The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson *****

 FABULOUS. READ IT. The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson is about two young women fighting their way out of poverty. Ruby’s mother was fifteen when Ruby was born. She was raised by her Grandma Nene and her Aunt Marie. Her only hope to escape poverty was to go to college. She was selected for a program where the top two students would get college scholarships - her only chance for a better life. Eleanor grew up in a small Ohio town. Her working-class parents saved all their lives so she could go to college. Both girls worked hard to not lose their small advantages.

Ruby fell in love with a boy whose family owned several businesses in town. Eleanor chose a medical student from a family with old money. Both families felt that these girls were below their sons. Both girls became pregnant and both boys wanted to marry them. What could make Ruby’s and Eleanor’s lives more challenging? They were African American. Regardless, this is an optimistic book.

Ruby is sent to a punitive home for unwed mothers. Eleanor marries her doctor, but the marriage is difficult, his mother is meddlesome, and her pregnancies end in miscarriages.

The story takes place in 1951 at Howard University. Eleanor wanted to join the (fictional) Alpha Beta Chi sorority (the ABCs), but she was turned down because her skin was too dark, and her family was too poor. One of the themes of this book was the division between rich (high yellow) light-skinned families and poor, dark-skinned families.

Ruby’s boyfriend was Shimmy (Simon Shapiro). He was Jewish. His father owned the tenement where Ruby lived. The Jews were as racist as the high-yellow blacks.

Two historical African Americans were in the book. Charles Drew (June 3, 1904 – April 1, 1950) was an American surgeon and medical researcher. He developed techniques for blood storage and applied his expert knowledge to developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II. Dorothy Porter (May 25, 1905 – December 17, 1995) was key to building up the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University as one of the world's best collections of library materials for Black/African history and culture.

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The 9th Girl (Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska Book 4) by Tami Hoag****

The 9^th Girl by Tami Hoag opened on New Year’s Eve when a dark sedan hit a Minneapolis pothole. The trunk opened. A mutilated woman flew out. A party limo ran her over. Sergeant Nikki Liska and Detective Sam Kovac connected the case with a serial killer known to abduct young women on holidays and torture them. They named him Doc Holiday, and this latest victim, Zombie Doe. In addition to the Doc Holiday story, Penelope Gray, a goth, sensitive, poet, was in conflict with popular, mean girl Christina Warner—complicated by the engagement of Julia Gray to Michael Warner. A thrilling combination of teenage angst and brutal murders.

Sergeant Liska's 15-year-old son attended a writers’ workshop in the summer with Penelope Gray and Brittany Lawler. They became friends and got “acceptance” tattoos. When they returned to school, Brittany abandoned her summer friends to join Christina Warner’s mean-girls clique, abandoning RJ and Penny. RJ fought with Aaron Fogelman (Christina’s boyfriend and a bully).

Eventually, Kovas and Liska learn that Penny is missing. They pursue the Doc Holiday case and the missing Penny case, all the while hoping that they are not connected even though the evidence suggests that they are.

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Thanksgiving by Janet Evanovich *****

 Are you sad that there aren’t more Stephanie Plum books? Before the first Stephanie Plum book, there was Megan Murphy, a feisty potter, who worked in Colonial Williamsburg on the weekends, had been engaged three times (once at five years old), and had sworn off marriage (but not sex). Her life is full of surprises and challenges, but nothing slows her down. Megan Murphy in Thanksgiving by Janet Evanovich is a romance for Stephanie Plum fans. Enjoy.

The story starts when Tibbles (the rabbit) chews a hole in Megan Colonial Williamsburg costume, and she meets the pediatrician, Patrick Hunter. One thing leads to another, so when Tilly Coogan leaves her infant Timmy with Patrick, Megan agrees to split the babysitting responsibilities with Patrick. You can imagine what happens when two single people, who can’t even cook, attempt to care for a small child. It's worse than that and hilarious.

Next both sets of parents, eager for a wedding, show up for Thanksgiving. Remember that these two cannot cook. Imagine the hi-jinx again. It’s better.

Throughout the book, I was reminded of Stephanie Plum.

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So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (H2G2 #4) by Douglas Adams ****

 So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams is the fourth book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. Like everything else connected to H2G2, it requires a suspension of logic. The title is about fish, but the story is about dolphins–not really, but dolphins are mentioned. This is a love story about Arthur Dent and Fenchurch. You can start the H2G2 series at the beginning or jump in here. “We apologize for the inconvenience.”

The book is full of wry, satirical observations.

Arthur reached out for the bedside light, not expecting it to come on. To his surprise it did. This appealed to Arthur’s sense of logic. Since the Electricity Board had cut him off without fail every time he paid his bill, it seemed only reasonable that they should leave him connected when he hadn’t. Sending them money obviously only drew attention to himself.

There is a feeling which persists in England that making a sandwich interesting, attractive, or in any way pleasant to eat is something sinful that only foreigners do.

Their mood gradually lifted as they walked along the beach in Malibu and watched all the millionaires in their chic shanty huts carefully keeping an eye on one another to check how rich they were each getting.

But the reason I call myself by my childhood name is to remind myself that a scientist must also be absolutely like a child. If he sees a thing, he must say that he sees it, whether it was what he thought he was going to see or not. See first, think later, then test. But always see first. Otherwise you will only see what you were expecting. Most scientists forget that.

The book's highlight is the story of the biscuits (abridged here) …

“Ah. I know the type. What did he do?”

“He did this. He leaned across the table, picked up the packet of biscuits, tore it open, took one out, and …”

“What?”

“Ate it.”

“What?”

“He ate it.”

Fenchurch looked at him in astonishment. “What on earth did you do?”

“Well, in the circumstances I did what any red-blooded Englishman would do. I was compelled,” said Arthur, “to ignore it.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, it’s not the sort of thing you’re trained for, is it? I searched my soul, and discovered that there was nothing anywhere in my upbringing, experience, or even primal instincts to tell me how to react to someone who has quite simply, calmly, sitting right there in front of me, stolen one of my biscuits.”

…

“There is that. So. When the empty packet was lying dead between us the man at last got up, having done his worst, and left. I heaved a sigh of relief, of course.

“As it happened, my train was announced a moment or two later, so I finished my coffee, stood up, picked up the newspaper, and underneath the newspaper …”

“Yes?”

“Were my biscuits.”

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Lost Birds: A Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito Novel by Anne Hillerman ****

 Lost Birds by Anne Hillerman is a continuation of the series originated by her father Tony Hillerman, set in Navajo Country and featuring the Navajo Nation Police. As with the other books, southwestern geography and the Navajo culture are featured. In this book, (a) Stella Brown, adopted by a white family, is looking for her Navajo roots, (2) an explosion at the Eagle Roost School ties into a murder, loan sharks, and a missing person, and (3) Kory has his mental health challenges exacerbated by a terminal cancer diagnosis. An excellent addition to this series.

The mystery of Stella Brown’s ancestry hinges on a single photo and a Navajo blanket with a storm pattern. Retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, with his understanding of Navajo geography and culture, follows these clues to solve the convoluted mystery to a satisfying resolution.

The explosion at Eagle Roost School is a mystery worthy of Agatha Christy, with multiple suspects and motives. The mystery includes the gambling debts of the school janitor Cecil Bowlegs, Bethany Bowlegs, his missing wife and school music teacher/accountant, Big Rex, the band leader of the Hop Toads where Bethany is the lead singer, and Principal Morgan with a shady past.

The most excitement is generated by the unstable Kory who is off his meds, struggling with his relationship with his mother Louisa Bourbonette, and adjusting to his wife, Erlinda’s pregnancy. Leaphorn needs all his experience and knowledge to prevent Kory from doing something that all will regret.

This is not a mystery simply dropped into Navajo Country. Navajo issues like drinking and The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978 are important to the plot. The size of the Navajo Nation (25,000 square miles, predominantly in Arizona and New Mexico) is also integral.

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The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood *****

 Gilead. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Offred is the Commander’s (Fred’s) Handmaid. She wears red. The women who work in the house (Cora and Rita) are Martha’s. They wear green. The Commander’s wife is Serena Joy. She wears blue. The male workers are Guardians. Offred’s purpose is to get pregnant. Serena Joy oversees the monthly ritual for this purpose. Many suspect that the Commander is sterile. “I almost gasp: he’s said a forbidden word. Sterile. There is no such thing as a sterile man anymore, not officially. There are only women who are fruitful and women who are barren, that’s the law.” A classic novel of a patriarchal dystopia. Read it.

Before Gilead, Offred had a name and a husband and a daughter. All that is gone, but life as a Handmaid is superior to being sent to the to being hung from a hook on the Wall, or “He could fake the tests, report me for cancer, for infertility, have me shipped off to the Colonies, with the Unwomen.”

Much of this book reminds me of 1984 where there is an opposition, but you can never be sure if the opposition is real or a trap. Much of the terror is not knowing who is a friend and who is a foe. Every transgressive act comes with a heightened risk since you can never be sure of your coconspirators.

Econowives (from Google)

In The Handmaid's Tale, Econowives are fertile women who are married to lower- and middle-class men, or Economen. They are expected to: Have children, Take care of their households, Cook meals, Clean their husbands' houses, and Support their husbands' careers.

Econowives are not assigned Marthas to help them, unlike Wives, who have many servants. Econowives are expected to fulfill the duties of a Handmaid, Wife, and Martha to their husbands. They wear red, blue, and green to symbolize this.

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The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young ****

Curl up in your favorite reading chair with your grandma’s quilt and your daughter’s cat. You’ll need all the support you can summon for The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young, a fantasy/sci-fi time-travel murder mystery. June Farrow comes from a long line of cursed women in the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, who, succumb to madness at some point in their lives. Her mother, Susanna, simply disappeared. June was found as a baby wearing a strange locket. Early in the story, her grandmother, who raised her, dies having first lost her mind, leaving June with her best friend Birdie. June can sense the curse coming for her, the attraction of a mysterious red door that only she can see. That’s how it starts. Do you dare follow?

The Farrows (in 2023) “The Farrow women had a touch. When … everyone else in North Carolina was planting tobacco, the Farrows were growing flowers. It had kept the farm working for the last 118 years, … a peculiar little farm that was growing flower varieties even the richest growers in New England hadn’t been able to get their hands on. The mystery had made the farm something of a legend, even if the women who ran it weren’t exactly considered polite company.”

This is a story of time travel and, as with all time-travel stories, there are rules: (1) You can only travel to another time three times, (2) You can not travel to a time where you already exist, (3) The standard: “No talking about what happens in the future to any of us. No warning us of danger or opportunity or anything else. There are too many risks. Too many things that could be affected.”

This is also a love story.

Stranger vocabulary: Tedder- A tedder is a machine used in haymaking to spread and stir hay to help it dry and cure faster. It's also known as a hay tedder.

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Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah *****

 Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah is the story of two sisters and their mother. Meredith married her childhood sweetheart, had two daughters, and took over the family apple orchard. She was the responsible and organized one. Nina was a conflict photographer, taking pictures of war zones and refugees. She was a fearless adventurer. Their mother, Anya, suffered from PTSD. The daughters didn’t know their mother’s history, only that she was cold and distant. These three strangers were held together by the father. They all loved him, so much so, that when his dying wish was for them to hear Anya’s story, all three overcame their differences to honor his wish. Much of this book is about the Siege of Leningrad. A strong, emotional book about mothers and daughters.

While the book centers on the relationship between Anya and her two daughters, most of the pages are dedicated to the Siege of Leningrad. The focus is on the women (“Every man between fourteen and sixty has gone to fight.”) who remained in Leningrad facing Stalinism, starvation, and cold. While many histories of the Battle/Siege of Leningrad report the military maneuvers with any mention of women being those who fought. This book gives life to the survivors, their children and their grandparents. Warning: some of the experiences of these women are difficult to read.

Kristin Hannah uses her god-like author powers to finish the book on an upbeat note.

Nina is a conflict photographer and chases crises around the world, with her boyfriend Danny. Her passion is to publish a book on strong women (and sex with Danny).

The book includes Russian dishes (and even recipes at the end), as well as lots of vodka shots and tea from the samovar.

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Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey *****

And the winner for the worst movie adaptation is Cheaper by the Dozen (2003). Aside from the number of children, nothing of this 1948 (set in the 1920s) classic was included in the film. Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey features a husband-and-wife engineering team who traveled the world giving lectures and improving factory efficiency. This short book, lovingly written by two of the children, includes many vignettes such as how they earned money by bidding on household chores (“The lowest bidder got the contract.”) and how they satirized their father’s lectures (“For the purpose of convenience,” [the child satirist] began pompously, “I have divided my talk tonight into thirty main headings and one hundred and seventeen subheadings. I will commence with the first main heading. …”). Highly recommended. An efficient use of your time.

The oldest girls were teens during the 1920s and the book includes many teen fashions of the era: Oxford bags (trousers), cootie garages (hairstyle), silk stockings, raccoon coats, and exhaust whistles for Model Ts.

Several of those girls went to Smith College.

The mother and the father were a team that would make any feminist proud 100 years later. The father “died on June 14, 1924, three days before he was to sail for Europe for the two conferences,” where he was booked to deliver lectures. The mother took his tickets and delivered the lectures.

 From the Foreword: MOTHER AND DAD, Lillian Moller Gilbreth and Frank Bunker Gilbreth, were industrial engineers. They were among the first in the scientific management field and the very first in motion study. From 1910 to 1924, their firm of Gilbreth, Inc., was employed as “efficiency expert” by many of the major industrial plants in the United States, Britain, and Germany. Dad died in 1924. After that, Mother carried the load by herself and became perhaps the foremost 

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Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See ****

 Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See is a historical novel. It follows Tan Yunxian, a female doctor in 15^th-century China, through the four stages of her life from age 8 (milk days) to age 15 (hair pinning days-awaiting marriage) to rice-and-salt days (“the most important years in a woman’s life. They are when I will be busy with wife and mother duties”) and finally sitting quietly days. 15^th century China was not a good time for women, even high-ranking women like Tan Yunxian. This was a time of foot binding for high-ranking women and domination by husbands whether she was a wife, concubine, or servant. Lady Tan’s circle of women does their best to support each other in the strange misogynistic world.

Every historical novel is a balance between the historical research and the storytelling. This book is dominated by the historical. At times, it feels like non-fiction as the author packs in so many fascinating details. Much of the novel is based on Miscellaneous Records of a Female Doctor written by Tan Yunxian, “in a standard catalog of the twelve thousand known Chinese medical works to be found in Chinese libraries, only three were written by women, with Tan Yunxian’s text being the earliest.”

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Hallowe'en Party (Hercule Poirot 1969) by Agatha Christie *****

 In Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie, Judith Butler has organized an Eleven Plus party. During the party, Joyce Reynolds is murdered. It appears that she was murdered to prevent her from revealing an earlier murder that she witnessed, but which one? And who was the murderer? And why was she, a compulsive liar, even believed? And what about the au pair girl who forged a will but ran off before she could be prosecuted? At 79, Agatha Christie still has it- so many suspects and such a straightforward crime once it is revealed.

The party entertainment includes bobbing for apples, a game where the girls see their future husbands in hand mirrors, and a Snapdragon. The Snapdragon is a bowl of raisins, doused in brandy and set alight in a darkened room. During the Snapdragon, Joyce is drowned in the tub of water used for apple bobbing.

Hercule Poirot is accompanied by the mystery novelist, Mrs. Ariadne Oliver. The book references Narcissus, Lady Macbeth, and strangely, the double axe of the short-lived Minoans.

This is book 35, 36, or 41 in the series- published in 1969. The first book was published in 1920 and the last by Agatha Christie in 1975. 

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Moon Over Manifest (Newbery Medal Winner) by Clare Vanderpool ****

The protagonist of Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool is Abilene Tucker. In May 1936, Abilene’s father, Gideon, had sent her to live in Manifest because she was “becoming a young lady,” and following the railroad construction wasn’t a place for her. Once in Manifest, she befriends two girls (Ruthanne and Lettie). They search for the identity of the spy, Rattler, and have other adventures—many associated with learning the identity of Abilene’s father. The second thread of the novel is about Manifest in 1918 (World War I and Spanish influenza). A delightful story of small-town Kansas during World War I and the Depression.

When twelve-year-old Abilene arrived in Manifest, she abandoned the train before it reached the station. “…as anyone worth his salt knows, it’s best to get a look at a place before it gets a look at you. I’d worn my overalls just for the occasion.” She is a confident and competent young lady. “At the last car, I waited, listening the way I’d been taught—wait till the clack of the train wheels slows to the rhythm of your heartbeat. The trouble is my heart speeds up when I’m looking at the ground rushing by. Finally, I saw a grassy spot and jumped.”

Other important characters are Miss Sadie, a diviner, and Sister Redempta, a schoolteacher and midwife. These two women recount 1918 stories where Abilene learns Manifest's history and her father's origins. Another important source is Hattie Mae Macke, a reporter for the Manifest Herald who wrote a column of “all the whos, whats, whys, whens, and wheres, look at the backside of “Hogs and Cattle” every Sunday.”

In addition to the war and the flu, life in 1918 Manifest revolved around the mine which had a stranglehold on economic life, immigrants, and prohibition with the associated bootlegging. Despite the hardships, people in Manifest had a good life. I was reminded of the Little House books.

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Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly *****

 Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly is Lincoln Lawyer novel #7. The Lincoln Lawyer is Michael "Mickey" Haller. His office is his Lincoln Navigator. He is assisted by his half-brother, ex-LAPD detective, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. Their case is Lucinda Sanz, 33, in prison for shooting her ex-husband. She says she is innocent. The resurrection walk is when someone like Lucinda has their conviction vacated and they walk free. This excellent legal thriller is a mix of legal procedure and science, such as AI, DNA testing, and cell phone tracking. The book is a page-turner after a slow start (do not lose faith).

The historical background for this book is the FBI investigation of LAPD gangs (reference Ramparts scandal, late 1990s).

Some of the subplots include: Harry’s cancer treatment, Lucinda’s 13-year-old son being at risk for joining a gang, the incompetence of Lucinda’s original lawyer, Frank “second place” Silver, Haller’s conflict with his ex-wife prosecuting attorney Maggie McPherson, and the brilliance of forensic scientist Shami Arslanian (MIT, MS Chem E; John Jay College, PhD Criminology; Harvard, BS Engineering; and Berklee College, BA Music).

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Upside Down by Danielle Steel ****

 Honoring Danielle Steel’s writing process, I’ll start with the characters from the novel Upside Down. Ardith Law, 62, is an Oscar-winning actor. She lives in Bel Air. Morgan Walker, 38, is Ardith’s only child and a successful plastic surgeon in NYC. Morgan is still angry that Ardith ignored her in favor of her career. Josh Gray, 41, is a talented, but struggling actor. Josh was assigned to be Ardith’s assistant. Ben Ryan, 63, is a very successful TV newsperson, who met Morgan when his doctor was unavailable. Unsurprisingly, these two upside-down couples fall in love and live happily ever after.

The best-selling author attributes her popularity to being able to write honestly about “the things that hurt us or scare us” while always giving her characters “safe harbor” and her readers “a sense of hope.” (Harvard Business Review) I start thinking of the different twists and characters, and it snowballs. Eventually, I hand write an outline. (Harvard Business Review)

The book deals with the conflict between career and parenting. Ardith chose her career over parenting her daughter Morgan. Morgan chooses her career over marriage and children. Morgan’s father, director John Walker, died in a helicopter crash while cheating on Morgan’s mother. Ardith did not remarry. When the book opens, Ardith is living with her tiny white toy poodle, Oscar, a B-list actor, William West, 78, and Benicia, her housekeeper. Josh Gray enters the household when William leaves for England for a movie.

The book places much emphasis on appearance (Morgan: Her heels were high, her skirt was short, and her legs looked terrific), sex (Morgan again: the best sex she’d ever had. Ardith: Everything they hadn’t let themselves feel for each other took over, and it felt like fireworks lighting up the sky when they came), and the trappings of wealth (hotels, restaurants, cars, clothes, etc.).

No one wants kids in this book. (Josh: I don’t want some twenty-five-year-old girl(friend), or kids. I’ve never wanted kids. I’m a kid myself. I want to be a kid with you,” he said, and she laughed and gave him a shove).

Ben Ryan is a narcissist. When someone does him a big favor, he barely says thank you and forgets about the favor, but most of the characters are self-obsessed.

There is a subplot about women victimizing men.

The book ends with a flurry of cliches (Everything about the trip was perfect, and they were sad to leave) and so many superlatives (Ardith was the finest actress he had ever seen, and a remarkable human being. She was truly the love of his life, and he felt honored to be with her.)

A safe read.

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Things We Have in Common by Tasha Kavanagh ***

Things We Have in Common by Tasha Kavanagh: Yasmin Laksaris is 16 years old, overweight, friendless, and bullied. In addition, her mother has remarried, and Yasmin doesn’t get along with her stepfather. At school, Yasmin is obsessed with Alice Taylor. When she noticed a man staring at Alice from outside the schoolyard, she imagined that he was a pedophile and planned to abduct Alice, after which Yasmin would rescue Alice, and they’d become friends. Alice eventually disappeared, but the remainder of Yasmin’s fantasy didn’t happen. The man is Samuel and Yasmin tells the story to him, “you.” A journey into Yasmin’s inner world and her teen angst. Caveat: The mystery is not resolved.

Alex Awards: The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. This book won an Alex Award in 2018. Yasmin wants to be close to the most beautiful girl in her school, but surely a freak like her has no chance. Unless that is, she can save her from the man who was staring at her from the woods.

Yasmin is overweight (“219 pounds 12.472 ounces” in Dr. Bhatt’s office, or “ninety-nine and a half kilos.”), but this novel is not about obesity. She eats chocolate Hobnobs, Turkish delight, and chips-so many chips-without guilt or self-loathing. She accepts her weight and ignores her judgmental stepfather and her dietician.

Yasmin is obsessive. She stalks Alice. It is obvious and the others tease her about it. She even had a box of Alice memorabilia including a sock and a hair band. Once she decides that the man in the woods is going to abduct Alice, she studies pedophiles to recognize them by their appearance.

By the time Alice disappears, Yasmin is friends with Samuel and his dog, Bea. This leaves her conflicted, but as she accepts her weight, she also accepts this.

The book explores teenage drinking. After she meets Samuel, he offers her a rum and Coke. She enjoys the relaxing feelings and warmth. She likes being with Samuel after a rum and Coke.  This is how teens become alcoholics, but the book has nothing to say about this risk.

If you think that teens are lackadaisical, this book will not argue.

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Daddy’s Girl by Lisa Scottoline *****

Daddy’s Girl by Lisa Scottoline opens with “Nat [Natalie] Greco felt like an A cup in a double-D bra. She couldn’t understand why her tiny class was held in such a huge lecture hall, …” Nat is an untenured Law professor, and the size of her room is just the beginning of her challenges. The students refused to do their reading or participate in class. The protagonist of my Zarand Szilard, substitute teacher, mysteries would understand these teacher problems, but he would never have imagined the lengths Nat goes to address them.

Nat lives in a world of men. Her father, brothers, and fiancé are in the construction business and obsessed with sports. The male Law school deans do not appreciate her. She fears she will be fired instead of awarded tenure. When popular professor Angus Holt invited her to be a guest lecturer, she agreed, even though the class was in a prison. During that class there was a riot, a prisoner attempted to rape her, and a guard died in her arms after giving her a message for his wife. In the aftermath, the prison staff and the police behaved suspiciously, and Nat set off to uncover the mystery. Amid violence and conspiracy, Nat held her own. She was no “damsel in distress,” waiting for one of the guys to save her. A page-turner of the modern woman.

Sex: There is one multi-page sex scene (for no apparent reason).

Scottoline states, “I’m big on research,” and it shows. The book is packed with interesting technical details from “stingers” used by riot police, sally ports in the prisons, and Underground Railroad activity in southern Pennsylvania.

As the title suggests, Nat’s father attempts to protect his daughter. He is not alone. Other knights-in-shining-armor include her brothers, fiancé, the deans, and Professor Holt. She refuses all help. The action belongs to Nat!

So many books have this title.

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A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess *****

Brave New World, Animal Farm, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, … and then came A Clockwork Orange. How did I miss A Clockwork Orange? …the story of Alex, aka Your Humble Narrator, told in three acts. First, his life as a fifteen-year-old “ultra-violent” teen. Next his time in prison, subjected to behavioralist experiments to rid him of his violent behaviors. Finally, his life after prison. Two things mark this book, the ultra-violence and “nadsat” slang. The slang is pervasive and slows down the reading. However, the slang softens the violence. When the teens tolchock someone, it doesn’t have the same emotional impact as the English equivalent. A one-of-a-kind classic.

Examples of slang…

He made out that he was the only real horrorshow prestoopnick in the whole zoo, going on that he’d done this and done the other and killed ten rozzes with one crack of his rooker and all that cal.

What sloochatted then, of course, was that my cellmates woke up and started to join in, tolchocking a bit wild in the near-dark, and the shoom seemed to wake up the whole tier, so that you could slooshy a lot of creeching and banging about with tin mugs on the wall, as though all the plennies in all the cells thought a big break was about to commence, O my brothers.

The book refers to Nazis and World War II. It also includes autobiographical details. Especially the incident with his wife. [Wikipedia] During the blackout, his pregnant wife Lynne was raped and assaulted by four American deserters; perhaps as a result, she lost the child.

From the book: ‘Your wife, sir?’ I said. ‘Has she gone and left you?’ I really wanted to know about his wife, remembering very well. ‘Yes, left me,’ he said, in a like loud and bitter goloss. ‘She died, you see. She was brutally raped and beaten. The shock was very great. It was in this house,’ his rookers were trembling.

A one-of-a-kind classic.

The American version left out the final chapter where Alex outgrows his ultra-violent teen years.

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What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama *****

 What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama tells the stories of five characters—all dissatisfied with their lives. Tomoka, 21, is a women’s wear sales assistant. Ryo, 35, is an accountant at a furniture manufacturer. Natsumi, 40, is a former magazine editor. Hiroya, 30, is a NEET-not in employment, education, or training. Masao, 65, recently retired. In each case, they visit Librarian Ms. Komachi, and she asks, “What are you looking for?” In response, she offers several books related to their query, one other book, and a felted object (frying pan, crab, airplane, …). They consider the books and the bonus gift and learn how to live and improve their lives. A pleasant self-help book disguised as a novel.

In each case, the character is at a transition point. Tomoka and Hiroya have graduated without a clear idea of where to go next. Ryo’s job has become routine and unsatisfying. Natsumi has returned from maternity leave to learn that she has been sidelined. Masao has just retired. In each case, their quest for answers leads them to the local library. The librarian answers their question but also points them in a surprising direction. As they struggle to understand the librarian’s advice, they learn a new truth about life and a way forward.

Tomoka found the courage to try something new. It’s time for computer class, so I head for the meeting room. I think that I might be just entering the forest. I still don’t know what I want to do, or what I can do. What I do know is that there’s no need to panic, or do more than I can cope with right now. For the time being, I plan to simply get my life in order and learn some new skills, choosing from what’s available. I’ll prepare myself, like Guri and Gura gathering chestnuts in the forest. Because I never know when I might find my own giant egg.

Ryo learned to turn “one day,” into “tomorrow.” Everybody is connected. And any one of their connections could be the start of a network that branches in many directions. If you wait for the right time to make connections, it might never happen, but if you show your face around, talk to people and see enough to give you the confidence that things could work out, then ‘one day’ might turn into ‘tomorrow.’

Trust makes the world go round. “Ryo, dear, have you ever thought about what makes the world go round?” “Er...er, love, I guess.” “Oh, that’s priceless!” she cries. “You never cease to amaze me, Ryo, but that’s what I love about you. I believe it is trust,” she adds.

Being born is the most difficult thing we have to do. Ms. Komachi turned toward her computer. “You were the same. Being born is probably the most difficult thing we ever have to do. I am convinced that everything else that comes afterward is nowhere near as hard. If you can survive the ordeal of being born, you can get through anything.”

My plan is to appreciate every new day. And take a wide view of things.

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Chamber Divers by Rachel Lance ****

 In Chamber Divers, Rachel Lance tells two stories. First, the story of the scientists who enabled safe underwater operations. Prior to their research, underwater workers risked the bends, seizures, and death. Second, she exposed the men who stole credit from women who were “under-titled and underpaid.” A fascinating story of science and scientists, but I wish she’d been more enraged by the mistreatment of those women.

The author restrains her feelings towards the sexist men until the Acknowledgements at the end of the book. I would like to thank, first and foremost, all of the people who have taken or tried to take credit for my own scientific work. Without these men, I would not have known how to dig for this story, how to find the under-credited women and refugees within it, those people who were similarly under-titled and underpaid, and whose under-pay and under-titling were used to justify shifting their achievements into the portfolios of people against whom they had no standing to argue.

Author Rachel Lance is a biomedical engineer and blast-injury specialist who works as a scientific researcher on military diving projects at Duke University. Before returning to graduate school to earn her PhD, Dr. Lance spent several years as an engineer for the United States Navy, working to build specialized underwater equipment for use by navy divers, SEALs, and Marine Force Recon personnel.

I would have preferred her to take a more strident position against the sexism and the sexists.

The allies depended on German gas bottles scavenged from down Luftwaffe fighters. At a steady, preset rate, a shallow trickle of oxygen entered his breathing loop from a high-pressure bottle that had been liberated from the cabin of a downed Luftwaffe fighter plane and repurposed. The German gas bottles had proved superior to any being made by the Brits, and collecting these aluminum trophies was a silver lining to living among the bombings.

Both sides depended on amphetamines. Benzedrine pills. The drug could sometimes induce a paranoid psychosis akin to schizophrenia, but it would keep anyone awake. It would keep them moving. Later that same month, November 1942, the Royal Air Force flipped from a total ban to approval of the drug for pilots, because stable brain chemistry is not relevant if someone is dead from other causes. “He got a good night’s sleep before the Nazis caught him” has never been engraved as a compliment in any soldier’s epitaph.

In preparation for D-Day, the British had to abandon their hospitality. It had become something of a British household custom for the residents to offer passing troops whatever they could. Tea, as long as the pot held out. Biscuits, if there were any. Sandwiches and desserts, if soldiers were lucky enough to pass the right house. The custom had become so ingrained that when the military ran training exercises in the more isolated parts of Great Britain—the parts selected to provide realistic preparation for surviving in the bombed-out French countryside–they had to warn the citizens in advance not to give the troops food. Otherwise, it would not be much of a wilderness-training exercise.

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Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher *****

In Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher, newborn Princess Gwendoline (not Guinevere) was betrothed to two-year-old Arthur. Growing up, he teases her, and she breaks his wrist, but the primary obstacle to a royal wedding is that both are gay. The story is set in a post-Arthurian England where the king (Gwen’s father) represents the Catholics and Art’s family belongs to the cultists (followers of Arthur Pendragon, Lancelot, Guinevere, Morgana, and Merlin). Some hope/imagine the wedding might unite these two factions. Unfortunately for Gwen and Art, the two factions are already united by homophobia, and the royal couple is closeted. A delightful queer medieval rom-com for teens and young adults.

Other characters are Gabriel (Gwen’s older brother and the future king), Lady Leclair (the sole female participant in the tournaments), Agnes (Gwen's lady), and Sidney (Arthur’s man).

SEX. This book is packed with sexual encounters mostly hidden and occasionally pretended, but the sex is always kissing. Just kissing. No touching below the neck. There is a lot of kissing, passionate kissing. Only once does any of the characters even suggest that anything else exists. “I didn’t even—I never even slept with her.”

Throughout the book, the characters struggle with being gay in a homophobic society.

Gwen: Lady Leclair was a problem. Looking at her felt a lot like wanting something.

Arthur glanced around the otherwise empty courtyard, pulled the young man into the shadowy alcove between the stables and the gate, and kissed him.

“How do you do it?” Gwen said. She was looking at him like he was some sort of patron saint of same-sex kissing.

And you’re going to do exactly what everyone expects, and never have anything for yourself. And you’re going to be miserable.” “And I’m going to be miserable,” he repeated. “But—I was always going to be miserable.”

“They think the first sign of civilization was a healed femur.” Paraphrase of Margaret Mead.

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The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose *****

 In The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid#2) by Nita Prose, Molly Gray is Head Maid at Regency Grand, where “author J. D. Grimthorpe … was set to make a big important announcement in our recently restored Grand Tearoom.” Unfortunately, he is murdered before he makes the announcement. Since, “The maid is always to blame,” Molly and her Maid-in-training Lily are the first suspects. Sweet, naïve Molly solves the murder in this mystery of innocence over evil.

Molly reminds me of Matilda (by Roald Dahl, a personal favorite). They both enjoy reading and libraries. Also, they both have a positive attitude despite living in an unfair world. With that attitude, they both overcome their circumstances in the end.

People underestimate Molly, but in the end, they realize their folly. The officers turn my way as though seeing me for the first time. “Who the hell is she?” the taller one asks. “Molly. She’s just a maid,” Detective Stark replies.

Molly’s Gran is dead, but she lives on when Molly remembers her sayings:

Treat others the way you wish to be treated.

We’re all the same in different ways.

Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end. (My favorite)

Deep cleaning gives life meaning. Just grab a duster, Buster.

One step at a time. It’s the only way to get anywhere in this life.

Some quotes:

It’s true, I had learned one thing from my classmates, which is that the saying about sticks and stones was all wrong. They had given me ample practice at dodging both projectiles, and even when their missiles met their mark, the bruises faded over time. But words—the sting of them, the stigma—endured forever. Their words sting to this very day.

A thought occurs to me. “Gran, if the Grimthorpes are Old Money, does that make us New Money?” I ask. She laughs out loud, but I know she’s laughing with me, not at me. “My dear, we are No Money.”

What do you call it when there’s truth in a story but it’s not a fact?” I ask. His face morphs. All the hard lines soften. All the pain dissolves. For the first time ever, he looks giddy and happy and light. “A novel,” he replies. “You call it a novel.”

 A joke with a long setup: On page 8 we are introduced to “LAMBS—Ladies Auxiliary Mystery Book Society.” Then on page 117, we get “The silence,” she says. “The Silence of the LAMBS.”

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The Alignment Problem by Brian Christian *****

Does your web browser include AI? Have you wondered what was behind all this hype? Have you played with ChatGPT? Are you willing to work for the answers as if you were back in math class? If you answered “yes” to all these questions, I recommend The Alignment Problem by Brian Christian. The author reviews recent Artificial Intelligence research and accomplishments. AI far surpasses what you see when you read a news report, see a summary generated by your web browser, or ask a question to ChatGPT. The book is not an easy read, but it is worth the effort.

Much of the book deals with the theory of learning as related to people and computers.

If a young child sees you reach for something that is just out of reach, the child will help. How complicated is that? Very. This act demonstrates that the child has a model of you, your goals, and your objectives. The child also has a model of themself and recognizes that they can help. The child also has an altruistic goal to help.

Training AIs are beyond copying behavior. Like the child above, an AI can learn your goals and objectives and learn to do what you would have done.

Highly recommended. It gets better and better. Stick with it.

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Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult ****

 If you are a parent, you can read Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult as a cautionary tale. It can also be read as an anti-bullying novel or a defense of mass shooters. The book compares the mass shooter (a high school student) to Battered Women’s Syndrome. Another example of justifying violence in retaliation for bullying is the movie Office Space (1999). The book asks, “Who is responsible to defend the victims of bullying?” The author doesn’t deliver any easy answers. Highly recommended for anyone in a position of power.

The book ended with a surprise twist. While I found this turn of events clever, it distracted the reader from the fundamental question: how can the main character receive justice?

The main characters are Peter Houghton who is bullied from the first day of kindergarten and Josie Cormier who befriends Peter in elementary school but drops him by high school. Other characters include his parents (Lacy, a midwife, and Lewis, an Economics professor), her mother (Alex(andra), Superior Court judge, single parent), the detective (Patrick Ducharme), and the defense lawyer (Jordan McAfee).

I found this book over the top both in terms of acceptable bullying and homophobia.

Math joke:

So, two kids are in the lunch line, when the first kid turns to his friend and says, “I have no money! What should I do?” And his buddy says, “2x + 5! A binomial. Get it? Buy-no-meal?!”

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The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles de Lint *****

The The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles de Lint is an elementary-level fantasy. Lillian Kindred is a “gangly, tousle-haired” orphan girl who lives with Aunt. She is a nice girl who searches for fairies, leaves a saucer for the barn cats after she milks Annabelle, scatters seeds for the squirrels when she feeds the chickens, and leaves some of her breakfast biscuit for the Apple Tree Man. Her adventures begin with a fatal snake bite…when the magic cats rescue her…by transforming her into a kitten. A delightful story with talking animals and life lessons.

Lillian learned something about looking after a farm, and standing up for herself, and how true friends will stand by you, and the senselessness of holding on to old quarrels. She’d even learned that sometimes a thing was just going to happen—like if one person weren’t bitten by a snake, then maybe somebody else would be. Old Mother Possum shrugged. “What’s important to remember is that one thing leads to another. Trouble is, it’s hard to see ahead sometimes, so I gave you a chance to do just that.”

There’s those that talk, and those that do. Which do you think gets the thing done?”

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Holly by Stephen King *****

 Caveat: This review of Stephen King’s novel,Holly, is a certified outlier, but you didn’t need my opinion of King, one of the great American novelists. It features two aging emeriti professors–Emily Harris, who taught English Literature, and her husband, Rodney, who was in the Life Sciences Department. She suffered from sciatica and arthritis, and he had Alzheimer’s. Over the years they have become estranged from their respective faculties until they only had each other. The novel finds them ostracized, disrespected, and deeply in love, with only each other for support. It asks the question: what would you be willing to do for your life partner as death approaches? A touching love story.

The title character, Holly, is a detective and she has been hired by Penelope (Penny) Dahl whose daughter Bonnie has disappeared. Holly’s friend, Detective Isabelle (Izzy) Jaynes, has not assigned a high priority to this case. There is no corpse, so Izzy will not pursue murder, and Bonnie is twenty-four, so she has the right to disappear without the police pursuing her. Holly agrees to take the case and the more she investigates [“She hates the word detective, she’s an investigator.”] the less Izzy’s runaway hypothesis makes sense. In addition, Holly discovers other mysterious disappearances.

Language: While characters in this book use “f**k” (once per 10 pages) and “s**t” (once per 20 pages), Holly only says “frack” or “poop.”

There is a lovely subplot about brother and sister, Jerome and Barbara Robinson, both aspiring Black authors. He is writing a history of his “notorious great-grandfather,” a Chicago gangster who always dressed to the nines. Barbara writes poetry, not about “the Black experience.”

The novel takes place during COVID-19 with many references to overcrowded hospitals, masks, and vaccinations. Plus people who deny COVID and vaccinations, and who die.

Warning: The novel includes cannibalism.

The book includes many literary references, including “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner,” published in 1945, and one I recall from high school.

Holly considered leaving the “business of investigating. That means touching evil, of which there is no end.” I feel this is Stephen King’s voice as a novelist.

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The Good Fight by Shirley Chisholm *****

Shirley Chisholm published The Good Fight in February 1973 amid the optimism of Roe v Wade being decided (7-2) in January 1973 and the pessimism of Nixon’s reelection (49 out of 50 states) in November 1972. Shirley Chisholm, a Black woman, sought the Democratic nomination for president to unite Blacks, women, youth, and other minorities. They lost to the “arrogant white intellectuals” who “were convinced that they knew what minorities, women and other groups needed. Why bring them in?” Fifty years later, little has changed except that Roe v Wade has been overturned.

Chisholm had many insights into politics in America. The observation that I found most enlightening was America is NOT a “melting pot,” as I was taught in school. The naïve conception once taught, and perhaps taught still in the public schools, was that America is a “melting pot.” It has become clear in the last two decades that this was never true, that American society is instead a “mosaic” of elements that exist side by side but have never lost their identities. The minorities—Germans, Jews, Irish, Italians, Greeks, Slavs—have not been assimilated into the population after two or three generations. Every big city politician knows this; ethnic voting blocs are a fact of life for him, and a great deal of attention is paid to ticket-balancing as a way of dealing with them. Something is provided for the Irish Catholic vote, something for the Jewish vote, and so on.

Shirley felt that sexism was worse than racism. I repeated what I have said many times, that during twenty years in local ward politics, four as a state legislator and four as a member of Congress, I had met far more discrimination because I am a woman than because I am black.

Some of the issues that Shirley Chisholm felt were important included: the Middle East, welfare reform, statutes of Confederate soldiers, campaign finance reform, political incivility, rivalry between black men and white women campaign workers, and abortion.

Shirley Chisholm was an astute observer of American politics and her book is well worth reading 50 years later.

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