Strength of Water by Karin K. Jensen ~ a Review

by MK French

King Ying grew up in 1920s Detroit with her parents and sisters, helping out with their laundry. The increasing debts during the Great Depression meant her father sent her and her siblings to his mother in a remote village in Guangdong Province of China. There, the family battled extreme poverty, hunger, and lack of education as the Japanese invaded and the Sino-Japanese War broke out. She managed to return to America and struggled to build a life for herself there.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

5 Books for Presidents' Day

by Donna Huber

One of my favorite classic holiday movies is Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby. If you've watched the movie you know that they celebrated both Washington's birthday and Lincoln's birthday. In 1968, the Uniformed Monday Holiday Act moved many federal holidays to Mondays to create a three-day weekend. The third Monday, which fell between Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays, was chosen to celebrate both and became known as Presidents' Day. Now it celebrates the legacies of all presidents. As today is Presidents' Day in the U.S. here are a few books to read to learn more about U.S. history and the lives of these men who have led the country.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. 

Adventures on Land and Sea: Searching for Culinary Pleasures in Provence and Along the Cote d'Azur by Carole Bumpus ~ a Review

by MK French

Carole Bumpus and her husband Winston are now following the excursions of Peter Mayle hoping to find the real Provençe. They travel from Nice to Nîmes, Moustiers to Marseilles, and San Tropez to San Remy while sailing along the Côte d’Azur. Provençe had its own myths, festivals, and traditions, as well as historic ways of cooking and winemaking.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

Being Henry: The Fonz...and Beyond by Henry Winkler ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

From Emmy-award winning actor, author, comedian, producer, and director Henry Winkler, a deeply thoughtful memoir of the lifelong effects of stardom and the struggle to become whole.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.

A Renaissance of Our Own: A Memoir & Manifesto on Reimagining by Rachel E. Cargle ~ a Review

by MK French

CEO Rachel Cargle reimagined her life independent of current social structures, moving from a Christian wife to a queer feminist voice. This memoir outlines the breaking points in her life that brought about that change, and invites others "to acknowledge the ways of being that stem from societal expectations instead of your truth, and to embark on a renaissance of your own."

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

Luck of the Draw: My Story of the Air War in Europe by Frank Murphy ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

“In the pursuit of authenticity, of accurate history and undeniable courage, no words matter more than, ‘I was there.’ Read Luck of the Draw and the life of Frank Murphy and ponder this: how did those boys do such things?” —Tom Hanks

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

Books About the Royal Family

by Susan Roberts

Ok, I'll admit it, I enjoy following the ups and downs of the royal family - who is fighting, who are friends, and all of the exploits of both generations.  Here are reviews of a few books written recently about them.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. 

Missing by Cornelia Spelman ~ a Review

by MK French

Cornelia's mother smoked constantly and loved mysteries. She had five children but soon accused her son of trying to kill her. Banished to a nursing home afterward, her story was hidden until Cornelia began to piece it all together. Using interviews, letters, telegrams, and all kinds of documents, the mystery of her mother's life and the long-lost brother is told here.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

The Daughter of Auschwitz by Tova Friedman & Malcolm Brabant ~ an Audiobook Review

by Donna Huber

The Daughter of Auschwitz is Tova Friedman's memoir. She has the distinction of possibly being the youngest survivor of the notorious death camp Auschwitz. She was just a year old when war broke out. She was 4-years-old when her family moved into the Jewish Ghetto. She was 5-years-old when she and her family were sent to Auschwitz and just 6-years-old when the camp was liberated.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.

Catching Up on the TBR Pile

by Donna Huber

My library system recently made it possible to request audiobooks from any library in the state. Several books that I've had in my review pile for some years that weren't available through the digital library I now can get from other libraries in the state. These are primarily ARCs I got from Netgalley which archived before I read them because I didn't have a good system in place to keep track of the books.  So if you are a big library user or just prefer to read backlist titles, today I have two you may want to check out.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

Two More Years by EC Stilson ~ a Review #Cancer #Faith

by Alison DeLuca

Two More Years is a memoir, the story of one woman's journey through cancer. EC Stilson, or Elisa, is a mother and wife as well as a writer. Then she becomes a patient dealing with stage 4 melanoma cancer.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.

Woodrow on the Bench by Jenna Blum ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

“For anyone who’s ever loved an old dog.”

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

Beautiful Country: A Memoir by Qian Julie Wang ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

I haven't read a memoir in a while because I'm really picky when it comes to the genre. Immigration is a hot topic right now and it is what drew me to this book. Beautiful Country is a beautiful story. The poignant writing as Wang unburies her memories had me misty-eyed several times.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School is one of those books I requested via Netgalley when I first started blogging and hadn't worked out a good system of keeping track of books to review. It archived before I could read it. While looking through my digital library for audiobooks, I ran across the title and thought it would be a great opportunity to try it.

6 Books of Nonfiction to Read

by Susan Roberts

One of my personal reading goals for 2020 is to read 10 or more non-fiction books. I haven't deliberately avoided non-fiction books but I haven't read many of them in the last couple of years. As of the end of June, I've read 7 so I think this is a goal that I'll be able to meet. Can you suggest other non-fiction books that will help me meet my 2020 goal?

Rash: A Memoir by @LisaKusel12 ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

Have you dreamed of living abroad? While I love to travel, I've never wanted to live in a foreign country for longer than a few weeks. I'm always a little impressed with people who do which is one of the reasons I wanted to read Lisa Kusel's memoir Rash.

Lost Without the River by Barbara Hoffbeck Scoblic ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

I can be kind of picky when it comes to memoirs. So I'm never sure I'm going to like the book when I first pick it up. However, with Lost Without the River, I enjoyed it from the start.

Ginseng Tango by Cheryl Pallant ~ a Review

by MK French

How it begins...

Two western colleagues and the department chair pick me up from the airport and drive me to my university apartment. The space, much smaller than my house in Richmond, is three pyeong large, a dorm-like 350 or square feet, with kitchen area, desk, wardrobe, bed, and night stand. The floor is heated Korean style, an ondol, something to look forward to when the weather cools or I need to dry clothes. The bathroom converts into a shower with the press of a button, a nozzle hanging from the wall near the sink. Through the sliding glass doors near my bed is a view of an angled, red tiled roof and an easily climbable railing for getting to a large flat roof which I anticipate using to extend my small deck. 

My Own Devices by Dessa ~ a Review

by MK French

Dessa is a hip-hop singer/songwriter with solo performances as well as through the group Doomtree. I had first heard of her through the song "Call Off Your Ghost" that was featured on the podcast Welcome To Night Vale. It's a song that grabbed me immediately with it's emotion and her singing. I looked up the rest of her discography at the time, which I enjoyed just as much. It's an eclectic mix of rap and hip-hop rhythms with some classical allusions along with the everyday elements of heartbreak, sadness and trying to relate to others.

Review of Educated: a Memoir by Tara Westover

by Alison DeLuca

Educated: A Memoir is on the summer reading list put out by the 44th president. It's a fascinating entry since the author grew up in a survivalist family that was deeply suspicious of the government. Tara Westover's book is the story of what it was like to grow up as a home-schooled Mormon, a girl taught that women had to submit to men, and, that around every corner, the Feds waited to take her rights away.