Review: Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this. When I was in high school, I watched the TV series on PBS and loved it. I wanted so very much to someday find my own place at 28 Barbary Lane.

That was twenty-five years ago. I'd not thought much about the story until last weekend, when I decided I wanted to visit San Francisco for my birthday. That's when I remembered why I had once yearned to go to San Francisco. Turns out, I already had the book on my kindle.

To prepare for my trip next weekend, I decided to read Tales of the City. And it was wonderful.

Really a fun book about a group of friends living in San Francisco during the late 70s. Deals with so many issues that remain relevant today. The story didn't feel dated at all. I now want to read the rest of the series - I think I've got several of the books at my parents' house, so will wait until after the holidays before purchasing what I don't already have.




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Review: Whiskey & Ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith

Whiskey & Ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book, it kept me up reading well into the early morning hours. Really a heartbreaking about a woman who has lost her husband, and how she and his brother come to terms with the loss. I liked that we are able to see how the relationship began, because then you see why their grief is so intense. This was a happy marriage, they were expecting their first child, and then it ended.

The brother steps in to take care of his brother's wife. His brother, who was a police officer and often worried that he might not survive the job, had often asked that his brother take care of his wife should something ever happen to him.

I would have liked this book a whole lot more if the ending had been different though. The ending this had made me a little uncomfortable, wrapped things up a bit too conveniently. I think it would have made more sense if they had realized what was happening to them was the result of grief and a shared love for the man they lost. But that's just me. Still a really good book.


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Review: Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

Such an important and timely story, and I'm so glad an author with Picoult's clout chose to tell it.

This tells the story of the people working at a women's health clinic when they're attacked by a "pro-lifer" wanting to avenge his daughter who had an abortion. (As the story progresses, you realize his daughter didn't even have an abortion there, but that's what he thinks when he shows up and starts shooting.)

I thought Picoult did a good job of showing what everyone was going through - the doctors, nurses, office staff, as well as the patients, and the police officers outside. I also realize that she was making an effort to show all side of the story and claim that the pro-lifers aren't really evil. That's nice and all, but it's a little difficult to convince me there's any good in anyone who feels women shouldn't be allowed to control what happens to their own body. But respect to the author for making that extra effort to try and claim they don't really want to control women.

Anyway, I was glad to see that the author was showing the necessity of abortion clinics and how they work to help women. These people are putting their lives at risk every day so that someone else can live the life they want. She went into the different reasons why people - the doctors and patients - found themselves in these situations. These women aren't there because they're selfish, they're doing what they think is best at this point in their lives.

I didn't love the way in which the story was written, going back an hour with each chapter. It made the story feel a bit repetitive because we already know what's happened to a lot of the people. I know the purpose is to reveal more about each character, but it made it too easy to set the book down. Also, there's a bit of a twist in the story involving the nurse, and it's there for shock effect, and I know Picoult's books tend to have something like that in them. But I didn't like it, it felt very unnecessary and a little confusing. There's an even bigger twist involving some of the other characters. That part, I thought was interesting. In the end though, what you realize is there are so many people living lives they didn't want because of accidental or unplanned pregnancies. They did what they felt they should and brought the unplanned child into the world, and in doing so, had to give up their own dreams and plans. Even if their lives turned out okay, it wasn't the life they'd wanted, and years later, they find themselves in a constant state of disappointment, missing the life they gave up in order to bring a child into the world.

Overall though, a very good book providing a lot to think about.

I received a copy via NetGalley.

Book recommendations - comforting/empowering reads

I'll get right to the point: I'm very much a feminist, and quite liberal, and on some topics, I'm even something of a radical. So, I was a bit shocked and horrified when I began to see tweets in my feed supporting ideas that I find, well, horrible. Who the hell was I following that would re-tweet this kind of trash into my timeline?

Alas, it was a romance writer whose books I've read and bought in the past. I immediately unfollowed the author on twitter, went to facebook and unliked her fan page. Mostly though, I was feeling kind of disgusted for having spent money on her books. Sad about the time I'd spent reading her books.

That same day, not too long after I noticed this, I saw quite a few other people commenting on it. Clearly, I wasn't the only person upset - for me, this is the benefit of twitter, knowing others feel the same. Turns out she wasn't the only author expressing some rather icky opinions. I wasn't familiar with the other authors, but suffice it to say, I won't be reading any of their work. I very much appreciate the book bloggers who put together a list of authors to avoid.

Maybe a writer's political opinion doesn't bother some readers. That's fine. No judgement. But for me, I feel like the way a person thinks will reflect in their work. Also, time and money are limited and I don't want to be wasting either on people who hold beliefs I find abhorrent. There are so very many books out there to read. Right now, I've got 871 books on my "to-read" list, and that isn't even counting the hundreds of free kindle books I've gotten from amazon. It only makes sense that I would choose to focus my reading time and money on people I don't mind supporting.

I don't think it's a random coincidence that most of the authors I love tend to hold similar beliefs to mine. Their work resonates with me for a reason.

Now to the point of this blog post. I felt like a I directed a lot of energy toward "authors to avoid" last week. But now, I want to direct some attention to authors I love. These days, a lot of us need an escape into fiction, and these are a few of the books and authors I recommend for that. The following are books I consider to be comfort/empowering reads.

One of the books I keep thinking about lately is Jennifer Bernard's Set the Night on Fire. The story is very relevant to one of the big stories that has been dominating the news lately - except on more of a small town political level - not the Supreme Court. The first time I read this was in July of 2017 - and I feel almost certain there was a similar news story happening at the time, but I don't remember the details, only that after I read the book I thought, "It's so nice to read a story in which the corrupt, bad politician gets what he deserves." I recommended the book to all of my friends at the time. Now, it seems appropriate to do so again. I thought Bernard did a great job at showing what a woman goes through in keeping a secret like that, believing she needs to protect her family, and knowing the risks associated with coming forward. Also, Jennifer Bernard writes the best contemporary romances. I don't read a lot of that genre, but I try to read everything she writes. Her books are so good, really sexy, with great story lines and interesting characters.

Paranormal romance tends to be more my thing. My favorite author in that genre is Michele Hauf. Her books, set in her Beautiful Creatures world are often my escape when the real world is too much to handle. The one I'm going to recommend now though is called An American Witch in Paris. I liked the way Hauf directly addressed issues such as feminism and consent. It felt very relevant. Besides all of that, the story is exciting - they're saving the world from falling angels - and very sexy.

Another great romance that I have read recently is Pas de Deux by Wynter S.K. I hadn't heard much about the book, but the description intrigued me. I don't know much about the author, this is the only book of hers I've read - but I thought she did a great job of showing people realistically dealing with trauma and its effects - both mental and physical. And it is one of the most beautiful love stories I've read in a while. Really wonderful book about a couple who have to endure a lot before they can get to a point where they are truly honest with each other.

My next recommendation is a favorite of mine. I read it every October. Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is the perfect fall read - witches and vampires, libraries filled with magic, history and science - it's all there. It's a story about discovering that love looks beyond differences and long-held prejudices, and families are built on much more than blood connections. Once you read that book, you'll want to read the whole trilogy.

My last recommendation, because I felt like I should have five books, is City of Darkness, City of Light by Marge Piercy. This one, unlike my other recommendations, isn't a romance. It's a story about the French Revolution that focuses on the women involved. These days, we're kind of bombarded by stories of horrible things happening to women, and it might help to read about women trying to claim a bit of power in shaping the direction of their country.

Those are what I could think of right off the top of my head. I'm sure I'll think of others as soon as I post this.

I've attempted to hyperlink the book titles to amazon because that's where I tend to buy books, but I have no affiliation with them. 

Review: Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Listened to this audiobook and very much enjoyed it.

I have a very strong interest in WWII, but most of what I've read is set in France. I know very little about the war in Italy, despite having visited the country a few times. This story is set mostly in Milan, a city I've visited once, and loved, though I only spent a day there. Was interesting to imagine the action taking place in the areas near the Duomo and La Scala.

I found this story fascinating because it's told from the viewpoint of a young man who was forced into the war. He was going to the movies one evening, waiting and hoping for the woman he'd asked out earlier to show up and next thing he knows he's in the midst of bombing.

The story traces his involvement in the war, which spans about two years. From his time of helping Jews to escape to working for the Allies as a spy among the Nazis. There's also a bit of a love story.

Not entirely sure I would have liked this book as much if I'd read it rather than listened because when I read, I notice that I skim over details relating to war, and this is fairly descriptive. But listening to the story, that wasn't an issue at all.

Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in WWII or Italian history.

I was telling students about the book the other day and someone says, they should make that into a movie. Had no idea until a few minutes after I finished listening to the book that there is a movie in production. Looking forward to seeing that.


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