The Next Best Day, by Sharon Sala

 

Publishes Nov. 8, 2022

Although the opening is intense, involving not just getting left at the altar but being seriously wounded in a terrifying school shooting, this one has the usual Sala themes of hope and healing. I must admit, as a former teacher, albeit one who was never involved in any lock down other than for weather, the section involving the school shooter left me shaken. Sadly, while this is fiction, this is also the reality nowadays for too many students and teachers. That Katie McGrath is able to survive not just these events but a childhood of being shunted from foster home to foster home and abuse is amazing. Even more so, she seems to be a wonderful teacher, kind and caring, and, as one character describes her, nice. You'll root for her. Katie is a survivor in all senses of the word.

Fresh starts is another common Sala theme and this one involves not just Katie, who moves after the shooting incident, but her neighbor Det. Sam Youngblood and his two young, twin daughters, Evie and Beth. He's raised them alone after his wife died giving birth to them. Like Katie, he's opening up to more and they are immediately attracted, particularly as Katie proves adept at not just telling the twins apart easily but sensing their moods and needs. How these two wounded souls come together forms the basis of the story and it's a good one. 

The only jarring aspect of the book, as in jarring because it took me out of the story, was the side-story following Katie's almost husband, Mark. Well, that and a sad acknowledgement that Sam simply couldn't be that perfect, nor could Katie.... but I liked them just the way they are. It's occasionally nice to read about people who aren't twisted up by inner demons (as if Katie's PTSD from the shooting isn't enough). Bottom line, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and found myself thinking about it as I went about my daily life. That is a sign for me that a book has made an impression, in this case a good one. Give it a read but, sigh, be sure you're ready for the gut wrenching intro to how they get to their "next best day".

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Sourcebooks - #Casablanca for introducing me to Katie, Sam, and the rest of Borden's Gap, TN. I wish they were real and my neighbors.

Hold the Line: The Insurrection and One Cop's Battle for America's Soul (ebook), by Michael Fanone, with John Shiffman

 

Publication Oct. 11, 2022

Powerful. As I read, I felt like I'd been transitioned back to that fateful day when I watched in horrified disbelief the events going down in Washington DC. Given the impact this book had on me, I cannot imagine what it must have taken Michael Fanone to find the will to write it. It took strength of not just character but belief. His belief that our democracy was on the line shines through. We owe him and the others who stood firm on the side of democracy a huge thank you.

As such, I won't detract from the importance of this book by trying to find the fancy words to describe it. It carries a powerful punch. Read it.

Thank you #MichaelFanone #NetGalley and AtriaBooks for making this important work available to the American people.

Profiles in Ignorance: How America's Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber, by Andy Borowitz

 

Publication Sept. 13, 2022

Andy Borowitz knows his audience and subject. Despite the fact I read his frequent posts on social media avidly, I was a bit wary of this book, fearing it might be one long, comedic take on current politics. I couldn't have been more wrong. That doesn't mean there isn't humor. Just when you think Borowitz has gone serious on you, he's likely to slip in an often subtle zinger. Nor is the criticism bashing. It's largely simply a recitation of facts/events as they happened.

And, let's face it. Given some of the events of the past political season.....wait, does that season ever end anymore?.... just a mere recitation of the events and mangling of of the English language is either humorous to you or just makes you shake your head in disbelief. I fell somewhere in-between. My only complaint is that, unlike social media, Borowitz and the publisher can't update this book every day as historic events occur almost daily. Oh, well, can't have everything. 

I liked the simple ordering, ie the three stages of ignorance. First stage, ridicule. Second, acceptance. Third, celebration (of ignorance). Borowitz does an admirable job detailing events, both distant past and recent although, as noted, the final curtain on this story hasn't come down. Since I was largely only familiar with Borowitz' zippy humor, his quick quips or short takes on events, I was impressed at the depth of this "call to action", all done with a quick twist of humor and viewpoint. Borowitz seems to recognize that not only are we humans frequently our own worst enemies but our means of salvation. Ignorance isn't a virtue seems to be the unifying theme of it all. 

I highly recommend this book and hope there will be an updated version available when current events (the Jan. 6 hearings and aftermath) are history. Thanks to #NetGalley and #AvidReaderPress - #SimonAndSchuster for making this work available. It should be a "must have" for anyone who cares about not just our country/government but history. 

Souvenirs from Kyiv, Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

Heartbreaking. You're there. You feel their pain. Their fear. Their hunger. The despair. You're reminded that all we really know of war is of our own experience, an experience many have only experienced from the safety and security of their television screen or a book. Most of all, you're reminded that there are no winners in war, then or now. It's easy to feel anxiety as we see the past being reflected in the present. While the foreword is new, the book itself details experiences in the second world war but echoes strongly given current events. A character in each of the six stories within ties them together.

I won't detail the stories as you need to meet them head on, with no expectations or screens to fully appreciate the hunger, despair and, yes, hope. As I type, the invasion of the Ukraine continues. We see the scenes on our tv screens, yes, but somehow even that and the starkly shattering scenes captured in pictures never quite lets us inside the heart, hopes, and dreams of the Ukrainian people. In this book, Ukrainian-American author Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger allows us to feel their hearts as she shares her stories of families past. She weaves these stories into a tale of historical fiction but you know, you just know, the pain was real.

This book was an eye opener. Until recently, I must admit, I had no real knowledge of Ukraine or its people Her foreword, written post invasion, details a brief history of the country, noting that her goal is "to hold up a mirror to our humanity so we can reflect on how we have gotten to where we find ourselves. I write stories to help readers and listeners connect to their ability for empathy. And I write to resolve the truth behind the big picture, to make it clear that conflict is not about two teams meeting on the battlefield -- one called 'good' and one called 'bad', there are no winners in this story."

I recommend this to anyone who cares, anyone who has a thirst to know more than the news feeds dole out to us. It's a stunningly sad yet, ironically, hopeful story. The human need for freedom rings out. Read it. You owe it to yourself.

My genuine, heartfelt thank you to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for making this book available.

What Unites Us, by Dan Rather (old post I made on Facebook)

 Just ran across this "Memory" on Facebook and thought it was worth sharing here. Originally shared 2017.

Had lunch out earlier but home and curled back up on the couch with a dog on my lap and a book in my hand. Still reading Dan Rather's "What Unites Us" and recommend it to anyone with an interest in where we came from and how the heck we got where we are today. 

 

Just finished a section near and dear to my heart called, what else, books. Made me smile in remembrance when he recounted when the power of the library card was first revealed to him. 

 

Oh, what a great memory it brings back of browsing the library in my ol' home town and always finding more books that I wanted than we were then allowed to check out at one time. Horse books, ie "Black Stallion...." were always at the tops of my list but I do so remember the wonder of "Secret Garden" and so many more. I cannot imagine what my world would have been like without books....and adults who modeled reading to me.

White House Confidential: The Little Book of Weird Presidential History, by Gregg Stebben, Austin Hill, Will Durst

I've got to admit, while I found the various stories, tidbits, and wisps of gossip intriguing, I also found the going a bit chaotic. It tended to jump around a great deal, more from theme to theme than from president to president. As a result, especially reading on my phone as I was, I found it difficult to keep track of who did what and when. And, boy, there were a lot of whos doing whats. From Washington to Obama (published pre-Trump and Biden), not to mention several vice-presidents and assorted governmental figures, both well known and not, as well as some relatives of presidents, there was a lot to cover. I was aware of some of the information shared but had somehow, thank goodness in some cases, missed other bits shared. Bottom line, though hardly the book for someone seeking accurate, documented information about the presidents, this was a fun, easy read with just enough shared to catch your attention before moving on. Wow, who knew some of our presidents were so, well, uh, un-presidential? Maybe the real question is, what does the fact I thoroughly enjoyed it all say about me? Never mind. I'd rather not know.