's odd posse that previously included her 80 year old grandma and the former prostitute turned file clerk, Lula. To this merry band we add the cross-dressing heterosexual Sally Sweet, bass guitarist and puzzle solver extraordinaire. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of Sweet at the series continues. 

This installment was entertaining because of the character arc development of hooking Stephanie up with Morelli finally, and because Grandma, Lula and now Sally make quite a team. There were a few laugh out loud moments. The story did get a bit slow in parts. I've come to realize Stephanie never captures her fugitive the first time she meets them, sometimes not even the second or third time, so it always ends up making the book feel unnecessarily long.

3/5 Stars.

Dune Messiah - Frank Herbert (Book #2 of the Dune Chronicles)

I liked this book more than the first in the series (you can read that review here). It helps that we already have a background in the story so the names and the places aren't as unfamiliar this time around. There also just seemed to be a better flow and the characters seemed more human this time around.

Dune Messiah takes place 12 years after the events ending the first book, namely the ascension of Paul Atreides as emperor and his political union with Princess Irulan. But things in the realm are not going so well. Paul's global jihad, the one in his name, but for which he constantly wishes would not endure, has killed up to 60 million people across the universe. His Fremen armies have spread out and vanquished foes on hold out planets far and wide. 

Having the give of foresight, Paul sees no other path before him and knows each path provides only ever greater death and destruction than the one he has set himself on. He feels trapped in his present, having already seen how it all plays out. His attempts to delay the inevitable cause him more heartbreak. 

Enter the picture a plot to overthrow Paul. A group of schemers, to include his princess-consort Irulan, Reverend Mother, a Guild Steersman and a new face dancer of the Bene Tleilaxu all meet in secret to come up with a way to take back the empire. The Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit insists that Irulan must bear the heir to the throne. She's trying, but Paul still loves Chani, the Fremen girl he met when he was cast out in the desert at 15. Chani has been unable to bear him any more children since the death of their son in the final battle which placed Paul on the throne. The plotters plan involves gifting Paul a remade Duncan Idaho, reclaimed of his original flesh, this part man, part robot thing called a "ghola" looks like Duncan Idaho but has new memories and abilities. He is to be the secret weapon to kill Paul when the time comes.

Meanwhile, Paul's sister Alia grows frantic in her attempts to understand her brother's actions and the ever growing mix of religion and politics that is taking place due to her brother's status as a god. How to overcome this path and set the empire to rights again? And why is she falling in love with Duncan Idaho, the ghola?

The only weird thing missing in this story is Paul and Alia's mom. Maybe Herbert decided it was time to let the second Atreides generation take the highlights of the plot and keep the older generation out of the picture. But their mother would have provided some interesting insight and perspective as the person who set this whole crazy train in motion. 

I won't say how the book ends, because it's a main driver of the plot to find out what Paul decides or gives himself up to in the end. But I will say it's satisfying as a story arc to have it end the way it did, even if it didn't feel entirely necessary.

4/5 Stars.

The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead

Breathe. Just breathe and you may be able to get through some of the more difficult passages in Colson Whitehead's new novel, The Underground Railroad. I listened to the audio version of this book and closing my eyes to block out the words was not as effective as it can be with a written page. 

Whitehead's tale starts in Africa and arrives in America with Ajari (sorry, I listened so I have no idea how names are spelled). Ajari is the mother of Mabel, who is the mother of Cora, our central character. Cora, born into slavery on the Randall plantation in Georgia, is abandoned by Mabel when Cora is 10 years old. An outcast, she goes to live in a slave cabin with other outcasts - the lowest of the low of slave society. 

After a particularly brutal encounter, and trust me, the entire description of slave life on Randall is brutal even if it's just a hum in the background it's always present - she is approached by Caesar, a new slave on the Randall plantation. Caesar wants Cora to join him in running away, as her mother did. Cora agrees. And so we are finally introduced to The Underground Railroad. Not a metaphor in this book, an actual collection of railways and engines under the soil and ready to take Cora and Caesar north. 

The two fugitives head to South Carolina, which the railroad operator tells us has a more enlightened view towards colored advancement. In South Carolina, all the African Americans are owned by the government. They are given job placements and go to separate schools. In essence we have arrived in Jim Crowe times, where separate, but certainly not equal is the norm. Blacks are made to submit to recurring doctors visits where the medical staff offer sterilization to some, and mandate it to others. The medical staff also watches as a certain segment of the male black population descends further into syphilitic delirium. Is it better? Cora comes to understand that all of these efforts are just another form of slavery.

Cora is being chased by slave catcher Arnold Ridgeway, a blacksmith's son who found more power and status as a slave catcher than an honest trade. He makes it his mission to find Cora and return her to the Randall plantation and the particular cruelty of Terrence Randall. When Ridgeway appears in South Carolina, Cora goes on the move again, back to the tracks and on to North Carolina where the norm there is simply to eliminate all blacks from the state and any sympathetic whites. It's desolate and bleak and heartbreaking. 

It seems like this journey will never end for Cora, that each stop offers a different set of indignities. I've read a few reviews that felt like Cora was never fully developed. I don't agree. Cora is the center of the story. The looking glass through which we see America to its fullest potential for evil. She takes us with her to each new degradation and somehow allows us to continue to hope that each next stop will be better even through the very end. 

This book feels timely to me, as our national conversation for the past year has included such weighty topics as the Confederate flag, the building of the White House, and of course the all too frequent killing of unarmed black men and women by police. We can't afford to lose sight of where our country has come from if we really aim to move forward. A false narrative does nobody any good.

As important as the material is, I'd be remiss not to say that the prose itself is well written and engaging. I know some people took issue with the backstory chapters interspersed throughout the book, but I actually appreciated them, as they usually came just after the death of a minor character we never really got to know. Learning about their motivations after they disappear from the narrative rather than before had an interesting affect on the story. 

I can see why Oprah chose this book for her book club and I think it deserves all the accolades and success that are sure to follow.

5/5 Stars.

West with the Night - Beryl Markham

I'm shocked I'm about to write this, but I actually liked this book a bit better than Paula McClain's fictionalized account of Beryl in Circling the Sun (you can read that review here). I should add, however, that these two books are extremely different. 

I would hesitate to call West with the Night an autobiography. It is definitely a memoir and Beryl's life comes in flashes of feeling more than cold recitation of facts. I'm immensely impressed with her ability to weave a tale and create suspense, especially considering I'm more than casually familiar with her life story (even more so because she was an amateur writer). 

Perhaps reading Circling the Sun allowed me to enjoy this book more than I otherwise would, but Beryl's storytelling ability made me feel like I understood her better after reading almost 300 pages of her memories than reading almost 400 pages of a fictionalized account from her perspective. 

Perhaps the most telling parts of Beryl's book are not what she includes, but what she leaves out. The experiences she relates are singularly her own - details of her own achievements and lessons learned. There is no mention of her three husbands, of her child, or the struggles with money which took up a large portion of the other book. Here, Beryl is in full command of herself and her life - and in this way, we get a very honest picture of how she sees herself and perhaps of the person she really is. 

In the final chapter, Beryl says, "You can live a lifetime and, at the end of it, know more about other people than you know about yourself." I find it extremely remarkable that Beryl wrote this book in 1942 when she was still young and had 40+ more years ahead of her. Because honestly, West with the Night provides such a complete picture of Beryl, without the aid of many concrete facts that make up her official biography. And for that, this book was a rare treasure. I completely agree with Hemingway that this is a "bloody wonderful book."

4.5/5 Stars.

The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware

I think halfway through this book I was kind of done with Lora Blacklock. She was irritating and a bit hysterical in parts. Should I give her a break because at the very beginning of the book she is the victim of a home invasion? Maybe, but I don't want to. I had to spend too much time with her and her false equivalencies to give her that big of a break.

So let's start at the beginning. Lora - "Lo" - as she repeatedly tells us to call her is the victim of a home invasion. Her stuff is stolen, her flat vandalized, and she's confronted out of sleep by a masked man wearing latex gloves as he burgles through her things. She's terrified, and finally frees herself after he locks her in a bathroom. Normally she'd have time to relax and cope with her resulting PTSD symptoms, but she works for a travel magazine, Velocity, and is scheduled to go on the maiden voyage of an ultra-boutique cruise-liner to see the Northern Lights in the Norwegian Fjords. 

This would be all well and good if Lo wasn't a completely horrible journalist. Home invasion aside, she gets burgled on Friday and is supposed to leave Sunday. She hasn't done any advanced work prior to then and gets on board without any clue on how she is actually going to be doing her job.

She arrives on ship and immediately makes contact with a woman in the cabin next door. The Women in Cabin 10. That first night she hears a scream, and then a large splash. She goes to investigate and is immediately thought crazy by the security officer on board. Oh, because she's seriously irritating and whiny. She keeps saying she knows what the woman in the cabin has gone through (being murdered) because she too was a victim of violence (being burgled). Puh-lease. It wouldn't be so bad, but eventually she just keeps repeating it and lamenting that no one is taking her seriously. 

Eventually everyone on board becomes a suspect. I irritatingly figured out the who-done-it long before Lo so an entire section of the book was me yelling at her to get a move on. 

Ultimately the book was entertaining, but Lo just a tad too unlikeable to warrant a good review, although Imogene Church's narration was good, and her horrible Brooklyn accent was entertaining. I liked In a Dark Dark Wood much better (you can read that review here).

2.5/5 Stars.

Ready, Set, Breathe: Practicing Mindfulness with Your Children for Fewer Meltdowns and a More Peaceful Family - Carla Naumburg

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I've been neglecting my NetGalley shelf until recently and I'm trying to work through those books and have come up with a few surprises lately.

This book suffered from a busy couple weeks over the labor day holiday and beyond. Ironically, as I read this parenting book about mindfulness and meditation, I was constantly interrupted by my sweet darling, but also sometimes exhausting children. So I never felt like I got into a flow for reading this book. 

The book is based on the principles of mindfulness - rather, noticing things and being curious about them in a compassionate way. I've tried several of the mindfulness exercises described in the book with my kids so far and with good results. For example, our short 3 1/2 mile drive from daycare to home in the evening is usually punctuated by extreme whining and crying. Hungry kids who have missed Mom and Dad all day are letting out their emotions as we drive home. It's a short 15 minute trip but it always seems to take ages because of all the crying. 

So on a recent trip home I decided to employ a noticing technique before the crying started in earnest. I asked the kids to describe the cars around us and asked them which colors they saw. Then I asked them to tell me what colors were missing. We then made it a mission to find those missing colors. Ever since that drive, when we are in the car driving anywhere, the kids are ecstatic when they see - notice - a rare colored car. (As a side note, God bless those of you driving yellow cars, it's their favorite). It's ratcheted down the amount of crying that happens in the car and for that I am grateful. 

My 4 1/2 year old is a real hitting machine. When he's made he screams and hits stuff, even people, mostly his sister. So I've started some of the noticing techniques with him so he can identify what is going on with him. He gets a real kick out of me asking him if "Grumpy Pete" has shown up at the dinner table. And I don't make judgments on Grumpy Pete, just that he's grumpy, and that I'd like to see if Hungry Pete is available for dinner. My son thinks this is hilarious, but it also reinforces the mindfulness lesson that our emotions can be changed, by us, and by our recognizing that those emotions exist. It's been a great exercise for us and has helped defuse some potential meltdowns. 

Overall I still thought Peaceful Parent Happy Kids (read that review here) was more sound. I found this one a bit repetitive and too unmoored from actual scientific study, but since I'm getting results with the practices, I can't actually complain. I don't consider this a foundational parenting book, but it definitely is a useful tool

3.5/5 Stars.

Ploughshares Summer 2016 Guest-Edited by Claire Messud & James Wood

Oh Ploughshares. I am not sure how much I can really explain how much this subscription enriches my life, but every opportunity I get, I try to mention this to other reading enthusiasts. This year is Ploughshares' 45th Anniversary year and I'm so happy for the influence it brings to short fiction, non-fiction and poetry.  You can link directly to their site here.

The Summer 2016 Edition was edited by Claire Messud and James Wood and at 155 pages, without any poetry, must be the shortest edition I've ever received. However, the editors explain in their introduction, the focus of this edition was to shown "an internationalism of voice and material, to suit a reality that is at once local and increasingly global and complex." This edition delivers on that goal perfectly. 

The second story in the collection, and an incredibly short one, Telling Stories about One's Life by Peter Bichsel explores the theme of important stories in our life sometimes not being particularly compelling - that there are moments in life that are of great importance and formative change, but ultimately don't make for good story telling. The funny thing is, as short as it is, the story is really boring - and it's about boring stories. So this is a win on a meta level.

The Ghost's Preface by Kamel Daoud is about a ghost writer who attempts to write a book the way he wants to write it, instead of the way the subject is telling it and the conflict that arises when he attempts to assert his own identity in the story. In the end, the subject dies shortly after burning the entire manuscript so neither story is told. But the ghost writer realizes that the story was never unique in the first place, that millions of copies exist out in the world and a reader could find a copy anywhere they looked. 

My favorite story in the edition has to be The Testimonie of Alyss Teeg by Carys Davies. The story is written in dialect that is at first distracting, taking concentration to fully comprehend, but somewhere mid-story - a tale told from the perspective of a younger sister about her non-gender conforming brother, and the shocking lengths the family goes to in order to "correct" his behavior - I was so startled by where the story was going, and so heartbroken for the characters, it was as if the dialect was clearing on the page and my mind rapidly consumed the words in order to get to the end. The pace quickened and my breathing altered. The story had that much of a physical effect on me and for that I absolutely adored it. 

Viet Dinh's story Lucky Dragon, about a fishing vessel that sails too close to a nuclear test site explores the transformation that overcomes the crew. It takes a plausible event and continues into a realm of imaginary consequences that I found odd but also delightful. 

Hollow Object by Amity Gaige explores the disconnect between a mother and her daughter and the lifestyles they choose to lead. When her daughter becomes sick, the mother Beth explores their relationship and the choices her daughter has made to that moment. She tries to connect with her daughter in numerous ways and is never fully capable. 

Georgi Gospodinov's Sonning a Father was a sad and beautiful tale of an orphan attempting to "Son a Father" much like someone would "Father a son" by forcing a relationship with objects. It's a sad look at the lengths someone would go to for comfort and guidance. 

Here is Where by Cate Kennedy follows Jim Carlyle as he looks back on an old friendship with friends who have gone while he himself experiences a stroke. He feels disassociated from his present time and place, an effect of the stroke, but also an effect of time.

Lastly, Hotel Majestic by Melissa Pritchard follows Ora Fitz as she visits Rome on holiday, two years after the death of a beloved husband. Ora flits between grief for her dead husband and an awakening of sensuality and desire while in Rome. It's a wonderful portrait of the notions and expectations society has of a widow and I appreciated the idea that women, at any age and stage of life, can still be passionate and sexual. 

I enjoyed so many of the stories in this edition. Another solid Ploughshares offering.

5/5 Stars.