Seriously?? Amazon Sells Books That Claim Satan Caused The Coronavirus...

When I came across the following article on Forbes' website titled, Amazon Sells Books That Claim Satan Caused The Coronavirus by Rosa Escandon, I thought it was April Fools Day, not Leap Day! 

In the article, Rosa Escandon wrote the following:

Authors on Amazon are writing about the coronavirus, but their conspiracies and assertions could mislead readers. Books sold on Amazon claim that the coronavirus is caused by everything from satan to biological warfare. Titles such as Jesus vs Satan: The origins of Coronavirus and Military Virus Apocalypse: Biological Warfare, Bioweapons and China Coronavirus Pandemic are currently available on the platform.

I don't know about you all, but I feel quite overwhelmed by the sheer amount of news coverage regarding the coronavirus through various media outlets. It's like you can't get away from the news regarding the coronavirus as it's all over the tv news, the radio, magazines, newspapers, Facebook posts, emails, texts messages, people talking about it in public, etc. Seriously, it's all become way too much!!

I feel like there is a certain amount of fear and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus as it continues to spread worldwide. The news media's hyper reporting isn't helping to ease concerns surrounding the coronavirus and neither is the plunge on the stock market that is being attributed to the coronavirus.

All I want is accurate, reliable information regarding the coronavirus. I've really had to back away from watching tv news and limit my time spent on social media to avoid being bombarded by all the coronavirus news.

How does everyone else feel about the coronavirus?

Little Free Library Finds in Castro Valley, California!!

Over President's Day weekend, my husband and I found four new to us Little Free Libraries in Castro Valley, California. 

The number four must be this year's lucky number for me because last month we found four new to us Little Free Libraries in Livermore, California. It would be kind of nice to keep this trend up each month and find four new to us LFLs each month throughout the entire year. Nice idea in concept, but that may be a difficult one to sustain each month.

I left five books total, but only found one book that I wanted to read. Which book did I add to my 'tbr' collection? Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones.

Below are photographs of the Little Free Libraries we found. The last photo is of one of the more unique Little Free Libraries I've seen.

3981 Oleander Court, Castro Valley, CA 94546 

3519 Brookdale Blvd., Castro Valley CA 94546

4368 Lawrence Drive, Castro Valley, CA 94546

18240 Lamson Road, Castro Valley, CA 94546

Have you discovered any Little Free Libraries lately?

Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence

I've always admired Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for her sense of style and also as our nation's First Lady. 

I came across Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence several years ago online. I was intrigued by the summary for this nonfiction book about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's life as editor as I didn't know that much about this particular aspect of her life. 

Since I already love reading and books (especially books that also talk about books) and have always been fascinated by the iconic life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, I figured why not buy and read this book to learn more about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her life as editor? I purchased Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence prior to May 2014 where it has sat in my 'tbr' pile until now. 

I decided Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis would make a great, early read for Women's History Month and I wasn't wrong!!

I actually liked Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence a lot more than I thought I would! Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis worked the last 19 years of her life as an editor. She started out at Viking and then ended up at Doubleday for the majority of her editing career.

I thought that Greg Lawrence gave a thorough and comprehensive account of Jackie's life as an editor. He not only writes a bit about Jackie's personal life, but he also discusses her love of reading and books, and most importantly Jackie's role as editor in great detail. Jackie was very passionate about the books she edited and very involved in working closely with the authors that she did over the years as editor for both publishing houses. As readers, we are given in depth insight to the books themselves that Jackie helped edit, how she came across the books she edited, and what it was like having Jackie as editor from the authors themselves.

From reading Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, it sounds like Jackie was a warm and unpretentious person in real life. It sounds like she also had a wonderful sense of humor.

I also definitely had the sense from reading this book that Jackie became an editor to have an avocation other than simply being a socialite/former first lady after the deaths of both of her husbands. She obviously didn't need a career to pay the bills as she had plenty of money. I get the sense that she became an editor due to her passion and love for reading and books. Jackie was smart, educated, sophisticated, savvy, and well connected... All stellar qualities that I'm sure helped her succeed as an editor.

Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence is a really great read and gives readers a unique insight into the publishing world and a snapshot into one area of Jackie's life.

P. S. As an additional side note, there is a section at the end of Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis titled, Books Published By Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, which lists all the book titles Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis helped to edit during her career as an editor. The list is a long one. Many of the books sound like phenomenal ones to read. Perhaps one day, I can set a goal for myself to read all of the books listed in this section! In the meantime, I'll simply be contented to read the many unread books in my personal collection.

The following is a summary for Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence from Amazon:

History remembers Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as the consummate first lady, the nation’s tragic widow, the millionaire’s wife, and, of course, the quintessential embodiment of elegance. Her biographers, however, skip over an equally important stage in her life: her nearly twenty year long career as a book editor. Jackie as Editor is the first book to focus exclusively on this remarkable woman’s editorial career.

At the age of forty-six, one of the most famous women in the world went to work for the first time in twenty-two years. Greg Lawrence, who had three of his books edited by Jackie, draws from interviews with more than 125 of her former collaborators and acquaintances in the publishing world to examine one of the twentieth century's most enduring subjects of fascination through a new angle: her previously untouted skill in the career she chose. Over the last third of her life, Jackie would master a new industry, weather a very public professional scandal, and shepherd more than a hundred books through the increasingly corporate halls of Viking and Doubleday, publishing authors as diverse as Diana Vreeland, Louis Auchincloss, George Plimpton, Bill Moyers, Dorothy West, Naguib Mahfouz, and even Michael Jackson. Jackie as Editor gives intimate new insights into the life of a complex and enigmatic woman who found fulfillment through her creative career during book publishing’s legendary Golden Age, and, away from the public eye, quietly defined life on her own terms.

I'm giving Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

I read the uncorrected paperback proof edition of The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel in three days! 

I received The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel through Goodreads Giveaways earlier this year. Below is my honest unbiased review of The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel.

First off, let me begin by saying that The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel is the second novel I've read and reviewed by the author. I read The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel (click on the link to read my review) in March 2017 and LOVED this novel... So I couldn't wait to hunker down and read The Familiar Dark. 

I wasn't disappointed! Amy Engel has another winner of a novel with The Familiar Dark. Engel's writing is great... Crisp and engaging from start to finish! I loved the twists and turns in this novel along with the red herrings. If you like mysteries/thrillers with dark, gritty characters, then The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel may be the novel for you! 

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel will be released March 31, 2020.

The following is a plot summary for The Familiar Darkby Amy Engel from Goodreads:

A spellbinding story of a mother with nothing left to lose who sets out on an all-consuming quest for justice after her daughter is murdered on the town playground.

Sometimes the answers are worse than the questions. Sometimes it's better not to know.

Set in the poorest part of the Missouri Ozarks, in a small town with big secrets, The Familiar Dark opens with a murder. Eve Taggert, desperate with grief over losing her daughter, takes it upon herself to find out the truth about what happened. Eve is no stranger to the dark side of life, having been raised by a hard-edged mother whose lessons Eve tried not to pass on to her own daughter. But Eve may need her mother's cruel brand of strength if she's going to face the reality about her daughter's death and about her own true nature. Her quest for justice takes her from the seedy underbelly of town to the quiet woods and, most frighteningly, back to her mother's trailer for a final lesson.

The Familiar Dark is a story about the bonds of family--women doing the best they can for their daughters in dire circumstances--as well as a story about how even the darkest and most terrifying of places can provide the comfort of home.

I am giving The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

I listened to the abridged audio version on compact disc of The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (narrated by the author) for Black History Month.

I'd been wanting to read The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama for quite a while and was happy to obtain a withdrawn public library copy of it on compact disc last summer... But I didn't realize until later on that the audio compact disc was abridged! I prefer listening to unabridged audiobooks. 

The listening time for The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama is 6 hours, 10 minutes.

I love that The Audacity of Hope is narrated by Barack Obama. For whatever reason, I find his voice soothing to listen to. As far as this book goes, I liked it a lot. Obama covers a lot of different topics. He talks about family life, political life as a senator, politics, religion, race, etc. One of my favorite parts was listening to Obama talk about balancing the demands of public service and family life and also how he met his wife, Michelle. 

My only major complaint is that the audio version of The Audacity of Hope is abridged. I want to listen to a book in its entirety... not an abridgment.

The following is a summary for The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama from Audible:

In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. Now, in The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics: a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the "endless clash of armies" we see in Congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of "our improbable experiment in democracy". He also speaks, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and his own deepening religious commitment.

At the heart of this audiobook is Senator Obama's vision of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. Underlying his stories about family, friends, members of the Senate, and even the president is a vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus.

A senator and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic, and above all a student of history and human nature, Senator Obama has written a book of transforming power.

I'm giving The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Black Water Rising by Attica Locke

Black Water Rising by Attica Locke is the second novel I've read by the author. I've had a used hardback edition of Black Water Rising by Attica Locke in my 'to be read' pile since 2013. 

I decided to listen to the unabridged audio version of Black Water Rising by Attica Locke and narrated by Dion Graham as the hardback edition I had had issues with the spine making it difficult to read.

Listening time for Black Water Rising by Attica Locke is 13 hours, 52 minutes.

The audio version for Black Water Rising by Attica Locke was a BIG mistake!! UGH, Dion Graham was a poor narrator!! I almost gave up listening to Black Water Rising several times due to his poor narration of this novel. Not to mention the cheesy music (or should I say MUZAK??) played between chapters.

It was also very difficult to get into to Black Water Rising. Initially I couldn't figure out if that was because I was so turned off by the narration and music or if I just didn't like the writing/plot or a combination of both. 

I persevered and continued listening to Black Water Rising, when suddenly the storyline and plot finally picked up around chapter eleven. The rest of this novel was interesting and reasonably good despite the bad narration. The ending was soft in my opinion though.

I don't plan to read anything else written by Attica Locke. Reading two of her novels was enough for me.

Below is the plot summary for Black Water Rising by Attica Locke from Amazon:

Jay Porter is hardly the lawyer he set out to be. His most promising client is a low-rent call girl, and he runs his fledgling law practice out of a dingy strip mall. But he’s long since made peace with his path to the American Dream, carefully tucking away his darkest sins: the guns, the FBI file, the trial that nearly destroyed him.

Houston, Texas, 1981. It’s here that Jay believes he can make a fresh start. That is, until the night he impulsively saves a drowning woman’s life – and opens a Pandora’s Box. Her secrets put Jay in danger, ensnaring him in a murder investigation that could cost him his practice, his family, and even his life. But before he can get to the bottom of a tangled mystery that reaches into the upper echelons of Houston’s corporate power brokers, Jay must confront the demons of his past.

I am giving Black Water Rising by Attica Locke a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

The Cutting Season by Attica Locke

The Cutting Season by Attica Locke is the last book I read in January 2020. I first became aware of Attica Locke as a writer in 2012 or 2013. 

Curious about Locke's writing (which I'd heard great things about), I purchased used hardback copies of her novels, The Cutting Season and Black Water Rising back in 2013. 

This year in an effort to read older books I've acquired over the years, I read The Cutting Season by Attica Locke. I must admit that I was a bit disappointed with The Cutting Season and didn't feel like this novel lived up to the high expectations based on reviews I'd read. 

With that said, it's not that I didn't like The Cutting Season... I enjoyed many aspects of this novel. It's very atmospheric in nature, which I liked. I also liked the setting for this novel and that it was a mystery novel. The mystery was interesting and so was the main character's backstory/family history.

But I also feel like The Cutting Season is slow in parts and could have been made shorter. I feel like there were too many things the author was trying to address in The Cutting Season that made the book fall flat in parts.

I also didn't like the main character, Caren Gray, as she made too many unwise choices throughout the novel, which I thought perplexing based on her education and life experiences. I guess I thought Caren would be a bit more savvy and thoughtful on how she handled things that occurred throughout the novel. Caren also had too many hangups that seemed to distance her from co-workers and family... It was as if she erected walls around herself. But I guess this could also make her seem more human/flawed. After all, who's perfect?

I'm planning to read Black Water Rising next and am hoping it is much better than The Cutting Season.

Below is the plot summary for The Cutting Season by Attica Locke from Goodreads:

The American South in the twenty-first century. A plantation owned for generations by a rich family. So much history. And a dead body.

Just after dawn, Caren walks the grounds of Belle Vie, the historic plantation house in Louisiana that she has managed for four years. Today she sees nothing unusual, apart from some ground that has been dug up by the fence bordering the sugar cane fields. Assuming an animal has been out after dark, she asks the gardener to tidy it up. Not long afterwards, he calls her to say it's something else. Something terrible. A dead body. At a distance, she missed her. The girl, the dirt and the blood. Now she has police on site, an investigation in progress, and a member of staff no one can track down. And Caren keeps uncovering things she will wish she didn't know. As she's drawn into the dead girl's story, she makes shattering discoveries about the future of Belle Vie, the secrets of its past, and sees, more clearly than ever, that Belle Vie, its beauty, is not to be trusted.

A magnificent, sweeping story of the south, The Cutting Season brings history face-to-face with modern America, where Obama is president, but some things will never change. Attica Locke once again provides an unblinking commentary on politics, race, the law, family and love, all within a thriller every bit as gripping and tragic as her first novel, Black Water Rising.

I am giving The Cutting Season by Attica Locke a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee

I've had the hardback edition of The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee in my 'to be read' pile for 9 years this month!! I'm so happy that I finally read this children's novel this year.

By the way, I first read and reviewed Lewis Buzbee's children's novel, Steinbeck's Ghost, back in March 2014. I really enjoyed listening to the unabridged audio version of Steinbeck's Ghost and highly recommend it. I thought (or at least hoped) that I would enjoy The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee just as much.

The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee contains many aspects I love in a novel. I love historical fiction and this novel fits the bill in spades as it is set in Victorian London. Additionally, I love mysteries and this novel provides a mystery to be solved. I also enjoyed that the leading character is a smart, adventurous girl - go girl power!! Plus, I enjoyed seeing a well known and beloved author like Charles Dickens brought to life in a work of fiction. I like that this novel makes a case for social justice for children as this may (hopefully) start young readers thinking about how they can help make the world a better place for all.

However, as much as I enjoyed the many different aspects of The Haunting of Charles Dickens that I mentioned above, I felt it was too long and that the storyline was not as captivating as I was hoping it would be.

The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee is also filled with lovely black and white illustrations by Greg Ruth that readers may enjoy.

Below is the plot summary for The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee from Goodreads:

Meg Pickel’s older brother, Orion, has disappeared. One night, she steals out to look for him, and makes two surprising discoveries: She stumbles upon a séance that she suspects involves Orion, and she meets the author Charles Dickens, also unable to sleep, and roaming the London streets. He is a customer of Meg’s father, who owns a print shop, and a family friend. Mr. Dickens fears that the children of London aren’t safe, and is trying to solve the mystery of so many disappearances. If he can, then perhaps he’ll be able to write once again.

With stunning black-and-white illustrations by Greg Ruth, here is a literary mystery that celebrates the power of books, and brings to life one of the world’s best-loved authors.

I am giving The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!! 

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson

I've listened and reviewed two previous works written and narrated by Jon Ronson. titled, The Last Days of August and The Butterfly Effect. I enjoyed both well enough that I wanted to read The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson. I ended up listening to unabridged audio version of The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry and narrated by the author. 

Listening time for The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry is 7 hours, 33 minutes.

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson is a work of nonfiction about the madness industry. Although I thought the topic of this book itself was interesting and insightful, I wasn't overly captivated by its content. I'm already slowly forgetting the contents of this book after a week.

The following is a summary for The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson from Amazon:

The Psychopath Test is a fascinating journey through the minds of madness. Jon Ronson's exploration of a potential hoax being played on the world's top neurologists takes him, unexpectedly, into the heart of the madness industry. An influential psychologist who is convinced that many important CEOs and politicians are, in fact, psychopaths, teaches Ronson how to spot these high-flying individuals by looking out for little telltale verbal and nonverbal clues. And so Ronson, armed with his new psychopath-spotting abilities, enters the corridors of power.

He spends time with a death-squad leader institutionalized for mortgage fraud in Coxsackie, New York; a legendary CEO whose psychopathy has been speculated about in the press; and a patient in an asylum for the criminally insane who insists he's sane and certainly not a psychopath. Ronson not only solves the mystery of the hoax but also discovers, disturbingly, that sometimes the personalities at the helm of the madness industry are, with their drives and obsessions, as mad in their own way as those they study. And that relatively ordinary people are, more and more, defined by their maddest edges.

I am giving The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!