Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Orgullo Prieto

Orgullo Prieto
Por Tenoch Huerta Mejía
Grijalbo, 2022. 220 páginas. No Ficción

«Espero que este libro contribuya a ensalzar el orgullo de ser lo que somos, para que no haya un “prieto arrogante,” como me nombran, sino que haya millones de prietos orgullosos en este país.» -Tenoch Huerta

México es un país racista que niega serlo. Con argumentos como “No es racismo, sino clasismo”, “Acá somos todos mestizos” o “Nunca hubo un sistema segregacionista como en Estados Unidos” negamos que hemos perpetuado la discriminación durante generaciones.

Tenoch Huerta, actor de reconocido prestigio y portavoz del debate y la lucha antirracista en México desde hace años, se encarga de rebatir estos y otros mitos acerca del racismo en las páginas de «Orgullo Prieto.» En este libro encontrarás una serie de reflexiones sobre las diferentes discriminaciones que sufre un mexicano por su color de piel en distintos ámbitos —el social, el laboral, el familiar—, así como numerosas vivencias personales del autor sobre situaciones en las que ha sido víctima de racismo, pero también en las que ha ejercido las prácticas racistas propias de un problema que México no quiere ver.

Si le gusta «Orgullo Prieto» le recomendamos:

Trejo: Mi Vida de Crimen, Redención y Hollywood
Por Danny Trejo
Atria Español, 2021. 331 páginas. Autobiografía

Por primera vez, toda la historia real, fascinante e inspiradora del viaje de Danny Trejo desde el crimen, la prisión, la adicción y la pérdida a la fama inesperada como el malo favorito de Hollywood con un corazón de oro. En la pantalla, Danny Trejo el actor es un malvado que ha sido asesinado al menos cien veces. Le han disparado, apuñalado, ahorcado, cortado en pedazos, estrujado con un ascensor, y una vez, incluso lo derritieron hasta convertirlo en una sustancia viscosa y sangrienta. Fuera de la pantalla, es un héroe amado tanto por las comunidades de rehabilitación como por los fanáticos obsesionados. Pero el verdadero Danny Trejo es mucho más complicado que la leyenda.

Criado en un hogar abusivo, Danny luchó, desde joven, con una adicción a la heroína y períodos en algunas de las prisiones estatales más infames del país, incluyendo San Quentin y Folsom, antes de protagonizar los clásicos modernos como Heat, From Dusk till Dawn y Machete. Ahora, en estas memorias graciosas, desgarradoras y llenas de suspenso, Danny nos lleva a través de los increíbles altibajos de su vida, incluidos el conocer en prisión a uno de los asesinos en serie más famosos del mundo y trabajar con leyendas como Charles Bronson y Robert De Niro.

En detalles honestos e impávidos, Danny relata cómo logró manejar los horrores de la prisión, reconstruirse luego de encontrar la sobriedad y la espiritualidad en confinamiento solitario, e inspirarse en los robos infundidos con adrenalina de su pasado para los papeles cinematográficos que lo convirtieron en un personaje famoso. También comparte las dolorosas contradicciones de su vida personal. Aunque habla sobre su pasado tanto en prisiones como en NPR para inspirar a un sinnúmero de personas en sus propios caminos a la recuperación y redención, él aun lucha por ayudar a sus hijos con sus propias batallas con la adicción y por armar relaciones duraderas.

Redentor y lacerante, conmovedor y real, Trejo es el retrato de una vida magnífica y un viaje inolvidable y excepcional a través de la tragedia, el dolor y, finalmente, el éxito que te cautivará e inspirará.

Charytín: El Tiempo Pasa ... ¡Pero Yo No!
Por Charytín Goyco
HarperCollins Español, 2022. 270 páginas. Autobiografía

Desde una infancia dolorosa con complicados secretos familiares a un amor muy diferente al de las novelas, Charytín Goyco nos lo cuenta todo, con su peculiar tono cargado de drama y comedia a la vez. Sus anécdotas con famosos (Juan Luis Guerra, Camilo Sesto, Jenni Rivera, entre muchos). Los "besos de divorcio" que compartió con los galanes de moda en innumerables películas. La pérdida de un bebé y su angustia más persistente: la de ser madre en una profesión donde tener hijos ponía en peligro todos los proyectos. La verdadera razón por la cual dejó de cantar.

Sus incesantes sueños plagados de fantasmas, premoniciones y revelaciones, siempre encarando a la muerte, y los conflictos que este extraño don le causó con sus seres queridos. Sus raíces, su historia, sus primeras memorias de niña, entre dos continentes, dignas de la mejor película. Su lucha interna desde niña por ser tachada de "niña rara," "ridícula" o estrambótica.

MEB

Labels: Español, MEB, No Ficción, Autobiografía, Memorias


Monday, January 23, 2023

The Dance of the Dissident Daughter


The Dance of the Dissident Daughter
By Sue Monk Kidd
HarperOne, 2016. 289 pages. Biography

For years, Sue Monk Kidd was a conventionally religious woman. Then, in the late 1980s, she experienced an unexpected awakening, and began a journey toward a feminine spirituality. With the exceptional storytelling skills that have helped make her name, Kidd tells her very personal story of the fear, anger, healing, and freedom she experienced on the path toward the wholeness that many women have lost in the church.

From a jarring encounter with sexism in a suburban drugstore, to monastery retreats and to rituals in the caves of Crete, she reveals a new level of feminine spiritual consciousness for all women, one that retains a meaningful connection with the "deep song of Christianity," embraces the sacredness of ordinary women's experience, and has the power to transform in the most positive ways every fundamental relationship in a woman's life, her marriage, her career, and her religion.

In this book, Sue Monk Kidd shares her intimate journey and transformation from a faithful Christian woman to a believer of the feminine divine and her own power. She discusses the overwhelming influence and oppression of our patriarchal society in churches and throughout the world and the loss of the sacred Mother. I loved her discussion of the masculine and feminine and how parts of her journey are very relatable to my own spiritual journey. People who love learning about others' spiritual transformations, the making of rituals, and coming to know oneself will enjoy this book.

JC  


If you like The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, you might also like:


When God Was a Woman

By Merlin Stone
Dial Press, 1976. 265 pages. Nonfiction

How did the shift from matriarchy to patriarchy come about? In fascinating detail, Merlin Stone tells us the story of the Goddess who reigned supreme in the Near and Middle East. Under her reign, societal roles differed markedly from those in patriarchal Judeo-Christian cultures: women bought and sold property, traded in the marketplace, and inherited title and land from their mothers. Documenting the wholesale rewriting of myth and religious dogmas, Merlin Stone describes an ancient conspiracy in which the Goddess was reimagined as a wanton, depraved figure, a characterization confirmed and perpetuated by one of modern culture's best-known legends—that of the fall of Adam and Eve. Insightful and thought-provoking, this is essential reading for anyone interested in the origin of current gender roles and in rediscovering women's power.


If Women Rose Rooted: A Journey to Authenticity and Belonging
By Sharon Blackie
September Publishing, 2016. 400 pages. Nonfiction

Aged 30, Sharon Blackie found herself weeping in the car park of the multinational corporation where she worked, wondering if this was what a nervous breakdown felt like. Somewhere along the line, she realized, she had lost herself - and so began her long journey back to authenticity, rootedness in place and belonging.

In this extraordinary book of myth, memoir and modern-day mentors (from fashion designers to lawyers), Blackie faces the wasteland of Western culture, the repression of women, and the devastation of our planet. She boldly names the challenge: to reimagine women's place in the world, and to rise up, firmly rooted in our own native landscapes and the powerful Celtic stories and wisdom which sprang from them.

A haunting heroine's journey for every woman who finds inspiration and solace in the natural world.


Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
By Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Ballantine Books, 1992. 537 pages. Nonfiction

Within every woman there is a wild and natural creature, a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. Her name is Wild Woman, but she is an endangered species. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D., Jungian analyst and cantadora storyteller shows how women's vitality can be restored through what she calls "psychic archeological digs" into the ruins of the female unconsious. Using multicultural myths, fairy tales, folk tales, and stories, Dr. Estes helps women reconnect with the healthy, instinctual, visionary attributes of the Wild Woman archetype.

Dr. Estes has created a new lexicon for describing the female psyche. Fertile and life-giving, it is a psychology of women in the truest sense, a knowing of the soul.

The Scapegoat

 

The Scapegoat

By Daphne Du Maurier

University of Pennsylvania Press, 1957. 348 pages. Fiction 

Two men--one English, the other French--meet by chance in a provincial railway station and are astounded that they are so much alike that they could easily pass for each other. Over the course of a long evening, they talk and drink. It is not until he awakes the next day that John, the Englishman, realizes that he may have spoken too much. His French companion is gone, having stolen his identity. For his part, John has no choice but to take the Frenchman's place--as master of a château, director of a failing business, head of a large and embittered family, and keeper of too many secrets. Loaded with suspense and crackling wit, The Scapegoat tells the double story of the attempts by John, the imposter, to escape detection by the family, servants, and several mistresses of his alter ego, and of his constant and frustrating efforts to unravel the mystery of the enigmatic past that dominates the existence of all who live in the château.

I had seen the 2012 British TV adaptation of this a few years back, and really enjoyed it. The book is a lot more exciting, and how the characters are described and how they develop is really fascinating and compelling. Of course you've got to employ a strong dose of the willing suspension of disbelief, but this novel is well written, thought-provoking and doesn't have any dull moments. The main character is also very believable, with his change of moods, and his the very human things which drive his various desires. There are also some lovely descriptions of the French countryside. I enjoyed it more than the TV adaptation, and the ending is more surprising and interesting. 

If you liked The Scapegoat you might also like: 

By Ruth Ware
Scout Press, 2018. 368 pages. Fiction

On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person--but also that the cold-reading skills she's honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money. Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased...where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the center of it. Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware's signature suspenseful style, this is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.

By Allie Larkin
Plume, 2013. 297 pages. Fiction

When Jenny Shaw hears someone shout "Jessie!" across a hotel lobby, she impulsively answers. All her life, Jenny has toed the line, but something propels her to seize the opportunity to become Jessie Morgan, a woman to whom she bears an uncanny resemblance. Lonely in her own life, Jenny is embraced by Jessie's warm circle of friends--and finds unexpected romance. But when she delves into Jessie's past, Jenny discovers a secret that spurs her to take another leap into the unknown.



By Dean Koontz
Thomas & Mercer, 2021. 352 pages. Fiction

A decade ago, Emily Carlino vanished after her car broke down on a California highway. She was presumed to be one of serial killer Ronny Lee Jessups victims whose remains were never found. Writer David Thorne still hasn't recovered from losing the love of his life, or from the guilt of not being there to save her. Since then, he's sought closure any way he can. He even visits regularly with Jessup in prison, desperate for answers about Emilys final hours so he may finally lay her body to rest. Then David meets Maddison Sutton, beguiling, playful, and keenly aware of all David has lost. But what really takes his breath away is that everything about Maddison, down to her kisses, is just like Emily. As the fantastic becomes credible, David's obsession grows, Maddison's mysterious past deepens and terror escalates. Is she Emily? Or an irresistible dead ringer? Either way, the ultimate question is the same: What game is she playing? Whatever the risk in finding out, Davids willing to take it for this precious second chance. Its been ten years since he's felt this inspired, this hopeful, this much in love and he's afraid.

MGB

Saturday, January 21, 2023

Defy The Night

Defy the Night

by Brigid Kemmerer

Bloomsbury, 2021. 448 pages. Young Adult Fiction

The kingdom of Kandala is recovering from a devastating plague but the cure is rare and expensive. The patience of the people is wearing thin. Soon cries for rebellion and revolution spread through the land, to the very doors of the palace. Prince Corrick is the King’s Justice. It is his job to do the messy work of being the iron fist of the crown and protecting his brother, King Hariston. The consuls of the land are worried about trade lines and shipments being attacked, not so much about the people in their sectors. Tessa Cade is an apprentice at a shop by day and rogue apothecary by night. She and her best friend Wes steal from those who have more than enough of the cure in order to treat the desperate people of Kandala. When one of their midnight runs goes horribly wrong, Tessa hatches a plan to infiltrate the castle and bring the corrupt system crashing down.

This book is full of romance, intrigue, and tension! Just when you think you can take a breath and put the book down, something else happens and you have to keep reading. Tessa Cade is a strong female protagonist who loves her kingdom and its people, but can see where change needs to happen. The situations in which she finds herself are authentic and, again, full of tension. The writing is engaging and the story is fast paced going between the points of view of Tessa and Prince Corrick. This intricately plotted storyline will keep you on the edge of your seat.

If you liked Defy the Night, you may also like:


The Cruel Prince

by Holly Black

Little Brown and Company, 2018. 370 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Jude, seventeen and mortal, gets tangled in palace intrigues while trying to win a place in the treacherous High Court of Faerie, where she and her sisters have lived for a decade.


King of Scars

by Leigh Bardugo

Imprint, 2019. 514 pages. Young Adult Fiction

No one knows what Nikolai Lantsov endured in his country's bloody civil war. Now enemies gather at his weakened borders, and the young king must find a way to refill Ravka's coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army. Zoya Nazyalensky is devoted to rebuilding the army -- but she also has enemies to conquer. Nina Zenik wages her own war to save the Grisha -- and must face the pain of her past. As a dark magic within Nikolai grows stronger, he must journey where the deepest magic survives -- and vanquish the terrible legacy inside him.

 

Throne of Glass

by Sarah J. Maas

Bloomsbury, 2012. 406 pages. Science Fiction

After she has served a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, Crown Prince Dorian offers eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien her freedom on the condition that she act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. 



AG

Friday, January 20, 2023

The Boys

The Boys
by Katie Hafner
Spiegel & Grau, 2022. 256 pages. Fiction

When introverted, eccentric Ethan Fawcett falls in love with the vivacious Barb, he has every reason to believe he will no longer live in solitude. But then the global pandemic hits, and their relationship takes a turn for the worse. Ethan grows obsessed with providing the perfect life for their adopted 8-year-old twins, Tommy and Sam, and in the process he pushes Barb away. Once the planet returns to a version of normalcy, Ethan takes Tommy and Sam on a week-long biking adventure in Italy. During this disastrous excursion, it becomes clear just how unusual Ethan and his children are—and what it will take for Ethan to repair his marriage.

The Boys is an interesting combination of sweet love story, light domestic drama, and an unexpected twist that turns the story into something else entirely. I appreciated this warm-hearted and compassionate take on living in an early pandemic world full of uncertainty and anxiety. Hafner writes both Ethan and Barb as characters you can root for. And then there's that plot twist I mentioned, which is guaranteed to make you question everything you've read prior to that point. If you like domestic fiction with an unexpected surprise, you'll enjoy reading The Boys.

If you like The Boys you might also like:

by Elizabeth Strout
Random House, 2022. 288 pages. Fiction

As a panicked world goes into lockdown, Lucy Barton is uprooted from her life in Manhattan and bundled away to a small town in Maine by her ex-husband and longtime friend, William. For the next several months, it's just Lucy, William, and their complex past together in a little house nestled against the moody, swirling sea. They will not emerge unscathed.

Joan is Okay
by Weike Wang
Random House, 2022. 212 pages. Fiction

Joan is a thirtysomething ICU physician at a busy New York City hospital, the daughter of Chinese parents who moved to America to secure the American dream for Joan and her brother, Fang, then returned to China. Joan's whole life has been about study and work. Sometimes Joan looks up and wonders where her true roots lie: at the hospital, where her white doctor's coat makes her feel at home; or with her family, who try to shape her life by their own social and cultural expectations. When Joan's father suddenly dies, Joan is forced to reckon with aspects of her life that she's been avoiding for years.

MB

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Only A Monster

Only A Monster
By Vanessa Len
HarperTeen, 2022. 403 pages. Young Adult Fiction

When she discovers that her family are monsters with terrifying, hidden powers, Joan must embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself and her family from a legendary monster slayer who will do anything to bring her family down.

This time-traveling urban fantasy set in England contains subtle world-building that doesn't weigh you down even as it invites the reader quickly into a new reality of a world with Monsters. Our protagonist Joan is presented as a goodie-two-shoes, loving her morally grey family, while still disapproving of their indiscretions.  Her crush?  The straight-laced Nick with whom she has spent the summer volunteering with at a historical English estate.  But as with all good books, her character evolves as she is placed in extenuating circumstances that thrust her moral compass into question.  This is a fast paced and fun YA fantasy that I will eagerly await the next installment of!  

If you like Only A Monster, you might also like:

Bloodmarked
By Tracey Deonn
Simon & Schuster, 2022. 561 pages. Young Adult Fiction

A medium, bloodcrafter and scion, Bree must learn to control her unpredictable and dangerous powers to rescue Nick, the Legendborn boy she fell in love with, but finds herself drawn to Selwyn, the mage sworn to protect Nick until death.


This Savage Song
By Victoria Schwab
Greenwillow Books, 2016. 427 pages. Young Adult Fiction

As the heirs to opposing sides in a warring city, Kate Harker and Augustus Flynn should never have met. A Romeo and Juliet-esque fantasy about the difference between good and evil and the blurry gray area in between.


RBL

Hotel Magnifique

Hotel Magnifique 
By Emily J. Taylor 
Razorbill, 2022. 391 pages. Young Adult Fantasy

Seventeen-year-old Jani and her little sister Zosa secure jobs at a glamorous magical hotel, but when Jani realizes that their staff contracts are unbreakable, she embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa--and the other staff--from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d'hôtel. 

This story is super fascinating and was hard to put down. The world was well crafted, and the way the magic was used and how the characters interacted with the world was clearly well thought out and integrated seamlessly. Certain parts of this book reminded me both of CARAVAL (see below) with its magic and traveling attraction, and the Korean drama Hotel del Luna with the magical hotel that will change and adapt to accommodate its guests, providing the most magical and wonderful experience magic can produce. And yet, there’s a darker side that must be uncovered and explored to progress the story to a satisfying conclusion. Overall, a wonderful book that I can easily recommend. 

If you liked Hotel Magnifique, you might also like: 

By Stephanie Garber 
Flatiron Books, 2017. 407 pages. Young Adult Fantasy

Believing that she will never be allowed to participate in the annual Caraval performance when her ruthless father arranges her marriage, Scarlett receives the invitation she has always dreamed of before her sister, Tella, is kidnapped by the show's mastermind organizer. 

By J. Elle 
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021. 360 pages. Young Adult Fantasy

Taken away from her Houston neighborhood by the father she never knew in the aftermath of her mother’s murder, a Black teen arrives on a hidden island of magic, where she discovers her half-god identity and responsibility in helping protect the mortal and immortal worlds. 

ACS

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

A Wilderness of Stars

Shea Ernshaw
Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2022, 391 pages, YA Fantasy.

An illness cursing the land forces seventeen-year-old Vega, the Last Astronomer, to venture across the wilderness to discover the stars message that will save her people.

I picked up this book because I’ve been in love with the night sky since I knew the stars had names, and was excited to see that the main character of this story was going to be an astronomer. While there unfortunately didn’t seem to be as much astronomy to this book as I had hoped, I still found it a very interesting read. Think ‘Fahrenheit 451’ or ‘The Giver’, but with a female protagonist and with lyrical and colorful prose juxtaposed against a gray and dying world. I also found the sickness that the characters were facing very poignant, given the pandemic our own world has faced over the past few years. While it’s not the type of book I typically read, the more I got more interested in the world and characters the faster the pages flew by. I would recommend this to readers who like dystopian fiction or thought-provoking conclusions.

If you liked A Wilderness of Stars, you may also enjoy:

Susan Dennard
TorTeen, 2022, 294 pages, YA Fantasy.

Winnie Wednesday, an outcast from the Luminaries, is determined to restore her family's good name by taking the deadly hunter trials on her sixteenth birthday, but when she turns to her former best friend Jay Friday for help, they discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.


Mara Rutherford
Inkyard Press, 2022, 390 pages, YA Fantasy.

Leelo has spent her entire life on Endla, coexisting with the bloodthirsty Forest and respecting the poisonous lake that protects her island from outsiders who seek to destroy it. But as much as Leelo cares for her community, she struggles to accept that her younger brother will be exiled by his next birthday, unless he gains the magic of enchanted song so vital to Endla. When Leelo sees a young outsider on the verge of drowning in the lake, she knows exactly what she's supposed to do. But in a moment that will change everything, Leelo betrays her family, her best friend, and Endla by making an unthinkable choice. Discovery could lead to devastating consequences for both Leelo and the outsider, Jaren, but as they grow closer, Leelo realizes that not all danger comes from beyond the lake--and they can only survive if Leelo is willing to question the very fabric of her society, her people, and herself.

ERB

Saturday, January 14, 2023

Financial Feminist

Financial Feminist
by Tori Dunlap 
Dey Street Books, 2022. 320 pages. Nonfiction 

In Financial Feminist, Tori Dunlap distills the principles of her shame-free approach to paying off debt, figuring out your value categories to spend mindfully, saving money without monk-like deprivation, and investing in order to spend your retirement tanning in Tulum. Featuring journaling prompts, deep-dives into the invisible aspects of the financial landscape, and interviews with experts on everything money--from predatory credit card companies to the racial wealth gap and voting with your dollars--Financial Feminist is the ultimate guide to making your money work harder for you (rather than the other way around). 

Financial Feminist offers guidance for a millennial mindset, with a special emphasis on the unique challenges (stagnant wages, ballooning home prices, and out-of-control student loan debt) facing younger generations. Tori Dunlap, known on social media for Her First 100k, aims her book at young women, combining a pithy, irreverent tone with sound money advice. A solid starting place for readers looking for easy-to-understand financial guidance that won’t talk down to them. 

If you like Financial Feminist, you might also like:

We Should All Be Millionaires
by Rachel Rodgers
HarperCollins Leadership, 2021. 288 pages. Nonfiction 

In this book, Rachel Rodgers— a Black woman, mother of four, attorney, business owner, and self-made millionaire— shares the lessons she's learned both in her own journey to wealth and in coaching hundreds of women through their own journeys to seven figures. Only 10 percent of the world's millionaires are women, making it difficult for women to wield the economic power that will create lasting equality. Whatever is stopping you from having seven figures in the bank—whether it's shaky confidence, knowledge gaps when it comes to wealth building tactics, imposter syndrome, a janky mindset about money (it's okay, we've all been there!), or simply not knowing where to begin—this book shows you how to clear every obstacle in your way, show up, and glow up. We Should All Be Millionaires details a realistic, achievable, step-by-step path to creating the support, confidence, and plan you need to own your success and become the millionaire the world needs you to be. 


by Tiffany the Budgetnista Aliche 
Rodale Books, 2021. 368 pages. Nonfiction 

Tiffany Aliche was a successful pre-school teacher with a healthy nest egg when a recession and advice from a shady advisor put her out of a job and into a huge financial hole. As she began to chart the path to her own financial rescue, the outline of her ten-step formula for attaining both financial security and peace of mind began to take shape. These principles have now helped more than one million women worldwide save and pay off millions in debt, and begin planning for a richer life. Revealing this practical ten-step process for the first time in its entirety, Get Good with Money introduces the powerful concept of building wealth through financial wholeness: a realistic, achievable, and energizing alternative to get-rich-quick and over-complicated money management systems.

SGR

Friday, January 13, 2023

When No One is Watching

When No One is Watching 
By Alyssa Cole 
William Morrow & Co, 2020. 352 Pages. Fiction 

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she's known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community's past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in her neighbor Theo. But Sydney and Theo's deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all. When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other, or themselves, long enough to find out before they too disappear? 

The seamless way Cole weaves mystery with romance, science fiction and the cultural and racial implications of gentrification is an impressive feat. If you’ve enjoyed any of Jordan Peele’s films, this book is very reminiscent of his style of filmmaking. The setting was richly detailed, it’s a Brooklyn that’s recognizable, but Cole really excelled at creating an uneasy atmosphere and neighbors that are, somehow, both overtly and subtly sinister. You could really feel Sydney’s paranoia which made her a protagonist to root for, even with her own shady backstory clouding your ability to fully trust her. I recommend When No One is Watching to anyone looking for a suspenseful read that is issue-oriented. It succeeds on all fronts. 

If you like When No One is Watching, you might also like:

By Zakiya Dalila Harris 
Atria Books, 2021. 357 pages. Fiction 

Twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is tired of being the only Black employee at Wagner Books. Fed up with the isolation and microaggressions, she's thrilled when Harlem-born and bred Hazel starts working in the cubicle beside hers. Soon a string of uncomfortable events elevates Hazel to Office Darling, and Nella is left in the dust. Then the notes begin to appear on Nella's desk and it's hard to believe Hazel is behind these hostile messages. But as Nella starts to spiral and obsess over the sinister forces at play, she soon realizes that there's a lot more at stake than just her career. 

By Oyinkan Braithwaite 
Doubleday, 2018. 226 pages. Fiction. 

Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola's third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede's practicality is the sisters' saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her 'missing' boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit A kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where Korede works is the bright spot in her life. But one day Ayoola shows up to the hospital uninvited and he takes notice. When he asks Korede for Ayoola's phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and what she will do about it.

BW

Love Prescription


Love Prescription: Seven Days to More Intimacy, Connection, and Joy
By John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman
Penguin Books, 2022. 178 pgs. Nonfiction

The authors have dedicated decades of research to prove that great relationships are founded on the small stuff. This short book teaches that there are seven small things, that if done often, can transform your relationships. The steps are: 1. Make Contact, 2. Ask a Big Question, 3. Say Thank You, 4. Give a Real Compliment, 5. Ask for What You Need, 6. Reach Out and Touch, 7. Declare a Date Night.

The Love Prescription distills the Gottman's life work into a bite-size, seven-day action plan with easy, immediately actionable steps. There will be no grand gestures and no big, hard conversations. There's nothing to buy or do to prepare. Anyone can do this, from any starting point.

I like that this book offered advice that felt doable. Sometimes relationship books suggest making changes that feel huge and overwhelming. The Gottmans encourage us to make small little changes, but to do them often and consistently. It also made me feel better that two people who have studied relationships almost their whole lives, are still making mistakes and learning how to do things better. They share stories from their own lives and couples from the Love Lab to help clarify the steps. I recommend this book to anyone who would like better relationships in their lives. They focus mostly on marriage relationships, but most of the concepts apply to any type of relationship. 

If you like Love Prescriptions, you may also like: 

By Nate & Kaley Klemp
Penguin Books, 2021. 218 pgs. Nonfiction
Often in marriage relationships, we feel that things need to be fair. The 80/80 Marriage pushes couples beyond the limited idea of "fairness" toward a new model grounded on radical generosity and shared success, one that calls for each partner to contribute 80 percent to build the strongest possible relationship.


5 Love Languages
By Gary Chapman
Northfield Pub, 2010. 202 pgs. Nonfiction
Dr. Chapman explains how people communicate love in different ways, and shares the wonderful things that happen when men and women learn to speak each other's language.


The All-or-Nothing Marriage: How the Best Marriages Work
By Eli J. Finkel
Dutton, 2018. 329 pgs. Nonfiction
A psychology professor discusses his recent research into modern marriages and offers practical advice and long-term strategies to pursue self-discovery and personal growth and improve self-esteem along with your spouse so that happiness can thrive in your relationship.

AL

Thursday, January 5, 2023

To Capture His Heart

By Nancy Campbell Allen
Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2022. 282 pgs. Romance

Eva Caldwell is an accomplished photographer who often works with the local law enforcement to document crime scenes. Which means she works alongside the handsome and charming detective, Nathan Winston. He unexpectedly asks her for a personal favor, would she be willing to photograph his mother's legendary, week-long dinner party and matchmaking event? The catch is that she must also pretend that she and Nathan are courting so that Nathan can avoid the other single women at the party. Eva agrees and soon finds that the pretend feelings are turning real as they work together to catch a criminal from Nathan's past that threatens revenge on the people he loves. 

This book was pure fun to read! Both main characters were likeable and strong characters on their own. When they worked together, they respected and supported each other. I liked that Eva had a profession and was proud of it during a time when the culture for women was just starting to change. I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of the story that kept me guessing right up until the end. 

If you like To Capture His Heart, you may also like: 

By Sarah M. Eden
Shadow Mountain, 2019. 344 pgs. Romance
Elizabeth Black is an upper class schoolteacher, which is an acceptable profession for women. She is also a very successful writer of Victorian Penny Dreadfuls, that must use the pseudonym Mr. King, to hide her identity. Fletcher Walker is a former street urchin who has turned his life around as a Penny Dreadful author. He is determined to uncover the identity of his rival Mr. King.

By Krista Jensen
Shadow Mountain 2022. 280 pgs. Romance
Lydia is fascinated by the freedom afforded by the new motor cars, and Spencer is a forward-thinking entrepreneur, looking for investors to support his chain of auto-supply shops. Lydia and Spencer's love of motor cars and their quick, witty banter leads to instant romantic chemistry, but their relationship is threatened by the traditional expectations of marriage and the needs of a free-spirited woman who is determined to create her own future.

AL

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Dog is Love

by Clive D.L. Wynne
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019. 262 pages. Nonfiction

A pioneering canine behaviorist draws on cutting-edge research to show that a single, simple trait--the capacity to love--is what makes dogs such perfect companions for humans, and to explain how people can better reciprocate their affection.

As a dog owner and a dog lover, I find this book so fascinating! I've gained a greater understanding of why humans & dogs have the special relationship they have and how I can better love my own dog. I recommend this book to dog-owners, dog-lovers, and animal-lovers and science-nerds alike.



If you like Dog is Love, you might also like...


by John Bradshaw
Basic Books, 2011. 324 pages. Nonfiction

From explaining why positive reinforcement is a more effective (and less damaging) way to control dogs' behavior than punishment to demonstrating the importance of weighing a dog's unique personality against stereotypes about its breed, Bradshaw offers extraordinary insight into the question of how we really ought to treat our dogs.




by Brian Hare
Dutton, 2013. 367 pages. Nonfiction

Brian Hare, dog researcher, evolutionary anthropologist, and founder of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, and Vanessa Woods offer revolutionary new insights into dog intelligence and the interior lives of our smartest pets.







NS

The Call of the Sea

 

The Call of the Sea

By Sian Ann Bessey

Covenant Communications, 2022. 252 pages. Romance

On the eve of her betrothal to a nobleman she's never met, Rhiannon seeks comfort on the shores of the sea she loves so well. But instead of offering peace to her uneasy heart, the ocean heralds doom with the arrival of dreaded Viking ships. A vicious raid leads to the death of her beloved father and leaves Rhiannon's life in tatters. Heartbroken, she travels to Ynys M̥on, where she takes up residence at the royal court of Owain Gwynedd. Leif loves voyaging on the open water. As the son of a Viking chief, he's accustomed to his people's practice of plundering and looting. But when one of his companions ruthlessly kills an old man in front of the man's beautiful daughter, Leif is haunted by the memory. Desperate to find forgiveness for the atrocity he allowed to occur, he's offered a chance at redemption through the kindly teachings of an Irish priest and the unexpected arrival of a royal fugitive. Suddenly thrust into the midst of the Cymry's political turmoil, Leif is reunited with the dead man's daughter--Rhiannon. Forced to work side by side to uncover the truth behind the turmoil, they come to discover that love can grow from even the most tragic of beginnings. But with such incompatible backgrounds, surely a future together can never be theirs.

This book was really interesting for a number of reasons. I loved the Welsh names and terms, and Rhiannon was both compelling and kind as a character. I loved her constant urge to be by the sea. Even though I've studied Celtic British history, this is an era that I wasn't as familiar with, and the author ties real characters seamlessly into the story with her fictional characters. This book is published by an Latter Day Saint author and publisher, and although this story (12th century) clearly takes place before Mormon history, there are religious elements to the story that are interesting and plausible. 

If you like Call of the Sea you may also like: 

By Ellis Peters
Mysterious Press, 1991. 251 pages. Mystery

This story takes place at the same time as The Call of the Sea, and involves many of the same characters. In the Summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England. The armies of King Stephen and Empress Maud, the two royal cousins contending for the throne, have temporarily exhausted each other. On the whole, Brother Cadfael considers peace a blessing. Still a little excitement never comes amiss to a former soldier, and Cadfael is delighted to accompany his young friend, Brother Mark, on a mission of church diplomacy to his native Wales. But shortly after their arrival, the two monks are caught up in yet another royal feud. The Welsh prince Owain Gwynedd has banished his brother Cadwaladi, accusing him of the treacherous murder of an ally. The reckless Cadwaladi has retaliated by landing an army of Danish mercenaries, poised to invade Wales and retake his lost lands. As the two armies teeter on the brink of bloody civil war, Cadfael is captured by the Danes. His fellow prisoner is a headstrong young woman fleeing an arranged marriage-or perhaps her involvement in a murder.

By Melanie Dickerson
Thomas Nelson, 2016. 296 pages. Young Adult Fiction

In 1384 England, seventeen-year-old Evangeline, ward and cousin of King Richard II, tries to escape from an arranged marriage, dreaming of a life outside Berkhamsted Castle, where she might be free to marry for love and not politics, but when she runs away and joins a small band of servants on their way back to their home village, she finds herself embroiled in a tangled web that threatens England's monarch.




By Sharon Kay Penman
Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1985. 704 pages. Fiction


Thirteenth-century Wales is a divided country, ever at the mercy of England's ruthless, power-hungry King John. Then Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce with England by marrying the English king's beloved, illegitimate daughter, Joanna. Reluctant to wed her father's bitter enemy, Joanna slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband who dreams of uniting Wales. But as John's attentions turn again and again to subduing Wales--and Llewelyn--Joanna must decide to which of these powerful men she owes her loyalty and love.A sweeping novel of power and passion, loyalty and lives, this is the book that began the trilogy that includes FALLS THE SHADOW and THE RECKONING.

MGB