Book Reviews

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” 
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish

     Reading the above quote gave me a chuckle!  I inherited this trait from my mother...don't leave the house with out a book, you never know when you will have five minutes to read!  And I have passed it on to my children and to my grandchildren, especially my granddaughter who has followed this habit since she could read!

     For my Villas Bookclub this month we read "Hillbilly Elegy".  Here is a very brief description from Goodreads. " In Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hanging around your neck. The Vance family story began with hope in postwar America."  The reading of this book brought about a very good discussion at our meeting!  I do recommend reading it; it is not extremely well written, but it is very eye-opening about  a specific life style that prevails our country...and not just in the area that Vance describes.  And I have heard it is to be made into a movie...I don't quite see the appeal for that but who knows.

    Last month, April, the Villas read "The Secrets of Mary Bowser" by Lois Leveen, a historical fiction about Mary Bowser, a freed slave who worked with the Spymistress, Elizabeth Van Lew, a book by Jennifer Chiaverini and where we first met Mary Bowser.  It was really interesting to read the same story with the same characters from the perspective of the exslave girl who certainly put her life in jeopardy many times serving as a spy for the North in the Civil War.

     I also belong to a book club at my UU church and last month we read "The Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obreht.  A war torn country in the Balkans, a young female doctor is giving aid to children in a poor village while also trying to find out more of her dear grandfather's recent death. The book incorporates several folklore stories and the strange thing is to me...one of the stories within the story is The Tiger's Wife..and I have the weirdest idea that I have read this one story in some other circumstance, but I cannot think where or how!  Very good, I do recommend it.

     Then I have finished a few audio books...I download audio books from my library onto my phone and just have it running all the time while I am doing daily stuff...so I can get through a book in two or three days.  Audio books I read are usually of the lighter variety...mysteries, humor, etc..  "Deliver Us From Evil", a detective mystery by David Baldacci; "Surrender, NY" by Caleb Carr, another detective story...I have read a couple others by Caleb Carr which I enjoyed more, but this was a good audio. And I have started the audio version of a book entitled "1234" by Paul Auster, and although it is very good listening, it is very long! Books downloaded from the library are for two weeks and if not "returned" by then Poof, they are automatically gone!  I will need to download it again to finish it!

    
       And my last book that I finished recently is "Good Harbor" by Anita Diamant.  If you are a fan of  Diamant, you will enjoy this book too.  I have read several of hers, "The Red Tent", "The Last Days of Dogtown", and "Day After Night" and have loved them all!  In fact, I read "Day After Night" a few years ago, and liked it so well I have chosen it for my turn to review for both the Villas and UU book clubs.