"Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither"
                                                       ---Benjamin Franklin


This has been an eventful week in politics, filled with fear for some and hope for others. Every new President awakens those emotions in America.  Those who voted him/her into office, hang onto the belief that this person will bring forth a new day, while the other side believes that this same person spells the end of our country as we know it.  In the best and worst of cases, our system of checks and balances kept us on an even keel. I believe that ultimately our country will stop rocking, and we will sail through calm waters again, but we all might become a little seasick before that happens.

The security of our country is our biggest challenge.  Like a parent protecting his/her family, a President must make sure that those he is responsible for are safe, but sometimes this quest for safety becomes harmful.  When Mike was small, I fully believed that putting a child on a bike was like throwing him to the lions.  He could fall and break a leg or worse, he could ride into the street and get hit by a car.  Nothing Art said could change my mind...my kids would be bike free.  Mike stopped trying to convince me, and I thought that I had won, until the day I walked into the living room and found him sitting by the window.  He had a sad little smile on his face as he watched his friends playing on (and falling off) their bikes.  In that moment I realized that sometimes we can be over zealous in our desire to protect, and we cause more harm than good.  Mike got a bike and I got fifty more grey hairs.

In theory, a wall between the United Stares and Mexico will keep the "bad guys" out, but in actuality, that is unlikely to happen.  It might keep out the men and women who are looking for a better life, but the drug runners and other criminals can easily grab a boat anywhere on the shores of Mexico and find an opening anywhere on our shores.  Terrorists who are trying to find a way to enter the United States will quickly alter their routes and come in through our Canadian border. We can find much better uses for the billions of dollars that we will spend in the construction of this wall, and we can't rely on Mexico to foot that bill voluntarily.  Trying to put a tariff on imported Mexican goods will quickly cripple our neighbors who will either stop importing, raise prices to cover the tax,  or bankrupt themselves trying to pay for a wall that they never wanted.

I think that the old saying, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" is applicable here.  Our President is trying to protect us without seeing the bigger picture.  Sometimes it isn't only about what will keep us safe, it is about what will safely keep us free.  We, as a free nation, have welcomed people to our shores for many years.  That is who we are...standing with opened arms and taking in the " huddled masses yearning to be free."  Within those masses we have discovered our finest scientists, musicians, artists and businessmen.  Sometimes, within all that is good, a bad apple sneaks in, but that doesn't mean we stop eating apple pie.  We find better methods to detect the bad and continue to appreciate all of the good that makes us the home of the "free and the brave."  I agree with Franklin...if we easily give up what makes us free, our security will be meaningless.

Jodi Picoult is an author who never disappoints.  Her ability to reach her readers' deepest emotions surpasses any of her contemporaries, and her latest novel, Small Great Things is no exception.  During these days when White-Supremacy is rearing its head in our country, she talks about a time when the separation of white and black was commonplace.  When Ruth, an African-American maternity room nurse meets Turk, a White-Supremacist who forbids her to touch his newborn, he sets off a chain of events that ends up in a courtroom. This book will grab your heart as it grabs your interest.

Thread of Suspicion by Jeff Shelby will also grab your heart, as you follow  Joe Tyler's relentless search for the daughter who was snatched from his yard nearly a decade ago, while he was watching her.  The reader is caught up in emotion and adventure as this good man continues to lose everything in his life while searching for a child that could be long dead.

As always, complete reviews of these two books follow this blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly

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Genre: Thriller

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Joe Tyler's daughter, Elizabeth,  disappeared from their front yard eight years ago, and he has spent every day since then trying to find her.  It cost him his job, his marriage and his piece of mind, but a new picture brings him closer to the truth.  The clue takes him to Minneapolis, where he fights the weather and local crime while trying to find Elizabeth. Shelby does a good job keeping the reader involved in the search, and he adds a sub-plot that also involves missing young people.  

The book is written in short chapters that left me going for "just one more chapter" more times than I can count.  This is the second book in a seven book series, and former San Diego  police officer, Joe, is as troubled as a man whose daughter was snatched from under his eyes should be, yet the good in him is obvious from the beginning. While he had a relationship with several strong women throughout the book, romance never happened.  

The author did not go as far as I would have liked in developing Joe's supporting cast.  I assume that book one gave us a better look into his ex-wife, and I suspect that book three might just bring them back together, but I would have liked to get to know more about her in this book.  There were several characters, in fact, who could have used stronger back stories to add to this thriller.

As much as I enjoyed the book, I felt cheated by the ending.  It left me hanging, as though the last chapter was somehow misplaced.  I prefer books that have solid conclusions over those that are written in serial format, but I will definitely pick up book three and see how it ends.

- Beverly

Publisher - Amazon Digital Services LLC
Date of Publication - December 6, 2013

​Genre: Fiction

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Jodi Picoult has done it again with Small Great Things. She has touched the rawest of emotions in her readers in a time when emotions seem to be ruling the day.  She has taken us into the hearts and the minds of the bigot and the victim, and she has shown us humanity at its best and worst.  I,  for one, found it as uncomfortable as it was amazing, and I have always admired author Picoult's ability to tap into society's weaknesses and bring us along for the ride.

Ruth is an African-American nurse with over twenty years of experience in the maternity ward.  Her sweet nature shines out in her care of her patients. Turk Bauer is a white supremacist who is clear in his insistence that Ruth will never touch his child.  The conflict arises when the baby goes into cardiac arrest and Ruth hesitates before reacting. The child dies, and Ruth is ultimately charged with a serous crime.

The novel is told through the eyes of Ruth, Turk and Public Defender Kennedy McQuarrie.  Picoult moves us seamlessly from worlds of prejudice to worlds of privilege.  She humanizes the inhuman, when she shows us what made, and continues to make, Turk so hateful.  One of the early scenes, with Turk making his "bones" in becoming part of his  White Supremacist gang shows him in front of a gay bar.  His emotions with whom he encounters there are so raw that the scene was difficult to read.

Jodi Picoult's characterizations are always so thorough and her descriptions so vivid, that reading her books becomes cathartic to those who read them.  Her followers anxiously await her latest novels, and rarely does she disappoint.  Small Great Things is no exception.  Find some time, grab a box of tissue, and jump onto the emotional roller coaster that only Jodi Picoult can take you on.

- Beverly


​Publisher - Ballantine Books
Date of Publication - October 11, 2016

"When we're old(er), I aim to be sitting next to you on our sweet porch, drinking tasty lemonade, and telling anyone who will listen  the delicious story of how we fell in love."
                                                                                ---Wrdsmith


I first met Arthur at a Hootenanny when I was sixteen.  I was with my "date of the month" and he was performing in a trio...featuring his girlfriend as female vocalist. After the show, he brought me cookies from the refreshment table, smiled his charming smile, and went back to his group.   Two years later, when my current "date of the year" broke my heart, my best friend offered up his high school yearbook. "Pick anyone...anyone...and I will fix you up with him, if you just stop crying."   I picked Arthur.  The "blind date" was arranged, and today Art and I sit on the porch of our new home and talk about the memories that make up our lives.

I have always been a fan of Brad Meltzer's books.  When I read his first published novel, The Tenth Justice, in 1998, I loved it and gave it a top review.  I believe he was in law school when he wrote that book, and through the years he has developed into a best selling author.  As much as I enjoy his fiction, it is his non-fiction that really captures me.  Two years ago I read (and reviewed) his book Heroes for My Son.  When his son was born he decided to collect anecdotes for him, about famous and not so famous people who embodied the ideals he hoped his son would someday possess.  When he put them together in book form, and published them for all of our sons, I got a glimpse of Meltzer the man.  His book Heroes for My Daughter was a continuation of these examples of people we should all strive to emulate.

His current non-fiction venture is a series of children's books about "ordinary people who change the world." These delightful books are creatively illustrated and offer interesting biographies written in the language of young people.  I am Jim Henson (Ordinary People Change the World) is the latest of this collection that includes Rosa Parks,  Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller and Abraham Lincoln to name a few.  He introduces these people as ordinary children, and he shows them growing up in households similar to those of his young readers.  Jim Henson had a magical way of looking at the world, and continued reaching for his dreams until the day he died.  Some of the memories Art and I share on our porch focus on Sesame Street times with our kids.  When Mike turned four I bought him a book and sat down to read it to him. He pulled it from my hand, turned to page one and read it through to The End.  Since we hadn't taught him to read, I just stared at him until he explained that he learned to read from Sesame Street.  "They taught me letters and how to put them together." Hopefully Jim Henson realized his influences on generations of children before he died. This wonderful man introduced us to the "rainbow connection" before it became politically recognized, and his muppets showed us the importance of loving acceptance of all.  Thanks Brad, for reminding us what is important during these stressful times.

A more stressful, but very well written book that I reviewed this week is The Good Lawyer by Thomas Benigno.  Nick Mannino is a young lawyer who is faced with several cases that complicate his life. Benigno has a way of humanizing his characters and making us care about their lives while his stories unfold, and I was pulling for Nick throughout this book. The reader is definitely caught up in Nick's efforts to win his cases without losing his sense of ethics, and I was sorry to see this one end.  I am definitely looking forward to the third book in this series.

For now though, I am going to grab the next book on my list, go out to my "oh so comfortable" porch and enjoy the beautiful Florida weather.  

As always, complete reviews of these two books follow this blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly

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Genre: Legal Thriller

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I recently reviewed Benigno's second book, The Criminal Lawyer, and decided to reread and review The Good Lawyer.  This is the book that introduces us to Nick Mannino, a legal-aid defense attorney who actually likes what he does. Benigno does a good job with Nick, making the reader believe that he really does care for his clients' welfare.  The author also introduces some low-life lawyers who serve to make us appreciate exactly how ethical Nick is and shows us the importance of ethics in the legal system.

The story begins with Nick taking the case of a teaching assistant who is accused of molesting three young students.  Believing in his client's innocence,  Nick goes beyond the call of duty to save him from years behind bars.  The young lawyer also gets involved in the case that has the entire town on edge.  The "Spider-Man Rapist" has been terrifying women by climbing into their rooms at night and raping them.  The more involved Nick gets in the case, the more he wants to turn away.  He makes connections that he doesn't want to make, and the very ethics that define him could ultimately destroy him.

The Good Lawyer shows us a cast of flawed characters who work on both sides of the law.  Nick's family plays an integral part in his life and in this story, and watching him juggle the people who mean the most to him with the career that he loves, makes this book even more exciting.  For those who enjoy legal thrillers with well-defined characters this will definitely be a great addition to your bookshelf.

- Beverly


Publisher - Landview Books
Date of Publication - March 14, 2012

Genre: Children's Book

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Brad Meltzer is a top author whose thriller books have mesmerized many people (myself included) through the years.  His gift to the world, however, is his wonderful "I am..." series.  Years ago, I chose the teaching profession, because I realized that when you influence the children, you change the world.  Meltzer has been having the same results with these beautifully written and illustrated books.​

I have read several of these books and enjoyed how he gave children of all color, religion and even disabilities heroes to look up to who mirrored them.  Martin Luther King Jr, Albert Einstein, Helen Keller have been written about time and again, but Meltzer writes in a way that small children can relate to, and he shows them what it takes to be a hero.  

Jim Henson has always been one of my heroes.  He showed us the world through muppet colored glasses, and young and old responded with wonder.  His muppets were silly and somewhat flawed, but they always believed.  Whether they dreamed of scientific discoveries or chocolate chip cookies, these wonderful characters believed their dreams were attainable.  

Brad Meltzer and Christopher Eliopoulos in I am Jim Henson (Ordinary People Change the World) do a marvelous job introducing young people to this man who died before they were born, but whose work entertains and reaches them every day.  Henson's childhood shows where he might have picked up his sense of humor.  The picture of his mom pouring milk all over the table because young Jim said "that's enough" instead of "when" as she was pouring milk into his morning cereal shows the reader the sillier side to growing up in the Henson household.

Eliopoulos' illustrations are recognizable and funny, as he portrays people and muppets to go along with Meltzer's descriptions of a life well spent.  I imagine Henson would have loved the portrayal of a young Jim with a thick Henson-like beard.  Meltzer's facts always seem to be on point, and young people will quickly understand that Henson was a dreamer who wanted to share his dreams with them.

- Beverly


Publisher - Dial Books
Date of Publication - January 10, 2017

"One can not think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well."
                                                                  --- Virginia Woolf


I am proud to say that Arthur and I are definitely foodies.  In fact, our entire family spends way too much time fantasizing about our next meal. Our vacations often center around chefs whom we would like to meet and dishes that we would like to eat.  We have toured kitchens and broken bread with some of the top chefs in the United States and Europe, and I look forward to many more conversations with these masters of the kitchen.

When I was pregnant with Beth, she decided to play havoc with my immune system, and I suddenly developed several serious food allergies.  Going to restaurants became a challenge that I wasn't always up to, and realizing that I could never eat my beloved Chinese food again (MSG seemed to put a halt to breathing for me) caused me real dismay.  Never one to throw in the towel, Arthur decided to take to the kitchen and learn to cook all of my favorite things without using the ingredients that bothered me.  Through the years he has offered me dishes that rival the best restaurants around, and  even now, when restaurants have become more refined and work around people's allergies, I still prefer a dinner presented by my favorite live-in chef.

Several years ago, we decided to stop cooking meat in our house (except for the very occasional strip of bacon which I have decided to classify as a vegetable) and become pescatarians (fish and vegetables).  We have eaten this way for four years (with one or two hamburgers a month...my weakness...eaten in restaurants) and we both feel so much better with this lifestyle.  Being able to eat a three course meal without the bloated feeling that meat tends to give me, makes the lack of meat worthwhile.  The problem is, most vegetarian cookbooks tend to be preachy and a bit boring.

Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook: Eat Like You Give a F*ck  by Thug Kitchen is neither preachy nor boring.  I will add one of last week's trigger warnings and mention that literally every page seems to flaunt some bit of foul language, with the "F" word seeming to be their favorite.  These two California guys joined together to blog about healthy cooking and then write several cookbooks to help us cook beautifully engineered vegetarian meals.  This book will give you many recipes to enjoy (i.e. Sweet potato, squash and black been enchilada, White bean and red lentil burgers, and Bbq bean burritos with grilled peach salsa to name a few).  There are also lots of food facts scattered throughout, and I must admit I did laugh a bit at their novel way of expressing themselves.

If you are more serious about your food facts, have I got a book for you.  History of Food by Maguelonne-Toussaint-Samat is a tome that is loaded with the most interesting food history and descriptions. The author shares facts with us about the origins of various foods and how many of them worked their way into our kitchens.  While this is not a book to read cover to cover in a short period of time, it is certainly a book to revisit many times through the years.  

Even if you don't want to be the next "MasterChef" these books are both informative and entertaining, and I truly recommend them to enhance your culinary abilities.

As always, complete reviews follow this blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly

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Genre: Non-Fiction/Food

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Last week I wrote about "trigger warnings," and I feel compelled to issue one now. If you are offended by coarse language (I.e. The "F" word or the "S" word) then Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give a F*ck by Thug Kitchen is not the book for you.  Is it gratuitous, you might ask?  Well, I don't believe that the "F" word is ever a necessary component of a cookbook, but hey...that could just be me.​

That being said, the authors' style of writing did give me a chuckle, and the recipes look amazing.  For those of us who don't cook meat, finding interesting recipes can be challenging.  They put together ingredients and present one delicious offering after another.  Yesterday I tried making Lentil Tacos with Carrot-Jicama Slaw.  Not only was the taste interesting, but the crunchy Jicama added the perfect texture to each bite.  It had a slightly Asian bend, and next time I might try to change it to a more Mexican flavor profile.

The authors are an LA-based duo with a passion for healthy eating.  Their ingredients are always fresh and are put together seasonally.  Their partnership started as a website and moved on to sharing their ideas in cookbook form. My next foray into their healthy-style recipes will be their Roasted Beer and Lime Cauliflower Tacos.  Yum!  I just read that cauliflower will definitely be trending in 2017, so I might serve this at my next dinner party.

Cooking vegetables can be challenging, and I am always on the lookout for vegetarian dishes that are as hardy and taste-packed as their meat filled counterparts.  Although I haven't tried many of Thug Kitchen's recipes yet, I will say that so far the book is a winner.  I love that the authors are not preachy about their beliefs, and the choice of words was not a problem for me.

- Beverly


Publisher -  Rodale Publishing
Date of Publication - October 7, 2014

Genre: Non-Fiction/Food

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A book with over 800 pages is always a bit intimidating, but for a true foodie, 800 pages of food facts are just a beginning.  In History of Food the author digs deeply into the history of all types of food, giving us information that is both interesting and sometimes surprising.  For example, the cultivation of greens, for use in salads, came from Italy.  The Romans ate raw wild greens (salads) during the latter part of their meals to aid with digestion.

The author expounds upon the original mother sauces, telling us where they originated and how they were used through the years.  He talks about the sequence of meal courses, the use of utensils and anything you might imagine related to food. He shares information about food preservation through the years and many scientific issues related to food.  I found it interesting that tomatoes, first discovered in the "new world," were brought back to the Italians, who really found creative ways to use them.

This is not a book that you will sit down and read through in a week or even a month.  It is long and involved and can sometimes be tedious, but the information is fascinating and there is no rush.  Although it was first written in 1992, and that is the copy we own, an updated version came out in 2008 that might be filled with even more up to date information.  If you, or someone you know, is interested in the when, where and why of what we eat, than this is a perfect book to keep on hand.  

- Beverly


Publisher - Blackwell Pub
Date of Publication - November 1992

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year you surprise yourself."
                                                               ---Neil Gaiman


Although science fiction is not a genre that I generally chose, Neil Gaiman has a way with words that sets him above most writers of his time.  His wish for the coming year is perfect. Magic, dreams and good madness. Yes...we all are in desperate need of good madness this year.  Reading, kissing, drawing and singing are things that will fill my days with sunshine and push me through the cloudy days.

There will be cloudy days for us all, I fear, because everyone's road is a bit bumpy.  Dwelling on the prospect of these impending clouds will not erase them however, so I don't think I want any "trigger warnings."  In his book, Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances, Gaiman talks about these warnings that are meant to protect us from the violence or horror or fears that might be present in a book, movie or television show we might think about experiencing.  If we always know the bad that might befall us, would that prevent us from taking certain steps in our lives, and if we then chose to turn away, what would we miss? 

Through the worst experiences in our lives we often find a strength we never knew existed.  These bad times help us to appreciate the good times all the more, and put so many minor things into the proper perspective.  If I believed in trigger warnings, I would have never had children for fear of a genetic anomaly, and Arthur and I would have missed the sweetest parts of our lives.  For that matter, the trigger warnings of marriage might have kept me from Arthur, the one person who makes every day matter for me.

Listening to Gaiman's suggestion that I read some fine books this year, I started 2017 reading Anthony Franze's newest book, The Outsider. This novel about a young lawyer working as a law clerk for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is both exciting and informative.   When messenger Grayson Hernandez stops an attack on the Chief Justice, his life Is forever changed.  His sudden promotion to the coveted position of law clerk puts him in a dangerous position, and life as he knows it will never be the same.  Hmmm...I wonder if a trigger warning might have worked for him.

I do hope that the new year does treat everyone well, and that we all follow Neil Gaiman's advise and somewhere in the next year we surprise ourselves.

As always full reviews follow this blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly

Click on the  b​ook cover to order a title mentioned in today's blog: