Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

So far during the month of July 2019 I've been on a nonfiction kick when it comes to the books I've read. The first book I finished during the month of July was the unabridged audio version of Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard and narrated by Paul Michael. 

Listening time for Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard is 9 hours, 47 minutes.

Quite honestly, I didn't know much about James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States of America, until I listened to Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard.

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard is a phenomenal book and I highly recommend it to any one wanting to learn more about President James A. Garfield, presidential history, American history, Charles Guiteau (Garfield's assassin), Alexander Graham Bell, and the appalling medical treatment Garfield received after his assassination attempt, and so much more.

I felt that Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard was riveting from start to finish. It is a very well organized book that covers so much history. It was appalling to learn how much President James A. Garfield suffered after his assassination attempt due to archaic medical treatments and practices of the time. Had Garfield received proper medical treatment, he probably would have survived and not died due to infection.

Paul Michael does an excellent job narrating Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard. I highly recommend this book.

The following is the publisher's summary for Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard which I found on Audible:

James A. Garfield may have been the most extraordinary man ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired reformist congressman. Nominated for president against his will, he engaged in a fierce battle with the corrupt political establishment. But four months after his inauguration, a deranged office seeker tracked Garfield down and shot him in the back.

But the shot didn’t kill Garfield. The drama of what hap­pened subsequently is a powerful story of a nation in tur­moil. The unhinged assassin’s half-delivered strike shattered the fragile national mood of a country so recently fractured by civil war, and left the wounded president as the object of a bitter behind-the-scenes struggle for power—over his administration, over the nation’s future, and, hauntingly, over his medical care. A team of physicians administered shockingly archaic treatments, to disastrous effect. As his con­dition worsened, Garfield received help: Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, worked around the clock to invent a new device capable of finding the bullet.

Meticulously researched, epic in scope, and pulsating with an intimate human focus and high-velocity narrative drive, The Destiny of the Republic will stand alongside The Devil in the White City and The Professor and the Madman as a classic of narrative history.

I am giving Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookshop Benicia in Benicia, California

Bookshop Benicia @ 636 1st Street, Benicia, California 94510

What's a visit to a new to me city without stopping at an independent bookstore??? 

I couldn't resist stopping by Bookshop Benicia while visiting the City of Benicia with my husband on Friday, July 5th. What a delightful independent bookstore!! It's a well organized bookstore and offers not only a plethora of wonderfully curated books, but also offers unique bookish related gifts as well. The staff member on hand was friendly and provided good service during our visit.

I ended up buying a cozy mystery novel as well as a couple of postcards during my visit to Bookshop Benicia. If I lived closer to Benicia, I'd definitely visit this indie bookstore frequently.

Have you visited any good indie bookstores lately?

Little Free Library in Benicia, California!!

Little Free Library - 376 East H Street, Benicia, California 94510

My husband and I took a half day trip to Benicia, California. During our visit we discovered a Little Free Library where I exchanged a book for another one. I love finding Little Free Libraries on my adventures out in the great wide world!

My husband and I enjoyed visiting other sights in Benicia as well... For instance, did you know that Benicia was the state capital of California before Sacramento became the state capital? Benicia was the state capital of California from 1853-1854. We made a visit to the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park to view the former state capitol building that is now a California Registered Historical Landmark.

Top Ten Tuesday - Books I Wish I'd Read As A Child Or Teen

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.

As an adult, I've read quite a few young adult books and even children's books. I've always been an avid reader my entire life... But somehow, some way, there have been some classics that I missed reading in my youth that I wished I had read at the time!

Below is a list of ten young adult or children's novels I wish I had read during my younger years. Like how did I miss out on so many Judy Blume novels as a youngster???? 

Click on the links to read my read my review of the below novels.

1. Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume

2. Deenie by Judy Blume

3. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

4. Forever by Judy Blume

5. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

6. The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery

7. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

8. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

9. The Seance by Joan Lowry Nixon

10. The Witches by Roald Dahl

Book Trailer For the Upcoming Release of The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

I finally read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern earlier this month and enjoyed it. 

I soon discovered that Erin Morgenstern has a new book, The Starless Sea, coming out later this year on November 5th... And it sounds amazing! I would like to read it.

Are you as excited about the upcoming release of The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern as I am? If not, which other upcoming 2019 book releases are you excited about reading later this year?

Knead to Know by Liz Schulte

Knead to Know by Liz Schulte is the first book in 'The Knead to Know Series'. Knead to Know by Liz Schulte is a paranormal read approximately 60 pages in length.

I was able to download Knead to Know by Liz Schulte to my Kindle for FREE. 

Below is my honest, unbiased review of Knead to Know by Liz Schulte.

I enjoyed reading Knead to Know by Liz Schulte quite a bit. The storyline, characters, and writing were well done. 

My only complaint is that Knead to Know by Liz Schulte seemed like it could potentially be a spin off from another series by the author. I say this only because it seems like there was a backstory as to why the main character, Maggie, was half vampire and other details that the reader might know more about that wasn't discussed in detail in Knead to Know.

Knead to Know by Liz Schulte is a standalone book, but it would have been nice to know more of Maggie's backstory... Like how she was turned into a half vampire, etc.

The following is a plot summary for Knead to Know by Liz Schulte, which I found on Amazon's website:

Maggie Edwards can’t sleep, eat, or die—but, she can bake. However, just before the Halloween grand opening of her bakery, a pesky reporter witnesses an accident in her kitchen and gets a little too close to the truth. If she can’t convince him to keep quiet, not only will she lose her chance at happiness, but they both could lose their lives.

I am giving Knead to Know by Liz Schulte a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

50/50 Friday - Favorite/Least Favorite Book with a Pink Cover

50/50 Friday is a meme hosted by Carrie @ The Butterfly Reads and Laura @ Blue Eye Books. This book meme focuses on the opposite sides of books (best/worst, differing opinions, etc). Every week will have a new topic and several advance topics will be listed in the tab labeled 50/50 Friday!

This week's topic is to share your most/least favorite book cover. This will be a difficult choice for me to make as there are way too many favorites and I tend to forget about my least favorite book covers. 

I haven't done a 50/50 Friday in a while, so here goes my answers for this week's theme: Favorite/Least Favorite Book with a Pink Cover!

Favorite Book with a Pink Cover goes to:

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

Least Favorite Book with a Pink Cover goes to:

Murder of a Botoxed Blonde by Denise Swanson

Tell me your Favorite/Least Favorite Book with a Pink Cover

in the comment section below.

Knitting My Other Hobby - Some of My Knitted Items @ the Alameda County Fair!!

Some of my blog readers may know that I am a knitter as well as an avid reader. I've been knitting for a little over 5 years now. This year, I decided to do something different and entered three of my knitted items to be displayed at the 2019 Alameda County Fair this year. I entered a hat, poncho, and a scarf with fringe.

I didn't win any ribbons for any of my handmade items I entered at the Alameda County Fair this year... And I'm fine with that! It was all about the experience of doing something new to me. 

I had a fabulous time viewing all of the crocheted, knitted, and other handmade items on display at the Alameda County Fair this past Friday with my husband.

Above is a photograph of me standing next to my blue knitted scarf with fringe. 

I am not posting photographs of the poncho or the matching hat I made as it was difficult to take a good shot of each item due to the way they were displayed.

How To Deal: Tarot For Everyday Life by Sami Main

After recently listening to the unabridged audio version of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern earlier this month, I decided to read a tarot book as The Night Circus features tarot/fortune telling throughout the novel.

As a side note, I should add that I've been curious about tarot cards and tarot readings off and on throughout my adult life. Finding the appropriate first tarot book to read for the beginner has been been one issue to contend with for me personally. There are a plethora of tarot books (and tarot decks too!!) on the market and many of them are packed with what seems to be an overwhelming amount of information for those new to tarot. In fact, I was often put off by many of the tarot books I came across as many of them didn't resonate with me even though they were supposed to be books for tarot newbies (too woo woo, too new age, too hokey, too academic, too boring, too confusing, etc,). 

I simply wanted a starter tarot book that would help me understand the very basics of tarot with out being overwhelmed by a ton of information... From there I could expand my knowledge with other tarot books, YouTube videos, and so on.

I feel like I've discovered a really good tarot book for the beginner. I finished reading How To Deal: Tarot For Everyday Life by Sami Main and illustrated Marisa de la Pena this past Saturday.

What did I like about How To Deal: Tarot For Everyday Life by Sami Main?

* It's a very quick, easy and straight forward book to read!!
* It includes a table of contents and short introduction.
* It contains a positive message contained throughout the entire book.
* I loved the layout of this book and how it is divided up so that each section focuses on each of the four suits in tarot and then followed by a section covering the major arcana.
* I also enjoyed learning about the meaning  of each of the 78 cards in a tarot deck in an easy to digest single paragraph. Each paragraph gave me the overall meaning of each card's meaning distilled down to its essence.
* At the end of each section covered in the book there is a short section of questions to test your knowledge and help you better understand what you've read.
* The last section of the book covers how to do tarot readings, plus explains 8 different types of tarot layouts, and when to do each of the layouts for specific types of readings. 
* The entire books was straight forward and I can't emphasize this point enough.

What were the cons for How To Deal: Tarot For Everyday Life by Sami Main?

* It's not for the experienced tarot enthusiast.
* It isn't for the person who wants an in depth book about tarot.
* It doesn't cover reversals.
* It probably doesn't dig down deep into the entire meaning of each tarot card. But it does seem to distill the basic meaning of each card, which is essentially what I was and still am looking for at this time. I figure that I can always purchase and read another more detailed tarot book in the future once I have mastered the basics of tarot.

Another side note, How To Deal: Tarot For Everyday Life by Sami Main was published in 2018. I didn't realize at the time I purchased this book that it fell into the teen/young adult genre! I had pretty much assumed that all tarot books were written for adults and solely found in the tarot/divination/occult genre category - not the teen/young adult section.

Below is the publisher's summary I found on Amazon's website:

If you want to channel the power of the cosmos through tarot, this accessible and practical guide is for you. Written for novices and seasoned readers alike, How to Deal is packed with artwork and includes prompts, exercises, and layouts to give you the answers you're looking for.

Sometimes you just need the universe to tell you whether your crush likes you or how to handle that awkward family situation or which life path is the best one for you. Sami Main breaks down how the cards relate to one another, explaining spreads for future readings and questions to ask the cards. And she takes you through all the Major and Minor Arcana, with colorful illustrations of the cards and detailed descriptions of what they mean.

As Sami will teach you: The cards are here to guide you through life’s ups and downs—you just have to understand what they’re trying to say.

I am giving How To Deal: Tarot For Everyday Life by Sami Main a rating of 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Snowfall by McKenna Dean

I enjoy reading paranormal romances off and on as the mood strikes me. I recently enjoyed reading a paranormal romance short story titled, Snowfall by McKenna Dean, which I downloaded to my Kindle for FREE from Amazon. Snowfall by McKenna Dean is approximately 38 pages in length.

Below is my honest, unbiased review of Snowfall by McKenna Dean.

McKenna Dean is a new to me author. I enjoy reading short stories by new to me authors as this gives me a way to discover new authors without taking a big risk in reading full length novels. 

As far as short stories go, I thought Snowfall by McKenna Dean was a good one. I frequently find short stories to be hit or miss for me. However, with that said, I thought the characters were well developed for Snowfall by McKenna Dean. I also enjoyed the dialogue and interaction between the two main characters as well. There wasn't a bad case of insta-love and no cliffhanger ending for this short story. These are all good signs of a well written short story to me.

The following is a plot summary for Snowfall by McKenna Dean from Amazon:

The storm of the century. That's what the forecasters called it. No problem. Peyton Grant was ready: books, food, wine, and a wood stove. The only thing she could have wished for was a little company. With heavy snow on the way, that was unlikely.

The last thing she expected was to run into celebrity, Nicholas Lang, stuck in a ditch near her house. What could a small-town veterinarian and a movie star have in common? The answer just might make all Peyton's fantasies come true.

I am giving Snowfall by McKenna Dean a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!