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Reading Wednesday

    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

    November 22, 2023
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    This is the third book I have read by Lisa See. Her works always focus on Asian women and I find her research into real historical figures, and her ability to create a fictional story around them, brilliant. Two other books I recommend by Lisa See are The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane and The Island of Sea Women. Here is my book review Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See.

    Period: Ming Dynasty

    Inspired by the true story of Tan Yunxian, See takes us to 15th century China. A time of concubines and foot binding where women were meant to be beautiful above all else. See brings to life in this fictional story Lady Tan, brilliant, beautiful and captivating. Tan’s destiny is mapped out for her during the period of the Ming Dynasty, but this young women will grow to be a force.

    Studying with her grandmother from a very young age, Lady Tan will become a brilliant doctor, and leave behind at her death meticulous notes about her care of primarily women throughout her life. Not only will she be a mother, wife and eventually the head of the wealthy family she married into, but she will be a healer, life saver, and a connector of women. Building throughout her life a strong bond with both those in her upper class life and the common people too.

    Lisa See, in this book like all the others, does extensive research and travels extensively to find her stories. This book re-imagines beautifully this remarkable women, her unconventional life, and the legacy she leaves behind.

    *****Five stars for Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See.

    See last week’s book review The Editor by Steven Rowley. Thank you for reading my book review Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See.

    My current read is All The Broken Places by John Boyne.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Editor by Steven Rowley

    November 15, 2023
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    I loved this book by the author of The Guncle, which was one of my favs from last year. Rowley has a engaging an thoughtful writing style which is perfect for the topic of this book – Jackie Onassis. Here is my book review The Editor by Steven Rowley.

    This is a work of fiction, but is based on the very real Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Rowley introduces us to Mrs. Onassis during the period in her life where she served as an Editor at Doubleday Books in New York City.

    Just imagine if you are a young author and your very first novel has been tapped by Doubleday. You walk into your first meeting with your Editor, and OMG. It’s her. Jackie Kennedy.

    This is how the story begins when James Smale is dumbstruck in the offices of Doubleday. Why would Mrs. Onassis like his book?

    As the plot unfolds we learn that James has written a book, loosely (well not so loosely) about his own dysfunctional family. Growing up with a father who was angry and not engaged and a mother who was often mentally absent, James tells the truth, but changes the names to protect the…well who exactly?

    Mrs. Onassis finds a connection to this story, and over the next year she will skillfully guide James to write the real story and find the real ending…all while she is quietly suffering in her own private world.

    I really enjoy Rowley’s writing and in this novel he managed to bring me to tears, which rarely happens for me. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t love this book. Thank you for reading my book review The Editor by Steven Rowley.

    *****Five stars for The Editor by Steven Rowley.

    See last week’s book review Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

    My current read is Sidhartha by Herman Hess

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

    November 8, 2023
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    In this new work by Whitehead we find ourselves back in Harlem in the 1970’s also the sight of his earlier work Harlem Shuffle. I read Harlem Shuffle but never wrote a review on it because I struggled to get into it…although my husband loved it. But I wanted to give Whitehead another go, so here is my Book Review Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead.

    New York City Not a Nice Place in the 1970’s

    Ray Carney, ex-fence is now on the straight and narrow and owner of a well respected furniture store in Harlem. Harlem in 1971 is a tough place, but Ray is trying to stay on the straight and narrow, despite opportunity and necessity of crime at every turn.

    But Ray has promised his daughter he will get her Jackson Five tickets, and he turns to a former fixer cop he used to work with. And all hell breaks loose as Cop Munson pulls Ray into a deadly game.

    1973 Ray’s old partner Pepper is still looking to be in the game of hijacking and heists, but things are changing in the city and work is slow. So he takes on a job as security on a film being shot in Harlem. The world of Hollywood with its cast of hustlers, mobster and hit men underestimate Pepper much to their regret.

    1976 Harlem is underseige, as New York prepares for the Bicentennial Harlem is burning. When a young boy nearly dies in a suspicious fire in one of Ray’s properties, he suspects candidate Oakes. Even though Ray’s wife is supporting the candidate Ray knows he is a crook, willing to kill for power.

    Crook Manifesto is a dark, yet often funny, look at survival in Harlem in the 1970’s. It is also an endearing story of family and loyalty and perseverance.

    ****Four stars for Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

    Read last week’s book review Chenneville by Paulette Jiles.

    Thank you for reading my book review Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead. We love it when you pin, comment and share our book reviews.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Chenneville by Paulette Jiles

    November 1, 2023
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    This is my third Jiles book I have read and I have like them all. News of the World was made into a movie starring Tom Hanks. Simon the Fiddler, which I actually liked more was the second novel I read by Jiles. Now Jiles new book Chenneville takes us once again to post civil-war turmoil and into the life of a fascinating character John Chenneville. Here is my book review Chenneville by Paulette Jiles.

    Lyrical Writing

    Jiles is the real deal. Her writing style is mesmerizing. You can feel Chenneville’s pain, the snow, the horse beneath him. She has such a way that brings you full on into the character and the life they are living.

    It’s a shattered nation we find ourselves in, post Civil War and the slow Reconstruction. Lawlessness prevails, and when John Chenneville returns home after recovering from a gruesome head injury near the end of the war, he is confronted with unimaginable grief. His beloved sister, her husband and their 1 year old baby names after him, have been murdered. A senseless murder by a man on a murder for fun spree.

    Revenge

    Chenneville is a powerful character in his reserved presence. Smart and observant, John Chenneville crosses the territory in an effort to kill his sister’s killer. He will encounter a wonderful cast of characters a long the way, make both friends and enemies, trailing the murderer Dodd deep into Texas.

    This is a beautiful story. So raw and true with an insight into the hard truth of love, grief, revenge and acceptance.

    *****Five Stars for Chenneville by Paulette Jiles.

    Thank you for reading my book review Chenneville by Paulette Jiles. Read last week’s review The Art Thief by Michael Finkel.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

    October 25, 2023
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    I learned about this book when my friend Wendy posted on social media that her friend Michael Finkel had a book on the New York Times best seller list. So I decided to check it out. What an amazing true-crime it was. I loved it and I think you will too. Here is my book review The Art Thief by Michael Finkel.

    Obsession

    This is the true story about Stephane Breitwieser, a young man in Europe who would become one of the most obsessed art thief’s in history. It boggles my mind how long he got away with it and how many relics and masterpieces he was able to just walk out of museums and cathedrals with. He stole more than three hundred objects over an 8-year period, with the help of us girlfriend who served as lookout and his mother who turned a blind eye.

    Possession

    Finkel brings us into Breitwieser’s bizarre world, helping the reader feel at once part of each heist yet also astonished and breathless at the sheer audacity of this criminal. Breitwiser was never in it for the money, he just had an insatiable need to possess rare works of art. He hid all his works in a secret hiding place for years.

    The Crash

    He is of course eventually caught (thus this book), after he makes one major mistake. Breitwieser, his mother and his girlfriend will all suffer from this years long and senseless crime spree. In the end, many priceless works will be lost, burned or never found.

    Thanks for reading my book review The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. A remarkable story of true crime and brilliantly written and engaging.

    *****Five Stars for The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

    See last week’s book review Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton.

    My current read The Crook Manifesto.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

    October 18, 2023
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    Wow this book. I went into this without any knowledge of the plot or any previous reads of reviews. It is a mind-bender. My husband thought I would like it, and we both had enjoy The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton a couple months ago. So I started Birnam Wood and I was blown away. Here is my book review Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton.

    Like the Luminaries, Birnam Wood is set in New Zealand but this time in the modern times. Released in early 2023 Catton has developed a unique story for our time. We are introduced to Mira and the people behind the unregulated, philanthropic but sometimes criminal gardening collective that plants crops wherever no one will notice, in an effort to grow food for the world. When a giant landslide (not unheard of in New Zealand) cuts off the town of Thorndike, Mira and Birnam Wood decide to take over a farm and hope they can go unnoticed.

    But also taking advantage of the currently abandoned property is American billionaire Robert Lemoine who tells Mira he is building his bunker for the end of the world. Is that the truth? Far from it as Lemoine has no intention of the world coming to an end…rather he is money grabbing, untrustworthy and ruthless tech wizard and no one is safe around him.

    This is a psychological thriller with a horrific plot that gets worse as the story unfolds. How many will die for the sake of their beliefs or for the insatiable need for money and power? Thank you for reading my book review Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton.

    *****Five stars for Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton.

    Read last weeks book review Dare to Travel by Katherine Leamy

    My current read Chenneville by Paulette Jiles

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Dare to Travel Solo by Katherine Leamy

    October 11, 2023
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    Over the years of my travel blogging life I have had the unique opportunity to get to know other travel bloggers, vloggers and authors. Katherine Leamy is one of those. Although we have never met (yet) we have a great deal in common. I was very excited to read her new book written to explain how she became “The 5 Kilo Traveler”. Here is my book review Dare to Travel Solo by Katherine Leamy.

    Just a Regular Mom

    Katherine is many things,but not always a solo traveler. She is a wife, a mom, a nurse, a friend. And yet something was nagging at her and she felt she needed to get out of the box and try something new and daring. No her marriage wasn’t falling apart, or her job driving her crazy. She just felt the need to embark on a solo adventure and see what she might find there.

    Croatia

    So, with the blessing of her family, she embarked on her first ever solo trip, with only a backpack, to Croatia. Dare to Travel Solo chronicles her day to day adventures, the people she met, the experiences she had, and how she conquered her fear. This trip set her on a course to be a solo traveler, and to encourage other travelers to travel light with a back pack only.

    A Following

    Along the way she discovered there are many people like her interested in making the leap to solo travel and lightweight travel. And so the book became a goal too – a guide to help others see their own possibilities. As I type this, I’m in the Philippines and my friend Kathrine is on her way to Japan to hike…carrying as little as possible for her next adventure.

    Like me, Katherine encourages others to find what works for them in travel, seize the moment without fear and get out there! Do it now, do it soon and don’t find yourself regretting never doing it.

    Dare to Travel Solo

    ****Four Stars for Dare to Travel Solo.

    Are you ready to travel solo? Thanks for reading my book review Dare to Travel Solo by Katherine Leamy. Have fun Katherine!! https://www.instagram.com/the5kilotraveller/

    Read last week’s book review Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio. We appreciate your comments and shares.

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