MADDERLY REVIEW
  • MAIN
  • GUEST REVIEWS
  • FEATURED AUTHORS
  • ABOUT
  • SUBMIT A REVIEW
  • CONTACT

Thru My Looking Glass

6/30/2017

0 Comments

 
"Unless you are willing to compromise, society cannot live"   
                                   ---Alan Greenspan


I have come to the conclusion that grey is the best color in the crayon box.  It represents what we all should strive for...compromise. I learned early on that there is rarely a black or white answer to anything, yet too many people believe that their way is the only way.  As I mentioned last week, that is no way to run a country, and that is no way to run your life. My life as a daughter, wife, mother and teacher was spent honing the art of compromise.

I would coach my debate team to always spend as much time researching the " other " side as they did researching their chosen viewpoint. In fact, when they entered a Lincoln/Douglas competition, they would know their topic a week in advance, but they wouldn't know which side that they were debating until the competition began. I am proud to say that every one of them turned into excellent debaters, but more impressively, they turned into fair minded thinkers who listen as well as they speak.

Too many people see life's journeys as straight lines.  They will start at point A and travel to point B without veering from the path that they decide is the correct one.  How sad to live one's life with blinders on as you stare straight ahead.  There are so many ways to end up at point B, and so many experiences to encounter if you can only compromise along the way.

Child raising was one big compromise, since Art and I came from families with two different ways of doing things.  When he was ten he would take a trolley to the elevated train (Philadelphia's "subway" ) and the  train to a destination where he would meet his ten year old cousin.  Together they would hop another train to go fishing or visit a museum.  When I was ten my parents wouldn't let me cross the street alone.  As you can imagine, this lead to quite a few conversations between us, but I believe it led to a safer and happier upbringing for our children.

Our discussions now are often political in nature, and my ability to understand both sides tend to frustrate Arthur.  His beliefs are strong with little room for compromise.  In almost every instance my beliefs match his, but I do see where the other side is coming from and understand their frustrations too.  For example, while the idea of a wall is abhorrent to me, I understand that living near a border that is constantly being breached is scary, and desperation drives us to things that might seem like overkill to those who live a safe distance away.  

That is why we need level headed politicians who govern from a place divorced of personal feelings.  They need to be level headed and make decisions that serve in the best interest of their constituents instead of the lobbyists who support their next run for office.  I have come to believe that our senators and representatives should be eligible to serve us for one six year term only.  Six years gives them plenty of time to accomplish their goals without the distraction of another election.  They won't need lobbyist's bribes, and they won't make decisions based on what will garner more votes.  

Once we get our leaders back in the mode of working for the good of all people rather than the good of their select voting groups, perhaps both parties can use compromise  to attain the goals that our forefathers had in mind.  

My two reviewed books this week center around wives who need to get away from their husbands.  Both Marianne, from  Nina George's The Little French Bistro, and Alexa, from Deborah Hawkins' Dark Moon: A Legal Thriller, realize compromise is not the answer for them, and they each choose a different method of escape. 

As always, complete reviews of both books follow this blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly 
​Click on the book cover to order a title mentioned in today's blog
0 Comments

The Little French Bistro by Nina George

6/30/2017

0 Comments

 
Genre: Fiction
Click book cover for Amazon.com
Nina George moves away from the customary protagonist and introduces us to Marianne, a sixty-something woman on the brink of suicide. Forty one years of an unhappy marriage has led her to the water's edge in search of the happiness that eludes her in life.  She is saved by a stranger and decides to find a new life on the coast of Brittany in The Little French Bistro.​

Marianne's life in Brittany is idyllic in many ways, and the reader gets a taste of life in France.  We are introduced to an interesting array of characters, and their stories, along with Marianne's, add a great deal to the plot. I found it interesting that Marianne had difficulty seeing in herself what others saw in her.  The question is, are we what we see in ourselves, or are we what other people see in us.  I assume it is a mix of both, and I enjoyed watching Marianne discover herself throughout the book.

I also appreciate the messages this book sends to its readers.  We should spend our lives appreciating all of the small things instead of just striving for the bigger things. We need to find the beauty in ourselves and live the life we were meant to live, rather than the life that someone else plans for us.  Nina George tells her story with a little humor and a great deal of heart, and although it does get a bit overly dramatic in parts, I enjoyed my time spent with Marianne in Brittany.

- Beverly


Publisher - Crown 
Date of Publication - June 13, 2017
0 Comments

Dark Moon: A Legal Thriller by Deborah Hawkins

6/29/2017

3 Comments

 
Genre: Legal Thriller
​Click book cover for Amazon.com
Hawkin's ability to put the reader in the middle of her character's world played havoc with my emotions while I read Dark Moon.   Defense attorney Sarah Knight is obviously hiding something in her own past as she defends Alexa Reed.  Alexa was a U.S. Supreme Court Clerk when Michael Reed began pursuing her, and despite warnings about him, she fell in love. Michael, an attorney and son of a Supreme Court Justice married her, and they followed his career to San Diego. He became abusive, and after their two children began to suffer she filed for divorce.

Michael's connections allowed him to paint her as crazy, and when he and the psychologist working with him to frame Alexa are both murdered, all clues point to her.  Unfortunately she is so traumatized that she can not aid in her own defense.  Sarah, new to the city, is appointed to defend her, and she is told to do the minimum for her client.  It is obvious that Alexa is being railroaded, but Sarah is having difficulty building a defense without her client's assistance. Sarah is determined however, and with the help of her investigator, former FBI agent Jim Mitchell, she begins to discover the truth behind the cover-up.  

Deborah Hawkins is very strong in her character development, and the reader quickly becomes involved in the abusive relationship as Alexa loses herself to a unrelenting husband.  We watch as this strong female attorney allows herself to be manipulated and abused, and the author shows us how even the strongest women will endure much to protect their children.  

The plot is also well developed and keeps the reader turning pages, although I often questioned how so many people involved in this case could be so corrupt.  I was glad that her investigator, Jim, was portrayed as kind and intelligent, because most of the other male characters were corrupt and/or simply hateful.  

This legal thriller is intense and definitely thought provoking, and it will definitely be one that you won't forget.

- Beverly


​Publisher - Deborah Hawkins 
Date of Publication - March 9, 2016
3 Comments

Thru My Looking Glass

6/23/2017

0 Comments

 
"He's our president, and we need this country to be run well. I didn't vote for him," Bloomberg added. "Let's just all hope that Donald Trump is a good president of the United States."
     ---Allie Yang


I remember the very moment my thoughts on the Republican Party took a hit.  Although a registered Democrat, I always believed in voting for the politician, not the party.  Many republicans earned my vote through the years, because they seemed well suited to achieve the results I believed best for the country at the given moment.  Barack Obama was not a shoe in vote for me that first term.  I looked at both sides very carefully before I cast my vote for him.

I was happy to give him a chance though, and I looked ahead to some needed change where both parties would get together and work for the betterment of our country. Then I read an interview that the "National Journal" did with Mitch McConnell, who was the Senate minority leader at the time.  I waited for him to present ideas that they could compromise on to improve conditions in our already great nation.  Instead, he said,  "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

That was the day I lost faith in the Republican Party and our two party system as it is today.  If the objective is anything other than working together to make our country stronger, than I have no interest in what they have to say.  It is for that reason that I am going to agree with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg when he said we should "get behind Trump."  I didn't vote for Donald Trump, and many parts of his platform sicken me, but enough people supported him to make him our 45th President.  I can still work against things I don't believe in, but supporting a leader who has won an election is the hallmark of a great democracy.

As Bloomberg said "people in other countries 'try to tear down the government and have a revolution ' when their candidate doesn't win but Americans should be more strategic." We need to back whoever holds that office and hope he is up to the job.  We must hold his feet to the fire and make sure that he works toward a goal that will benefit all, but if we tear him down we are showing the world a broken United States of America.

Those who are unhappy with the president must strategize and work harder to find a way to defeat him in the next election. That is the American way.  We must make sure that we are presented with two strong candidates and then chose the one whose platform matches our ideals, rather than find ourselves facing candidates who make people settle rather than chose. I liked Hillary Clinton and believed her experience would lead us to a better tomorrow, but I know that many people found her platform as uncomfortable as the other side found Donald Trump's.  I know that if Clinton would have won, and her detractors continued acting as obstructionists, I would have been furious.

So I will continue to support the causes I believe in, write/call my congressmen/congresswomen to let then know my feelings, and volunteer when I find the next candidate that works towards equality for all races, religions, genders and sexual preferences.  I will do all of that while I show respect for the office of the President, and as I hope that our President shows respect for the office as he grows into the job.

Meanwhile, Snapshot, by Lis Wiehl  is an historical thriller that reminds us that our government has faced hard times before, and we will survive to face them again.  Wiehl's cast of characters are strongly portrayed, and her plot is well conceived.  The Civil Rights Movement is far removed from Federal Prosecutor Lisa Waldren's current life, but a snapshot of her and a young black girl, both four years old, sitting at the rally where a beloved leader was assassinated, brings her back to those days.  When her ex-FBI agent father asks her help in freeing the innocent man who is set to be executed for this crime, she begins investigating.  It is an interesting mix of fiction and history that definitely kept my interest.

The second book I reviewed this week is Salt: A World History, by Mark Kurlansky. It is a great mix of the beginnings of salt through modern times, the varied uses of salt, and even same recipes.  While not a book to read in one sitting, it is a book filled with facts you will enjoy learning.

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

Happy reading,

- Beverly
Click on the book cover to order a title mentioned in today's blog
0 Comments

Snapshot by Lis Wiehl

6/23/2017

0 Comments

 
Genre: Historical Thriller
Click book cover for Amazon.com
Lis Wiehl is a federal prosecutor, and her dad was an FBI agent, so she has a strong background to write this compelling story.  Snapshot begins at a peace rally in the '60's where a civil rights leader is assassinated.  Four year old Lisa is attending this rally with her FBI agent father, and is sitting with a young African American girl when the shots ring out.  Her father had just snapped two pictures of the two young girls, and so the story begins.

Years later, Lisa is a federal prosecutor, and her dad, James, now a former agent, contacts her asking for help.  He sends her the two pictures that he took so many years before and tells her that the wrong man has spent years in jail.  His execution is coming up, and James Waldren is determined to find the truth.  He brings Lisa into his investigation which includes searching for the other child in the two photographs.

This is a wonderful story about a tumultuous time that had me engaged from the first chapter.  The author brings in history of the time and takes the reader on a hunt for justice that was often missing in those racially biased years.  Her characters are realistic because she is pulling from a life that she is familiar with, and the story itself was taken from two pictures that her father did send her.

The mystery was a light one that held my attention as did the history of the Kennedy years...always a favorite of mine.  There were a few parts that left me wanting a bit more of an explanation, but on the whole this is a book I am happy to recommend.

- Beverly


​Publisher - Thomas Nelson  
Date of Publication - January 21, 2014
0 Comments

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

6/22/2017

0 Comments

 
Genre: Non-Fiction
Click book cover for Amazon.com
I have always loved reading books about the history of food, and salt has been an intricate part of our lives since the beginning of time.  Through the years salt has been used for religious purposes, for magical purposes and  as currency to name a few.  Kings and paupers have traded in salt, as man learned its importance.  Kurlansky takes us through time and throughout the world as we learn what salt has meant to various cultures in Salt: A World History.
  

It was interesting to read that the location of salt often played into where settlements grew.  Trade routes were influenced by salt and machines were invented to move salt.  Even some sciences revolved around salt, and the author does a great job of  sharing this information with us. The book is written chronologically and starts in old world Egypt, Rome, etc. then it moves into North America, Europe, and so on.  We learn about Iodine in salt and salt's relationship to Tabasco sauce.  There are some very interesting people highlighted in this book.  Who knew that even Gandhi had a relation to salt.

I love that Kurlansky interspersed recipes in his book.  I can imagine that the inclusion of them might be annoying to some, but I found them a welcome change when things got slow. To be honest, I have not finished the book yet. It is more enjoyable for me to read it between works of fiction, as there is a great deal of knowledge to absorb in the almost 500 page tome.  

It is fun and informative though, and I definitely recommend it to all foodies out there.

- Beverly


Publisher -  Penguin Books 
Date of Publication - ​January 28, 2003
0 Comments

Thru My Looking Glass

6/15/2017

0 Comments

 
"Let us resolve tonight that young Americans will always . . . find there a city of hope in a country that is free. . . . And let us resolve they will say of our day and our generation, we did act worthy of ourselves, that we did protect and pass on lovingly that shining city on a hill." 
              ---Ronald Reagan, Election Eve speech, November 3, 1980

​Abraham Lincoln was a hero to many in a time when freedom was so fragile, but others saw him as a destroyer of the life they knew.  Some saw the years of John F. Kennedy as the era of Camelot, while some found his politics untenable.  Lyndon Johnson's years of fighting for civil rights brought hope to a tired generation while it struck fear in the hearts of many. The years of Ronald Reagan brought comfort and joy to many, while others saw the life they longed for slip away.  

These four examples of democratic and republican leadership had one overlying belief, even as partisan politics brought about much bickering.  Politicians as a whole believed that more important than anything else, they must leave a better country for future generations than the one that was handed to them. While both parties strongly believed that their methods would prove more successful, at the end of the day there was compromise and handshakes as aisles were crossed to ensure a safe and better future for our children.

I fear that those same aisles that were crossed to free slaves, stop wars and feed the hungry are now being used to separate the very people who can continue to fight for our future generations.  The vast majority of both democrats and republicans are hard working men and women, who at the end of the day want a similar outcome.  They are being stymied however, by the radical right and the radical left who are standing in the way of all progress.  Our President is being influenced by the hard right to throw away years of progress, while his opponents on the far left are so blinded by the hatred of the far right that they can't see that some of his changes are necessary.  

During the days before his inauguration, Trump met with Obama and admitted that he was a good man with important ideas. Obama left the meetings in an equally upbeat manner, and they both agreed to work together.  Unfortunately, many of the men that surround our new President are working towards an agenda that can only be hampered by a Trump/Obama relationship or a bipartisan congress.  They spent Trump's first 100 days convincing him to build walls not bridges, and an angry media helped fuel the fire.  

Our children deserve more.  They deserve clean air and water and food that is not diluted with antibiotics and pesticides.  They deserve three meals a day and a doctor when they are sick.  They deserve a future where jobs are plentiful and taxes are fair for all.  They deserve to live in a world where they are equally accepted no matter what their race, religion, gender or sexual preference.  If you think that I am describing a purely democratic agenda, you are wrong.  Most republicans want exactly the same thing for the future generations.  They just have different methods of attaining these goals.  So, with apologies to Glen Campbell, " there's a load of compromisin' on the road to 'our' horizon."

Hopefully our politicians on both sides will soon realize that our country must come before either party, and we will begin to work towards the same goals that our forefathers set out several hundred years ago.  We will raise our children to believe that in America, working hard and following your dreams will lead to a good life in the best country in the world.

Speaking of politicians, Joseph Finder's latest book, The Switch, does not shine the best of light on politics today.  When businessman Michael Tanner picks up the wrong laptop computer at the airport security station, his world begins to crumble.  The laptop belongs to Senator Susan Robbins, and she is determined to get it back at all costs.  If the information on it is leaked, her aspirations for the White House are over, and she enlists her chief of staff, Will Abbott, to retrieve it by any means necessary.  As usual, Finder kept me going through the last page.

To cheer myself up this week, I decided to visit with one of America's treasures and read, I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This: and Other Things That Strike Me as Funny, by Bob Newhart.  It delivered, and I smiled my way through the book.  Hopefully, you will too.
As always, complete reviews of these books follow this blog.

Happy reading,


- Beverly

Click on the book cover to order a title mentioned in today's blog
0 Comments

The Switch by Joseph Finder

6/15/2017

0 Comments

 
Genre: Thriller
Click book cover for Amazon.com
Joseph Finder knows how to capture his readers, and his newest novel, The Switch, is no exception.   Michael Tanner produces and sells coffee for a living, and he enjoys what he does.  His personal life is a bit rocky since his wife decided that their marriage needed a cooling off period, but he knew he would fight for her until they reunited.  

Will Abbott, chief of staff for Senator Susan Robbins,  is a young man on the road to the White House.  He believed that his boss would make an exceptional President, and he knew that he would be her stellar chief of staff there too.  His wife and new daughter rounded out his life, and things were perfect...until they weren't.

In a typical airport security mix-up, Tanner and Senator Robbins pick up the wrong laptop and don't discover the mistake until they get home.  It should be a simple mistake to fix, but the Senator has something to hide.  She had put a top secret document on her laptop to read on her business trip.  If word gets out, she will lose everything she has worked for, and so will Abbott.  

Michael finds the Senator's password and realizes what he has.  He shares his information with his friend, who happens to be a reporter, and he finds himself running for his life.  Both Will and the security agency whose files have been appropriated are determined to get their hands on the missing MacBook, but Tanner realizes it is the one thing keeping him alive.


The story is definitely exciting and is populated with interesting characters.  Most of Finder's protagonists are men who seem to be in over their heads, and all of them eventually overcome overwhelming odds to save themselves.  For some reason, Michael Tanner's ability to get out of tight spots was a bit dubious to me.  Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book, but at times I had to just shake my head and push through the incredulous.  

The book was fast moving and continually called me back.  If you enjoy a good thriller and accept fiction as fiction, then The Switch will be one of your favorite books this summer.

-Beverly 

​Publisher -  Dutton
Date of Publication - June 13, 2017
0 Comments

I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This: and Other Things That Strike Me as Funny by Bob Newhart

6/14/2017

0 Comments

 
Genre: Legal Thriller
Click book cover for Amazon.com
I spend so many hours a week reading books with serious plots or messages, every now and again I need a break.  I find that reading books written by some of my favorite comedians is sometimes the perfect antidote to a stress filled week.  I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This: and Other Things That Strike Me as Funny by Bob Newhart fit the bill perfectly for me this week.  I have been a fan of his since his original television sit-com, and still enjoy his role on Big Bang Theory every now and again.

Newhart's dry wit is evident in his writing, from the introduction (which he believes many don't bother reading) until the very last page.  This book, written ten years ago, is the first he wrote, and he explains a bit about himself as the book progresses.  Yes, apparently the stammer is all his, not some affectation for his act, and yes, he actually was an accountant before he was a comedian.

Newhart talks about how comedians see thing differently than other people.  They have a sensitivity to even the slightest visual mistakes, and lock them away for future use. He tells his readers anecdotes about the shows he was in, his family and friends, his hobbies and the hilarious albums that he recorded.  He talks about his celebrity friends and the people he admired through the years.

I loved the tidbits that he shared from his various sketches and found myself smiling through much of the book.  I always thought that he was a real down to earth guy who never let success go to his head, and this book just strengthens that opinion.  If you ever enjoyed watching the comedians of the days of earlier television share their humor, then this is a book I whole heartedly recommend to you.

- Beverly


Publisher -  Hachette Books
Date of Publication - October 9, 2007
0 Comments

Thru My Looking Glass

6/9/2017

0 Comments

 
"Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.
                                              ---Omar Khayyam


I read a book this week that put me on the path to my own happiness project.  While I have always been a happy person, I sometimes allow anxiety to hide the sunshine.  This past year has been a tough one for anyone who reads a newspaper, and I find myself fretting over things that I have no ability to change.

In her book, The Happiness Project (Revised Edition): Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun,  Gretchen Rubin shares her quest to find as much happiness as possible in her life.  She realized that she is surrounded by things that make her happy, yet sometimes she doesn't appreciate how happy she is.  I know that my father often reminisces about the years that we were growing up as the happiest years of his life, yet I clearly remember the angst he went through at times during those years. His concern over things he could not change often overshadowed those things that made his life so wonderful.

I agree with Gretchen Rubin...I want to savor every minute of my happiness as it occurs.  I made my list of what makes me happy (Arthur and my wonderful family, my exceptional former students who share their lives with me...my friends, old and new...our beautiful new house and neighborhood, nature walks, sunny days, good books, the view from our bedroom, this blog and my readers, etc, etc, etc) and I made my list of what makes me unhappy (my anxiety, bigotry and hatred in the world, and lack of control to name a few). I realized that while much of my "unhappy" list was out of my control, I could spend a great deal more time cultivating my "happy" list.

So many people allow their unhappiness to control them.  They can't get past the little things, and so they miss those precious moments that surround us all.  Who cares if it is raining, if we have someone we love stuck in with us? Why worry about that broken bike, when the child who was riding it was able to walk away without a mark?  I surely see the frustration in everyday life, but I have decided to concentrate on the list that brings me happiness.  I will spend more time with the people I love, take more walks, have more parties in the house I love, and of course I will read more books.

The other book that I am reviewing this week is The One-Eyed Judge by Michael Ponsor. Although the story, which involves a judge overseeing a child pornography case, is a heavy one, Ponsor's style of writing is light and keeps the reader interested throughout.  Seeing a legal case through the eyes of the judge is a bit different, and I definitely recommend The One-Eyed Judge for your summer reading list.


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

Happy reading,

- Beverly 
Click on the book cover to order a title mentioned in today's blog
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Submit

    Genre

    All
    Biographies Memoirs
    Childrens
    Comics-graphic-novels
    Cozy Mystery
    Erotica
    Fiction
    Food Wine
    Historical
    Humor
    Legal
    Medical
    Mindbody
    Mystery & Thriller
    Non Fiction
    Poetry
    Political
    Psychological
    Romance
    Science Fiction
    Sci-fi-fantasy
    Selfhelp
    Sports
    Teens Ya
    Travel

    Site Search

    search engine by freefind

    Archives 

    February 2022
    January 2022
    January 2021
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.