Cari Mora by Thomas Harris

I have read four previous novels written by Thomas Harris, Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising. All four novels I enjoyed reading tremendously.

In early 2019, I was thrilled to learn that Thomas Harris had written a new novel titled, Cari Mora, to be published in May 2019. This would be the first novel published by Thomas Harris since 2006. Additionally, Cari Mora would not feature the infamous character, Hannibal Lecter. Needless to say, I was initially excited about the impending release of Cari Mora and looked forward to reading this novel when it debuted.

Upon the release of Cari Mora, the reviews were less than stellar for this novel. In fact, it seemed like most reviewers didn't care much for Cari Mora at all and that seems to be putting it mildly. Because of the lackluster reception for Cari Mora, I decided to take a hard pass on reading this novel and moved on to reading other books instead... That is until this year when my curiosity got the better of me. I purchased the eBook edition of Cari Mora from Amazon on sale.

After reading the first 20% of Cari Mora, I was left wondering if I should continue reading it or not. The writing wasn't engrossing in the least. In fact, I found Cari Mora very lackluster. Cari Mora contained too many characters to keep track of initially. I also felt like the writing style wasn't living up to what I expected from Thomas Harris, which left me seriously wondering if Mr. Harris had lost his writing mojo altogether.

I decided to push forward and read a few more chapters of Cari Mora to see if things picked up. I'm glad I finished reading Cari Mora. However, it wasn't a great read and definitely not one of the author's finest works of writing, in my opinion. 

Cari Mora, the main character, is a strong female character and has lived a difficult life. As a child, Cari was kidnapped and trained (brainwashed really) to work as a child soldier in Colombia before arriving in the US on a Temporary Protected Status. Since Cari's arrival in the US, she has lived in limbo trying to make the best of her precarious resident status. I would have loved to see more character development with Cari Mora. With the exception of the last two chapters and another chapter earlier in the novel showcasing Cari's life as a child soldier, she felt very two dimensional overall.

Additionally, the main bad guy, Hans-Peter Schneider, was freaky weird and more of a 'caricature' bad guy... Yes, Hans-Peter Schneider is pure evil, but just plain weird. Again, think two dimensional... Hans-Peter Schneider just seemed hollow to me. Whereas the character of Hannibal Lecter is so well developed by Thomas Harris. It just left me wondering what went wrong in creating the character of Hans-Peter Schneider?

I still think there were way too many characters for this novel to keep track of with all its action. Perhaps if there were less characters or a longer length novel to accommodate both character development for all the characters and the storyline as well, Cari Mora would have been a better read.

The most bizarre chapter, hands down, was chapter 25. Chapter 25 is told from the perspective of a saltwater alligator (or was it a freshwater crocodile??). This chapter felt so random... Like why was it even in the novel????

Below is the plot summary for Cari Mora by Thomas Harris from Amazon's website:

A resilient young woman must outwit a sadistic psychopath in this pulse-pounding thriller from the author of The Silence of the Lambs, a "master still at the top of his strange and chilling form" (Wall Street Journal).

Twenty-five million dollars in cartel gold lies hidden beneath a mansion on the Miami Beach waterfront. Ruthless men have tracked it for years. Leading the pack is Hans-Peter Schneider. Driven by unspeakable appetites, he makes a living fleshing out the violent fantasies of other, richer men.

Cari Mora, caretaker of the house, has escaped from the violence in her native country. She stays in Miami on a wobbly Temporary Protected Status, subject to the iron whim of ICE. She works at many jobs to survive. Beautiful, marked by war, Cari catches the eye of Hans-Peter as he closes in on the treasure. But Cari Mora has surprising skills, and her will to survive has been tested before.

Monsters lurk in the crevices between male desire and female survival. No other writer in the last century has conjured those monsters with more terrifying brilliance than Thomas Harris. Cari Mora, his sixth novel, is the long-awaited return of an American master.

The following YouTube video is a video review for Cari Mora created by Ron Charles, book critic, The Washington Post that I found intriguing.

I am giving Cari Mora by Thomas Harris a rating of 2 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Top Ten Tuesday - Indie/Self-Published Books

 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Below are my top ten favorite indie/self-published books listed in no particular order of importance. It was difficult to narrow down my choices.

1. Final Stop Albuquerque by Alice Zogg

2. Bone Deep by Bonnie Dee

3. My Conversations With Black: 13 People, 1 Body by Bill Puett, Ph.D.

4. Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story by Christie Santo & Jeff Santo

5. Books, Blogs & Reality by Ryan Ringbloom

6. Quirky Berkeley by Tom Dalzell

7.  All By My Selfie by Jo Noelle

8. Kentucky on the Rocks by Gwendolyn Grace

9. Hearts in Darkness (Hearts in Darkness Duet Book 1) by Laura Kaye

10. Love in the Light (Hearts in Darkness #2) by Laura Kaye

Have you read any of these books?

Little Free Library in Danville, California!

 

Here's another Little Free Library my husband and I found on Friday, March 31, 2023 in Danville, California. This LFL contained many books for both children and adults. 

I left three books and came away with three nonfiction books (The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas, and Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong) that I'm curious about and I look forward to reading all of them.

Also, when I leave books at Little Free Libraries, I've already registered them on the Bookcrossing website and attached a label to each book. I then make 'wild release' notes as to where I've left each book and what I've thought about them if I've read them. This way other Bookcrossers/avid readers can find the books and make journal entries for the book I've left behind. This way I can see what other readers think of the book and where it travels to next as long as the reader makes a journal entry for the book. 

Lucky for me, another local Bookcrosser grabbed the copy of The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton I'd left behind at this Little Free Library. I can't wait to read what she thinks about the book once she has read it.

Dublin Pioneer Cemetery Visit + Surprising Little Free Library Find!!

 

On Friday, March 31st, my husband and I visited the Dublin Pioneer Cemetery in Dublin, California. The Dublin Pioneer Cemetery is a small, beautiful, old cemetery that contains several interred founding families for the city of Dublin. Quite a few of those interred here are from Ireland originally.

We found this large eucalyptus tree located in the back left portion of the Dublin Pioneer Cemetery. It has a little, green door attached to it with a little hidey-hole behind the door. What is this and why is it located in a cemetery? Whatever it is, it is certainly interesting. There was nothing inside the hidey-hole itself.

After walking through the Dublin Pioneer Cemetery, my husband spotted this very cute Little Free Library in the park next to the the Dublin Pioneer Cemetery. We couldn't resist taking a look at it.

Have you found any Little Free Libraries lately?

New Little Free Library in San Ramon, California!!

 

Yesterday on Friday, March 31st, my husband and I enjoyed finding this cute, new to us Little Free Library in San Ramon, California! I left two books and came away with two book to add to my ever growing 'to be read pile'. 

I always enjoy finding new to me Little Free Libraries. Especially if they contain books I want to read! Have you discovered any Little Free Libraries lately?

Throwback Thursday - 12 Works of Fiction That Exceeded My Expectations

Since I began blogging at the start of 2012, I've come across and read many novels by not so well known authors or novels written by well known authors that haven't garnered much attention. Below are twelve novels I enjoyed reading that I wanted to spotlight this week. Click on the links below to read my review for each novel.

1. The Obituary Society (The Obituary Society #1) by Jessica L. Randall
2. The Forty Fathom Bank by Les Galloway
3. Nosebleed by Ged Maybury
4. Shadow on the Sun by Richard Matheson
5. Imperfect Chemistry (Imperfect #1) by Mary Frame
6. Bone Deep by Bonnie Dee
7. Kentucky On The Rocks by Gwendolyn Grace

8. All By My Selfie by Jo Noelle
9. Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven
10. Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story by Christie Santo & Jeff Santo

11. The Taster by V. S. Alexander

12. Brass by Xhenet Aliu

Have you read any of the books mentioned in my blog post today?

Cartomancy - Fortune Telling With Playing Cards by Julian Moore

 

I've been interested in learning cartomancy in its various forms from tarot, lenormand, and even with regular playing cards for several years now. With this in mind, I decided to read a cartomancy book back in December 2019 that was good in many ways, but it left me with more questions on how to be more proficient on giving readings with a regular deck of playing cards.

So, I purchased the eBook edition of Cartomancy - Fortune Telling With Playing Cards by Julian Moore from Amazon and read it via my Kindle app. Cartomancy - Fortune Telling With Playing Cards by Julian Moore is 114 pages in length for the ebook edition and is worth every penny. I love most everything about this cartomancy book!! 

Cartomancy - Fortune Telling With Playing Cards by Julian Moore quickly dives in to learning how to read playing cards. The author asks readers to purchased two playing card decks. One playing card deck will be become a working/learning deck where you put the meanings for each suit and the meanings for each of the cards, ace through king, on the face of each card and use it as a practice deck until you become proficient with each card's meaning. Once you become proficient using your working deck, you transition to using the normal, unmarked deck. I love this idea of making a working deck to use while learning to read playing cards and to also keep as a refresher deck if you haven't given a card reading in a while.

Additionally, I loved the quizzes at the end of most of the chapters to help solidify the knowledge given in each chapter. Also, practicing card readings on ones own seems to be one of the best ways to learn how to read playing cards. 

Each chapter in Cartomancy - Fortune Telling With Playing Cards builds on one another to add another layer to ones understanding of reading playing cards. There are also tips given by the author as well as action steps to take to help build ones knowledge base for giving playing card readings. 

I also enjoyed reading later chapters where the author gives the meanings for three card readings, which was awesome. The last few chapters were tips on how to give playing card readings and also how to do larger card readings beyond the three card spread. The information on how to give larger card readings was a bit unclear to me. I wish photos of these spreads and a bit more detail were given about them. Otherwise I think Cartomancy - Fortune Telling With Playing Cards was a fabulous read on how to give playing card readings for oneself and others. I highly recommend Cartomancy - Fortune Telling With Playing Cards by Julian Moore as a way to learn to read playing cards.

Now to practice, practice, practice learning and giving playing card readings!!

I am giving Cartomancy - Fortune Telling With Playing Cards by Julian Moore a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Yikes, a Woman in San Francisco Has Been Asked to Remove Her Little Free Library Or Pay a $1,400 Fine!!!

I came across and read the following article published in the San Francisco Chronicle titled, S.F. bureaucrats gave woman a choice: Remove free library or pay $1,400 after one anonymous complaint by Heather Knight. In the article, Heather Knight wrote the following:

For more than a decade, Susan Meyers’ front sidewalk proved a cheerful hub in her Lower Pacific Heights neighborhood — until one anonymous grump called 311. In this city notorious for giving tremendous credence to solitary complainers — who have the right to halt housing projects, foil their neighbors’ housing remodels and stall emergency transit projects — that one call compelled a visit from a Public Works inspector.

And soon, Meyers’ adorable little library had a notice affixed to it with bright blue tape giving her two choices: Remove the bench and the library or pay $1,402 for a “minor encroachment permit.”

Even though there’s plenty of space on the wide sidewalk for people to walk, push their strollers or pass by in wheelchairs. Even though the home’s front stairs stretch farther into the sidewalk than the bench or library. Even though legions of neighbors love the setup and want it to stay.

Meyers’ neighbors have offered to create a GoFundMe to raise the $1,402 for a permit, but she doesn’t want to go that route. The 79-year-old therapist and her husband, a retired lawyer, could pay the fee, but why should they?

Public Works says the couple doesn't have to pay the fee for now while the department develops a new program to make it easier to add benches, free libraries and other neighborhood amenities, but the details of that proposal aren't yet clear.

“It’s the principle of it,” Meyers told me about getting the notice. “When you’re trying to raise spirits in a city at a very low time, that shouldn’t be punished.”

After reading the above article, I was left shaking my head at the nonsense of it all. Seriously, if both the bench and the Little Free Library referred to in the above article DO NOT encroach upon the sidewalk space AND walkers, baby strollers, and those in wheelchairs are able to use the sidewalk without being restricted in any way, then what's the problem with having the bench and the Little Free Library where they are currently located? 

Additionally, as the above article also points out, 'the home’s front stairs stretch farther into the sidewalk than the bench or library', yet the anonymous individual who reported the issue isn't complaining about the stairs apparently. 

Click on the above link to read the entire article.

Another Indie Bookstore Bites the Dust After 32 Years of Business!!

I recently came across an article published on the SF Gate's website titled, ‘A gut punch’: Two decades-old San Francisco bookshops to close by Ariana Bindman. In the article, Ariana Bindman wrote the following:

Bonnie Stuppin, one of the owners of Alexander Book Company, said the SoMa bookstore will likely shutter toward the end of April after 32 years of service. The reason, she says, is because downtown San Francisco offices aren’t nearly as packed as they used to be. “We’re not seeing enough customers to justify opening the doors and turning the lights and paying the staff to come down,” she told SFGATE.

“Our, I guess, customer base was really mostly the downtown office workers and they are gone,” she continued. Previously, SFGATE reported that there are about 150,000 fewer workers in the area, and vacant office space has hit a record high. 

Loyal customers who used to work nearby are now scattered all across the United States, Stuppin said, and though they place orders through Alexander’s online shop, it’s still not enough to keep the independent bookstore open.

I'm saddened to learn this news!! My husband and I visited the Alexander Book Company in downtown San Francisco twice before the Covid-19 Pandemic hit. The Alexander Book Company is a lovely three story bookstore with a fabulous layout, phenomenal selection of books, and pleasant staff members. I even blogged about my visit to the Alexander Book Company back in 20215. See post here. I most certainly wish they were able to remain in business for at least another 32 years!

The Missing Actress Sensation by Ernest Bramah

 

Last year, I discovered that there are plenty of free, full-length audiobooks available on YouTube to listen to and not all of them are classics. I actually listened to quite a few audiobooks on YouTube last year and enjoyed my listening experience very much.

This month, I actually enjoyed listening to The Missing Actress Sensation by Ernest Bramah and narrated by Simon Stanhope from Bitesized Audio Classics.

The Missing Actress Sensation by Ernest Bramah is a mystery, short story from the Max Carrados series. I enjoyed this short story very much as I enjoy mysteries. 

Simon Stanhope is a good narrator and his YouTube channel, Bitesized Audio Classics, focuses on short stories from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. If these kinds of short stories are your thing, then checkout the Bitesized Audio Classics YouTube Channel.

I am giving The Missing Actress Sensation by Ernest Bramah  a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!