Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

Choose Your Own Adventure Books!

 

Does anyone else remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books? I remember they were popular books in elementary school when I was a child. I remember you could but the mass market paperback copies at the grocery store. I read a few of these books and enjoyed them as a kid. 

I hadn't thought about the Choose Your Own Adventure books in years. I came across the above YouTube video that took me down memory lane and discusses the rise and fall of the the Choose Your Own Adventure books.

Fire Exit by Morgan Talty

 

I recently found the hardback edition of Fire Exit by Morgan Talty at a Little Free Library in Livermore, California last month. 

I've had this desire to read more books written by Native American writers. So, when I saw Fire Exit at the Little Free Library last month, I felt like it was serendipity that I read Fire Exit this month.

I'm not sure what I was really expecting from Fire Exit, but it wasn't this. I liked Fire Exit, but it was a darker read for me. The novel deals with Native American culture and identity, mental health and dementia, alcoholism, and touches upon the lgbtqia+ topic. 

Also, the fact that in order to be considered a Native American, one must have a certain percentage of Native American blood in them. This was a huge topic/storyline in this novel! The protagonist, Charles Lamosway, is the biological father of a girl named, Elizabeth, but he only has one interaction with Elizabeth as a child because Elizabeth's mother, Mary. Mary wants a man named Roger to assume the role of father to Elizabeth, so that Elizabeth can be considered a full member of the Penobscot Tribe as Roger is Native American.

Over the years, it becomes apparent that Charles Lamosway continues to long to be part of Elizabeth's life and regrets not being a part of her life. He wrestles with the idea of whether or not to confront Elizabeth and tell her that he is her biological  father. Charles Lamosway wants Elizabeth to know her true background and cultural identity and not solely what Roger and Mary have told Elizabeth.

Charles Lamosway also deals with alcoholism. Charles Lamosway's friend, Bobby, is an alcoholic too. So this is another topic touched upon in Talty's novel. 

Mental health issues and dementia are also a big part of Fire Exit as Louise (Charles Lamosway's mother) has dementia and he takes care of her. Elizabeth also has mental health issues throughout the novel as well.

Fire Exit deals with so many topics/subjects. I feel like Morgan Talty does a good job combining all of them to make a cohesive novel.

Below is a short YouTube video of Morgan Talty discussing his novel, Fire Exit. I always enjoy hearing authors discussing the inspiration behind what made them write their novels.

Below is the summary for Fire Exit by Morgan Talty, which I found on the Goodreads website:

Does she remember this day? Does she remember it at all? Does she know this history—this story—her body holds secret from her?

From the porch of his home, Charles Lamosway has watched the life he might have had unfold across the river on Maine’s Penobscot Reservation. On the far bank, he caught brief moments of Roger and Mary raising their only child, Elizabeth—from the day she came home from the hospital to her early twenties. But there’s always been something deeper and more dangerous than the river that divides him from this family and the rest of the tribal community. It’s the secret that Elizabeth is his daughter, a secret Charles is no longer willing to keep.

Now it’s been weeks since he’s seen Elizabeth, and Charles is worried. As he attempts to hold on and care for what he his home and property, his alcoholic, quick-tempered and big-hearted friend Bobby, and his mother, Louise, who is slipping ever-deeper into dementia—he becomes increasingly haunted by his past. Forced to confront a lost childhood on the reservation, a love affair cut short, and the death of his beloved stepfather, Fredrick, in a hunting accident—a death that he and Louise cannot agree where to lay the blame—Charles contends with questions he’s long been afraid to ask. Is it his secret to share? And would his daughter want to know the truth?

From award-winning author of Night of the Living Rez, Morgan Talty’s debut novel, Fire Exit, is a masterful and unforgettable story of family, legacy, bloodlines, culture and inheritance, and what, if anything, we owe one another.

I am giving Fire Exit by Morgan Talty a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

Six New to Me Little Free Libraries in Santa Rosa, California! Plus, Valentine's Day Weekend Fun!!

 My husband and I took a long, four day vacation weekend to celebrate both Valentine's Day and President's Day. 

We decided to stay at an Airbnb in Santa Rosa, California as a way to have a fun, romantic time spent together.

We started our long weekend by visiting the Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts comic creator) Museum and Research Center on Friday, February 13th. 

We'd been wanting to visit this particular museum for probably a decade now. I'm happy we finally made the visit. 

This two story museum is charming! It's small, but still packs a punch in terms of current exhibits, interactive displays, and beautiful outdoor grounds to walk through. We enjoyed reading the various comic strips on display, learning the history of the Peanuts comic strip (last year the Peanuts turned 75 years old!), and more about the life of Charles M. Schulz (like how he got the nickname, Sparky). 

I think I enjoyed the mock up of Charles M. Schulz's office on display within the museum, the Baccarat Snoopy also on display, the architecture of the museum itself, and the outdoor grounds the most during my visit.

Me Outside the entrance for the Charles M. Schulz Museum

Me standing next to the Charlie Brown statue outside of the Museum.

On Valentine's Day, my husband and I found six Little Free Libraries near our Airbnb! In fact, one of the LFLs was a tenth of a mile away from where we stayed in Santa Rosa, which was super cool! We loved finding all six of the LFLs in Santa Rosa. Below are the photos of the LFLs we found. 

We probably would have found more Little Free Libraries on Valentine's Day if the rain hadn't started coming down fairly hard. So, we headed back to our Airbnb and chilled out until dinner time.

This is the LFL closest to where we stayed in Santa Rosa, California.

Our 2nd LFL discovery.

Our 3rd LFL discovery!!

Our 4th LFL Discovery in Santa Rosa!

This was the largest and cutest LFL we discovered in Santa Rosa!!

This was the last LFl find in Santa Rosa!!

On Sunday, February 15th, my husband and I visited Safari West in Santa Rosa, California! Safari West is another place my husband and I've had on our bucket list for a very long time. We LOVED our two hour visit at Safari West and look forward to coming back for a different in person experience next time.

Safari West is a 400 acre "immersive (animal) preserve where people could encounter wildlife, connect with nature, and learn through experience." They offer an onsite glamping experience, dining options, gift shop, safari tours where visitors can view "giraffes, rhinos, zebras, cape buffalo, and wildebeest on an unforgettable open-air adventure.", and several behind the scenes experiences.

My husband and I participated in the Animal Care Enrichment Experience Tour with animal keeper, Kelsey (I hope this is how she spells her name???), at Safari West. While we were there, we made enrichment toys filled with food for the DeBrazza's Monkeys. We learned so much about the Debrazza's Monkeys during our time spent with Kelsey. Kelsey was so engaging, knowledgeable, sweet, and answered our plethora of questions about the monkeys and Safari West. 

After putting together the enrichment toys for the DeBrazza's Monkeys, we were taken over to their enclosure where we were able to see both Meeka (17 year old female DeBrazza's Monkey) and Mojo (18 year old male DeBrazza's Monkey) interact with the enrichment toys we made for them. What fun this was!!

See the following four photos I took during the enrichment experience of Meeka and Mojo.

Meeka

Mojo

Mojo

Mojo

I hope you had a marvelous Valentine's Day/President's Day weekend!!

Two New to Me Little Free Libraries in Rohnert Park, California!!

 

Today, my husband and I made our way home from a four day, long weekend getaway to Santa Rosa, California to celebrate both Valentine's Day and President's Day!

On our way home, we passed by Rohnert Park, California where we found two new to us Little Free Libraries. There were plenty of other LFLs to find, but the rain started coming down harder. So, we decided to stay warm and dry and just headed home.

Rohnert Park, California is also home to CSU Sonoma State.

Another post coming soon, where I share my Santa Rosa Little Free Library finds.

Until then, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

Happy Love of Reading Month!!

 

What A Cool Idea For A Book Club!

 

The Redondo Beach walking club turns audiobooks into group activity!! I love audiobooks. I also love walking for fitness and book clubs. What a great way to combine one's love for reading, fitness, and book clubs! It would be wonderful if they had something like this in our area.

How You Ruined My Life by Jeff Strand

 

I found a used paperback copy of How You Ruined My Life by Jeff Strand inside a Little Free Library. I've read four other novels written by Jeff Strand and enjoyed them, so snagged this one when I saw it. Little did I realize at the time that How You Ruined My Life by Jeff Strand is a book for young adults!

I have enjoyed many young adult novels in the past. However, How You Ruined My Life by Jeff Strand flopped big time for me, which is disappointing for me as I've enjoyed the previous novels I've read by Jeff Strand. How You Ruined My Life came off as immature to me.... Yes, I realize How You Ruined My Life is a book for young adults, but it felt like he was trying to hard to be humorous and write a book that teens will love. 

The ending was decent... I was kind of concerned that it was going to be unsatisfactory, but the ending was better than expected. There were also a few plot devices used by Jeff Strand that were redeeming, but overall How You Ruined My Life wasn't very enjoyable for me. I'll stick with his books written for adults in the future.

Below is the publisher's summary for How You Ruined My Life by Jeff Strand I discovered on Goodreads:

Rod's life doesn't suck. If you ask him, it's pretty awesome. He may not be popular, but he and his best friends play in a band that has a standing gig. Yeah, it's Monday night and they don't get paid, but they can crank the volume as loud as they want. And Rod's girlfriend is hot, smart, and believes in their band-believes in Rod. Aside from a winning lottery ticket, what more could he ask for? Answer: A different cousin. When Rod's scheming, two-faced cousin Blake moves in for the semester, Rod tries to keep calm. Blake seems to have everyone else fooled with his good manners and suave smile, except Rod knows better. Blake is taking over his room, taking over his band, taking over his life! But Rod's not about to give up without a fight. Game on. May the best prankster win . . .

I am giving How You Ruined My Life by Jeff Strand a rating of 2 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!