Minding My Own Business

So, I'm sitting in my living room minding my own business, reading a book a few nights ago.  The doggy door flap makes a sound and I look over.  Oreo is standing just inside the doggy door and something doesn't look right to me but I can't quite put my finger on what it is that is off.  Then, it dawns on me.  Oreo is curled up next to me with his body up against my leg, it's not him that I'm looking at at the doggy door.  I touch him next to me, just to be sure.  When I feel Oreo I have an intake of breath that startles the animal in my house, causing them to dart back out of the doggy door, while it awakens Oreo, alerting him to the fact that something is off.  The animal was a cat, a kitten even.

Oreo darted to the doggy door and I guess the cat was just outside because he wouldn't go out it but he was barking like he was in attack mode.  I went to go make sure the cat left my property and there's something about that that emboldens Oreo.  He darted out the back door past me but thankfully the cat was gone.

Here's the deal, I've lived in this house for 20 years this week.  I only lived here a few months when I got my first doggy door.  And, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time any animal that wasn't mine used the doggy door.  Well, except for Harley - that's how I met him.  But he was in the house when I got home from work one day, not entering when I'm relaxing at the end of the day.  Not to mention that he ended up being mine.  (That won't be the case with the cat.  Not because I don't like cats but because I don't think Oreo would do well with a cat in the house. Also, this cat looked healthy and well fed so I believe it has to belong to someone - possibly someone who also has a doggy door.)

The event scared the crap out of me.  But, I guess it's a good way to get your heart rate up, if that's what you want to do.  As a side note, I blocked off the doggy door for the night but Oreo still watched it like a hawk for hours after the event.  😸

Dressing up the Dog

 We've been having colder than usual weather lately (but nothing compared to what we're expecting in the next few days! Yikes!).  I had emailed some friends and told them the story of how I got all bundled up one morning to take Oreo for a walk.  He thrives in the cold.  The colder, the better.  Or at least that's how it seems.  So that particular day, he was so excited for the walk.  Couldn't wait for the walk.  Was impatient while I got ready.  

 

I make him wear a halti, which he doesn't like and fights me when I put it on.  I also have been timing our walks to log in on an app I use to count calories and my weight loss experience.  I started the timer and then went to put on his halti.  I mention this because I usually do the opposite - halti first because it takes so long.

 

Well, I got it on him and headed out for the walk.  We hadn't gotten far when he was barely keeping up and looking up at me.  He doesn't typically do this.  I asked what he wanted to do and he just looked at me.  So I continued the walk.  The second time I ask him if he wanted to go home and he literally jumped up, turned in mid-air and retreated back to the house.  

 

I take his halti off at the garage door and did so this day.  I came in and checked the timer - we had walked (including putting his halti on and taking it off) for all of three minutes and seventeen seconds!  It took me longer to get ready than the walk took!

 

Well, my friends gave me a bad time and I bought Oreo a jacket. I had to measure him to find one that would fit.  I started with "small" dogs "clothes".  His chest size was too big for the largest offering but his neck fit the extra small offering!

I finally settled on the one pictured.  I tried it on him and I think it's too big for him. He didn't want to move in it.  I kind of forced him to the other day and he came around somewhat in that we took a walk.  It was a much shorter walk, taken at a much slower pace, but we took a walk.

Once he got into it though, he decided to urinate on poles, as male dogs do.  But he couldn't figure it out so he didn't.  It was actually kind of funny to watch.

The front part wouldn't stay zipped though.  I'm not sure why.  I haven't tried it since.

But I imagine if I take him for a walk over the next few days, we'll give it another shot.  😉

It's worth noting that the day we took the three minute walk, as I took off the halti, I said to him "I get credit for this walk!"  And he must have agreed because he didn't ask for another one that day. 

Book Review Club - February 2021

 

This month I will be reviewing You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

 

 You Should Have Known is a story centered around Grace, a psychiatrist who specializes in couples counseling.  She has written a book about it, also called "You Should Have Known" targeted for women in bad relationships and pointing out all the ways they missed the clues as to why they find themselves in bad and abusive relationships.  Her book is about to be released and her publicist is booking her on shows like the Today show and The View and she's very excited about it.

Grace is married to a pediatric oncologist, Jonathan, who works at Sloan Kettering in New York.  They have a son, Henry, who goes to a prestigious private school.  Their life seems perfect.

That is until a mother of another student at the private school, who also served on a planning committee for a fundraiser, gets murdered after the fundraiser.  Jonathan left after the fundraiser to go to a conference in Cleveland or Chicago - Grace can't remember exactly where and left his phone behind so Grace is unable to reach him to talk about what is going on.

But as details about the murder come out, Grace starts learning things about Jonathan that she never suspected.  Turns out he was having an affair with the murdered mother and is a prime suspect.  Suddenly she starts wondering about the book coming out and if she's really qualified to have written it if she's so in the dark about her own husband.

There's a lot of suspense and in depth detail about the relationship, how they met and things that Grace comes to realize as things are exposed about her husband.  The ending is one that kind of leaves the "what happens next" up to the reader's imagination, in a satisfying way though.

Now, having said all that, You Should Have Known was the basis of the HBO series THE UNDOING.  I watched the series, read the book and then watched the series again.  So, here's the thing about the two "stories".  The series doesn't mention anything about Grace's book.  Also, the hospital Jonathan works at isn't Sloan Kettering.  But the biggest change is that, aside from a couple of scenes, the entire book is covered in the first two episodes of the series.  Episodes 3-6 come from the imagination of David E Kelley, who is great with this type of story.  The series also ends on a note where the viewer gets to determine what happens next, also in a satisfying way, as well.

Both are good stories and worth the time and energy to watch and read - and I would recommend both.  As a side note, Hugh Grant plays Jonathan in the HBO show and, in my opinion, it is - by far - his best work!  Very compelling.  Very unexpected.  Excellent acting.  If you have the opportunity, I recommend watching it, just to see what an amazing job he does in this role.  Anyway . . .

 

For more book reviews go to https://barriesummy.blogspot.com/index.html .

February 2021 Book Club Review

 Last night I finished a book and thought I'd review it now, since we have some time before our next meeting.  😀

 

As a surprising number of my book reviews have been lately, this is also a GMA book club recommendation.  I confess, I order these books without any idea of what they're about because I've enjoyed so many of their recommendations.  In fact, I was on my library's website this morning waiting for them to announce February's book so I could request the library order it, in hopes I'd be one of the first to have the opportunity to read it.

That all said, the book I'm reviewing here is The Push by Ashley Audrain.  I was under the impression, for some unknown reason, that it was a book about two women.  One who wanted to be a mother but wasn't and one who was a mother but didn't want to be.  That's not the case though.

Also, there was talk about the "jaw dropping" four last words of the book.  I think "shocking" and "chilling" may have also been used to describe those four final words.  And without giving anything away, I will say the adjectives used to describe the last words of the book do indeed apply.  However, if you go immediately to the end of the book and read those words first, you'll be wondering what the heck all the fuss was about.  You have to read everything up to that to put it into context and for it to have that impact on you.  It's not like it's a murder mystery and the last four words are "the butler did it".  Just saying.

But back to the "meat" of the book.  It's a book about Blythe Conner and her journey.  I think the best way to describe it is that it's a narration by Blythe about what she went through.  She's written it all down for her ex-husband telling "her side" of the story.  So it's (mostly) told in first person point of view as if she's talking to her ex ("you came home from work" "you stepped out of the shower" that sort of thing).

There's a lot of early reference to her mother, Cecilia, in a "we don't talk about her" kind of way, and that Blythe is not like her mother.  You learn, through periodic non-Blythe narrated chapters, that Cecilia wasn't a good mother.  You also learn that Etta, Cecilia's mother, was also not a good mother.  So you kind of understand why Blythe might be concerned that maybe there was something wrong with her when it comes to the mothering gene.

 

But it's not like she didn't see good examples of good mothering.  Mrs. Ellington, her next door neighbor was a good mother and helped take care of Blythe when she was growing up.  Also, her mother-in-law, Helen, was caring and nurturing towards her too.  But Blythe couldn't get past feeling maybe she was lacking in some way.

And when things start happening, of course everyone thinks it's Blythe.  They all exchange "knowing" looks. Poor Blythe, bad childhood, etc. etc.  Until they reach the breaking point and Blythe feels like she's in this all on her own.

I don't want to go into too much more detail because I think it would give too much away.  But I will say this, I came away with some thoughts on messaging from the book.  They're probably unintended takeaways but they are takeaways all the same.  

They include (but not necessarily limited to): relationships are fragile, hiding your fears and concerns from your loved ones rarely works out well, you can find family outside of people who share your DNA and, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get you.  Ha!

It was an odd little book but I did enjoy it and would recommend it.

For more book reviews go to https://barriesummy.blogspot.com/index.html or click on the icon below. 

Happy reading!

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@Barrie Summy

Kitchen Crash

The other day I posted about the show Supermarket Stakeout.  That's a cooking show on Food Network.  At times, not just during a pandemic, I get sucked into watching networks, not even particular shows, just the network.  And I think that's played a bit of a part in this post (and my new obsession) about another Food Network show, Kitchen Crash.

 

It's in season one.  The host is chef Jeff Mauro.  Jeff takes three chefs into a neighborhood and gives them ten minutes to "shop" at people's houses.  If they can convince the occupants of the home to give them all their food and groceries, they have a chance at splitting $10,000 with the chef. They want spices, drinks, meats - especially meats, fruits, vegetables, leftover - just anything they have that can be used in whatever challenges may be thrown at them.  

Meanwhile a mini-kitchen is set up for each of the contestant chefs.

Like other chef competitions on the Food Network, there are three rounds.  But since there are only three chefs competing, no one goes home in round one.  BUT, one chef will win the round and they get an advantage over the other two chefs in round two.  An example of an advantage given is the winner had the choice of taking away either the other two contestants' butter, oil or salt in one competition (she took away their salt).  Someone goes home after round two. And a winner is crowned after round three and the chef and the family who sacrificed their groceries split $10,000.

Now, it's worth noting something I wondered about and that they showed in one of their episodes - all the participating families are reimbursed for their groceries, which is good because who would want to have to replace them all when your chef didn't win?

It's all in good fun and everyone seems to enjoy it and now I'm hooked and have another show to watch.  I binged the entire show (three whole episodes at the time - four now, which I've also watched) so now I have to wait for episodes to air.

But there was one particular episode that had a funny start to it, if you will.  When they told the chefs they had ten minutes to get a family to give them their groceries, one took off running with a chef's knife in hand.  At the time I wasn't looking at the screen but thought of the saying "don't run with scissors" or whatever it is and didn't give it another thought. 

That is until the family that worked with him did a confessional type interview saying they were a bit freaked out when someone came to the door holding a knife and "demanding" their groceries.  Can you imagine?  Imagine something like this. 

  Plus, I think he's wearing his mask wrong.  😂

What are you watching?

Supermarket Stakeout

Have you seen the cooking competition show on Food Network called Supermarket Stakeout?  It's host is Alex Guarnaschelli, an Iron Chef and a regular judge on Chopped.

The premise of the show is that four chefs compete using groceries bought at the grocery store.  The twist is, the chefs have to buy the groceries from people coming out of the grocery store - the competitors don't go into the store themselves to shop. 

After the chef buys the groceries they have to use the ingredients of the groceries that they bought to create a dish that matches whatever challenge they've been given.  An example of a challenge given is "handheld" meaning whatever they created had to be able to be eaten without utensils, just using their hands.

In the first round they buy all of someone's groceries without knowing what the shopper has bought.  If it turns out they don't have the ingredients to make whatever would fit their challenge, they can go back and buy more groceries - still not knowing what they're buying.

In the second round, they can paw through the shopper's baskets before buying but they can only buy from one person who hopefully have enough ingredients to make the challenged dish.

The third, and final, round allows the remaining contestants to shop from as many people as they want but they can only buy five ingredients.  The contestants start with $500 to spend on groceries and it has to last for all three rounds.

The one who makes the best final dish (of the remaining two), wins $10,000.

That's how the competition works.  I only recently started watching it but I do enjoy it.  It's only been on a few seasons and I wondered if they'd be able to continue, considering the pandemic and all.  Well, it turns out they are continuing the show.

Now, when they shop, they wear masks.  Except when they're "shopping" (from actual grocery store customers), they are maskless.  Which brings me to the whole point of this post.

I went to the grocery store shortly before the world shut down last March.  My last time in the store, I wore a mask and gloves and I was the only one with any "protective" gear on.  When the world shut down, I started having groceries delivered to my house so that I didn't have to go into the grocery store.  I was paying roughly $12 per delivery for that convenience and it was totally worth it to me.  Then I reached a point where I mainly needed cleaning supplies - which were impossible to get - and I didn't want to pay $12 for an empty grocery bag so I scheduled a curbside pick up.  It was so easy I've been doing that ever since. 

So, with the exception of the weekend after Thanksgiving, I have not stepped foot inside a grocery store in more than ten months.  Which makes me think, if I broke down and went to the grocery store to do my own shopping, there's no way in the world I would even consider selling my groceries to someone, causing me to need to go back into the store and shop some more.  At least not during a time when the risk of exposure to covid is so great.  As I said, the contestants only have $500 to spend I don't think if they pooled all their resources together to buy my groceries it would be enough to persuade me to consider selling them if it meant I had to go back into a place I've avoided for almost a year now.

Bottom line, I enjoy the show but am surprised, and a bit disappointed, that they would be filming it during a global pandemic with infection rates as high as they are.

Question is, is it just me that feels this way or would you consider selling your groceries to the competitors?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Barking Dogs

Have you ever watched a television show or a movie where the neighbor had a barking dog that sounded canned?  Like it was some sort of manufactured sound and had no basis in reality of what any dog has ever sounded like?

 

Well, I have something to tell you - that's what my neighbor's dog sounds like.  I don't know if they've recorded one of these shows or movies and strategically put a box or something in their backyard so that it will go off and bark from time to time, but, that's what I hear on a daily basis.

 

A canned barking dog sound.

 

I've met this neighbor and while we've talked about our dogs, I've never met or actually seen hers.

 

So, as I hear her "dog" barking at me, all I can ask is - is it live, or is it memorex?  😄

House Cleaning

 

The other day I saw a segment on one of the morning talk shows about a woman who cleans houses for free.  I can't remember if she lives in Finland, or Sweden or some other country because the point is, it's not the USA, where I live.

 

They showed her cleaning houses with some before, a little during and the after and it was pretty amazing.  She said the worse the place was, the better.  She just loves cleaning.

Now, while I can't remember the country she's from, all I could think is I would be willing to pay her airfare for her to come down and clean my house!

While there's some truth to my willingness to pay her to travel to the US to clean my house, I will say this.  A number of years ago I paid a service to organize two of my bedrooms.  The before and after images were incredible.  But here's the thing, I had initially told her I didn't want her throwing anything out.  I told her to put stuff she thought was trash in one area and I'd eventually go through it to determine if it was trash or not.  But she kept coming back and asking if she could please throw some things out.  I finally agreed to let her throw out magazines and "obvious" trash.

She hauled a couple of garbage bags to the garage.  When I went through them - months later (I had been sick and that's why I was paying someone to organize things for me) - she had decided that FRAMED photos were trash!  Books were discarded, even though I had specifically told her NOT to throw out any books.  She also threw out one of my paintings - my favorite at that.  Not to mention that she "kept" a lot of actual trash - filling up boxes and suitcase (yeah, great when I ended up needing them!) with trash.  So yeah, the rooms looked great but they weren't truly organized and, sadly, still aren't all these years later.  It's a project of mine but something that is hard to find time to do.  Someday . . .

In the meantime, I can dream of having someone come and take care of it for me, for free.  😀

Walking the dog

 Over the years I've had a number of dogs and walking has always been a part of that.  For the most part the dogs I have had have been larger dogs - 60 lbs and up.  I had a lab that I sadly lost almost seven years ago.  But when he was young, I took him to obedience training.  I had a harness that went over his shoulders to try to help reign him in when we walked - he was a puller!

 

The trainer told me that a halti, which fits like a bridle fits a horse - over the nose, was better.  It applied pressure to their "nose" like their mothers had and helps train them not to pull.  They still can, but they typically won't.  Max didn't, for the most part.  It made walking with him easier and more enjoyable.  It also kept him from choking when he would pull because the pressure isn't on their necks.  Max weighed as much as 125 at times during his life and I could walk him using the halti without issue.

Then came Oreo.

I met Oreo almost two years ago when the fence between mine and my neighbor's yards fell down after a storm.  He was being crated for 18-20 hours a day and he was only nine months old so I offered to watch him during the day.  (He lives here full time now.  😀)

Part of his "doggy day care" I provided (at no charge), was daily walks.  Well, Oreo is a puller!  He gets excited about the next place he can hike his leg and wants to run to it!  

So I invested in a halti for him as well.

Here's the thing, my 125 lb lab was easy to walk with the halti on him.  He rarely pulled with it on.  Oreo weighs 18 lbs and I feel like I'm running behind him so that my arm doesn't get ripped out of its socket!  I mean, the exercise is good and all but whatever happened to a leisurely walk?

Add to this, Oreo seems to LOVE cold weather.  It really seems to get his juices going.  He goes into high gear when outside when it's cold!  So I go to take him for walks now and it's like the starting gun has gone off and he's off to the races and he's determined to win!  It's crazy!

And he rarely lets me "skip" a walk - he's insistent we go every morning.  Every. Morning.  I figure that since I'm so accommodating about walking him every morning, the least he could do is accommodate me and go a bit slower, right?

Good thing I love this little guy.  💕

Book Review Club - December 2020

 

Okay, so last month I posted an old review I'd written before I joined the book club and well, I'm going to do that again.  I've read several books this month but none I felt compelled to review.  I will say though, I'm currently reading The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalain while simultaneously watching the series on HBO Max.  Like a lot of books made into movies or tv series, a lot of things are different but both are good.  If I were finished with the book, I might have reviewed it this month.  😊

 

With that said, below is the review of Sophie Kinsella's Twenties Girl I wrote back in July 2009.

Sophie Kinsella has a knack for creating quirky characters that you love. And TWENTIES GIRL is no different.

For me it is kind of a cross between IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and BRIDGET JONES' DIARY.

Lara Lington hears a not-so still small voice in her ear at her great aunt Sadie's funeral. The problem is, the voice is coming from great aunt Sadie's ghost! Sadie wants the funeral stopped until they can locate her favorite necklace and she won't let up on Lara until she successfully stops the funeral. With no warning and no time to come up with a better plan to stop/postpone the funeral, Lara declares that her dear old great aunt (who was 105 at the time of her death) did not die of natural causes, but was in fact murdered. When pressed for specifics, she's hard pressed to come up with details, particularly considering she never really met her great aunt Sadie but the word "murder" was enough to delay the funeral.

As if dealing with the fallout of the declaration of the supposed murder isn't enough, Lara is also dealing with a floundering business and the end of her latest relationship - not to mention her meddlesome aunt's ghost. And in typical Kinsella style, it is hysterical.

As the story unfolds, the relationship between Lara and Sadie grows. Yes, there is a romance thrown in for good measure but, for me, the heart of the story lies with Lara and Sadie.

TWENTIES GIRL is about values, family and leaving your mark on the world - whether you realize you've done so or not. It's a touching, feel good story that had me laughing hysterically (thankfully I read it at home!) and getting emotional about the characters. Not only is it my favorite Kinsella book to date, it is quite possibly my favorite book of all time.

I highly recommend it. 

 

That's what I wrote in 2009 but for more reviews click on the link below.

 

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@Barrie Summy

Dreams

 I've had two weird dreams recently  One was weird and the other has caused a lot of "why would I have done that" thoughts.  The most recent dream I had was the one that had me wondering why I would do some of the things I did.  It had me returning home after an international trip.  I stopped by my step-brother's house to return his luggage.  The waking thought on this is, why would I have borrowed luggage from my step-brother when I haven't spoken to him but a handful of times in the past 30 years and almost all of our conversations were over the phone and a couple by email.  So why would I borrow his luggage (nevermind that I have my own luggage!)? 

 

Anyway, so I go to return it and pull up in a drive with a drop off box.  I'm shoving the luggage into the box and trying to get out of there before anyone sees me.  My waking thought was, I think I came straight from the airport, did I empty them?  And, if I did, where did I empty them?  But so I'm shoving the luggage into this stationary box.

 

I'm about to leave when my step-brother, his wife and their butler (as far as I know they don't actually have a butler) walk out.  My step-brother says I should come in and turns around and his wife follows him.  The butler suggests I come in for some tea.  I thank him and head down the drive.  Waking thought is, didn't I just drive up?  Why is my car now down the drive?  But in any event, I'm heading towards my car, which is now down the drive.

 

I get in my car and what had just been a nice day has turned into a dense fog, pouring rain kind of day and I'm suddenly driving on the highway, which I'd normally avoid under those type of weather conditions.

 

I decide to slow down because I can barely see the front of the car but as I press down on the brake, the car is slowly accelerating.  I realize I must be pressing the accelerator so I press what I now think is the break but I continue to accelerate.  I think the accelerator must be stuck so I try to slide my foot under the accelerator and now the car is moving so fast I fear for my life because I still can't see what I'm coming up on.  I put one foot on the accelerator and one on the brake and both just make me go faster.  I come up on a red something (I assume a car) and I pull sharply to the right on the steering wheel, barely missing the car and driving on the shoulder.  

 

Cars start honking but I can't imagine they're honking at me because I'm not seeing any cars and I'm pulling ahead of everything, but there is honking.  I have the thought that I had envisioned dying that day and freaked out that this might be what would do it.

 

It seems like there was more to the dream but that's all I remember at the moment.

 

But I looked up what a speeding out of control car dream meant.  I was offered two options:

 

1) I feel like things are out of control in my life and I can't find my way.  I don't feel that way but I can see where that might be the case, given things going on in the country right now.

 

or 

 

2) I'm unreliable.  Huh?  That doesn't even make sense to me.  

 

But there you go, either things are out of control in my life or I'm reliable.  So, which is it?

 

 

The other dream I didn't look up its meaning because I don't really care.  In it I was getting ready to pull up stakes and relocate internationally (I guess there could be that connection between the two dreams).  I had packed up my stuff and someone was going to retrieve it so it would be at the destination, waiting for me when I got there.  Something was said about needing socks.  I found one and decided it wasn't worth the effort and went to a cabin on I assume a ship. When I came out of my room, there was all my stuff and we'd set sail.  I asked my assistant (didn't know I had one) and she said she told them not to take it because I needed my sock - one sock - so everything got left on the ship and not sent ahead.  Weird but I don't see any significance.  If anyone else thinks it means anything, let me know.  :)

Book Review Club - November 2020

In the interest of full disclosure, the book I'm reviewing this month is a re-post of a review I wrote in October 2007.  I've read only two books since our last meeting and both were political in nature and while I would have quite a lot to say about the books, I think we've all had enough politics to last us a while.  So, instead, the book I will be reviewing is you had me at halo by Amanda Ashby.  In the review I said I would be keeping an eye out for future books by her and I did - and I've loved all of them.  I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Ashby at the RWA conference in San Francisco in 2008 and she was as nice as she could be (I was her official stalker at the conference - it's okay, she agreed to let me stalk her in advance! 😀).

 

It's been thirteen years since I first read the book but it remains one of my all time favorite books to this day.  It's light.  It's funny.  It's sweet.  On a scale of 1-5, I'd give it 10 stars!  💓 

And now, below is what I wrote about the book thirteen years ago.  And for more reviews go to https://barriesummy.blogspot.com/index.html .

 

 

There is an author who occasionally "promotes" other authors' works. She does nothing more than say this book is out and then give the blurb, which suggests she may not actually be reading the books. At least that's the approach I take when I see a book "promoted" on her blog. Anyway, she recently had Amanda Ashby's debut book, you had me at halo (it's not capitalized on the cover either ;-) ). I thought the title was fun, the cover okay and the blurb "interesting". So I googled Ms. Ashby to find out more. I read the first chapter and wanted to read more, so I ordered the book. I read the whole thing this afternoon. It was fun. And sweet. It's one of those books where when you're done, you realize you have this big smile on your face because it's just that kind of book.

I will definitely keep an eye out for future books by Amanda Ashby.

And now, the blurb:

Holly Evans has just seen her body laid to rest. Now she would like to move onto the afterlife. But apparently she has some mortal baggage to unload first, starting with the matter of how she died. Her heavenly shrink isn't buying that she didn't kill herself and says she must return to earth to straighten things out. The thing is, she needs to borrow the body of computer geek Vince Murphy to do it. Oh, and although Vince was supposed to have vacated the premise, he apparently never got the memo.

Now, Holly has forty-eight hours to resolve her issues while sharing arms, legs, and...other things...with a guy she barely noticed while she was alive. But the real surprise is what life has to offer when you have only two days to live it.

Book Review Club - October 2020

This month I will be reviewing Fifth Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie.  I learned about this book because it was the GMA book selection and since I've read two other of their recommendations and enjoyed them, I figured this one would be good too.

 

Truth is, I have mixed feelings about it.  If I have to choose between a plot driven story and a character driven story, I will choose character driven story every time.  I want to be invested in the characters and care what happens to them.  If a character isn't sympathetic, the best plot doesn't help me care about the story.  And I can forgive a bad plotline if I really care about the characters.

So, having said all that, I was emotionally invested in Nori from the very first paragraph of the Prelude (not prologue - prelude!).  It starts with The first real memory Nori had was pulling up to that house. A couple of sentences later it goes on to describe the house.  My immediate thought was it was reminiscent of Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews.  That first impression proved to be right but in one paragraph the author had drawn me in and I needed to know that Nori was okay.

 

Nori was born into a royal family in Japan after world war I but before world war II.  The legacy of her family was of critical importance to her grandparents.  After the war royalty in Japan lost its power but still had a reputation and the family had their pride.  They still were rich after all.  The problem was that Nori's father was a black american soldier her mother had an affair with while still married to another man.  This made Nori a bastard child that was an embarrassment to the family and threatened their reputation in the community so her existence had to be kept secret at all costs.

 

The things Nori endured were horrible.  I kept asking myself why I was continuing to read and it was because the author had made me care about her and I kept hoping things would get better for her.

 

At the end of the day I found the ending less than satisfying and felt that there were a few loose ends that should've been tied up but the author kept me invested in the character so that I read to the very end. So yeah, mixed feelings about the book overall.  Can't say I would necessarily recommend it but it was compelling, at least for me.

 

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@Barrie Summy

Book Review Club - September 2020

To be honest, I'm not 100% certain where I heard about this book.  I'm assuming it was because Good Morning America made it its book of the month recommendation for June.  But whatever it was, I was lucky because I got the ebook from my library quickly (I looked at the "backlog" as I was reading - in early July - and there were 140 people waiting to read the book!).

First let me say, I loved this book!  I'd heard it described as two sisters, one deciding to live as a white woman, the other living as a black woman.  A lot of questions came to mind, why?  How? Among others.  I was curious.

The story covers time from the 1950s until around 1990 and starts in a small town in Louisiana called Mallard.  Mallard is so small, it doesn't even make it onto any map and no one outside of Mallard has ever heard of it.  The sisters who live the "advertised" lives of a black woman and a white woman come from the family that founded Mallard.  It was their great, great, great, great grandfather (give or take a few "greats") that founded the town.  With each generation born, their skin tone gets lighter and that appears to be the goal.  But, even though by the time the sisters (Stella and Desiree) are born they are light enough they could pass for white, they're still known to be black in Mallard and the lines are clearly drawn.

The young sisters watch as white men, who feel their father has cheated them, storm their house, drag their father out of the house by his ankles, beat him and shoot him.  Then when their father somehow  survives that, the men go to the hospital to finish the job of killing him.  How each sister processes that life event determines how they live their life going forward.

I don't want to give too much away but I will say the characters were very complex and interesting. Multi-generational viewpoints were explored and examined.  The "what happens next" wasn't obvious or expected and even addressed the changing times during the 60s and 70s in particular.  I didn't want to put the book down. 

Given the events occurring in this country as I write this (July 9th), it highlights that despite how far we think we've come when it comes to race relations, it shows just how little things have changed for black Americans today.  And sadly it seems like we've been going in the wrong direction in that regard.

Despite that, my recommendation would be the same - I highly recommend it.  Well written, great story, complex characters.  It really covers the full spectrum of life.  It's a great book.

For more great book reviews go to https://barriesummy.blogspot.com/index.html.

Book Review Club - June 2020

This month I will be reviewing Surrender at Canyon Road by Debora Dale. Debbie is a friend of mine and she sent me a copy prior to its release, even though she knew I had already pre-ordered it.  That said, I would not be reviewing it or recommending it if I didn't really like it.  With that, my review is below.

Blake’s sister and nephew have been kidnapped and he will do whatever it takes to save them, even if it means hijacking a car and kidnapping its owner in the process.

Dani is on a tight deadline to enter a contest that, if she wins, will change her life and she believes will allow her to put the ghosts and demons from her past squarely in her past.

When Blake “kidnaps” Dani, she’s determined to do whatever it takes to get him out of her car and out of her life.  If he goes to prison for life, she can live with that.  She’s not buying his story about his sister and nephew’s kidnapping.  That is until she hears the desperate pleas from the nephew when the kidnappers call Blake to give him directions for the ransom drop off.

She finds herself drawn to the man who would put it all on the line for his family, something she feels she lacked in her own family.  It is then that she decides to do whatever she can to help him.

Blake has always been the one in his family to be responsible and make sure everyone else is okay and he’s had to do it on his own so when the woman he’s kidnapped starts actively helping him – even though he derailed her own goals – he finds himself drawn to her.

In a race against time, can Blake and Dani save Blake’s sister and nephew?  Will Dani be able to reach her goal of completing the contest that she feels is essential to her future and putting the past behind her?  And will there be a future for the two or was it all just passion of the moment that can’t withstand daily life?

This is a fast paced story, very well written story.  The author ratchets up the tension and I did not want to put the book down.  Very good story.  I highly recommend it.

For more reviews go to https://barriesummy.blogspot.com/index.html