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Thru My Looking Glass

8/30/2019

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“You can’t get mad at weather because weather’s not about you. Apply that lesson to most other aspects of life.”
——Douglas Coupland



Unfortunately, rather than thinking about books and blogging, I have spent the last few days thinking about hurricanes. This is not unusual as a resident of South Florida, but it is annoying. The weather forecast is as accurate when it comes to hurricanes as it is about any weather system anywhere, and that is far from accurate.

Our latest storm, Dorian, started out as a possible tropical storm when it hits the U.S. shoreline and has built in speculation to a possible category 4 hurricane. Possible landfall spots have been yoyo-ing up and down the coast of Florida so often that no one can feel safe, and as with all storms during hurricane season, it is necessary to prepare.

We have lived here long enough to prepare at the beginning of each season, rather than to fight the hoards when each storm starts brewing. Today, four days before possible landfall, the lines for gasoline stretched down each highway. The food markets were insane. We stopped in to pick up a few items for dinner, and were lucky to get the last cart. People were frantically searching for water and bread throughout the city, and canned food was leaving the shelves in droves.

I didn’t go near Home Depot or Lowe’s, but I am pretty sure that there was nary a battery in site. This is also the time that people without storm shutters begin trying to find plywood sheeting to cover windows that are vulnerable to the storm. We are lucky to have “hurricane proof” glass throughout our home, so the days of hammers and nails or accordion shutters are long gone for us. Now we just have to hope our glass is as sturdy as is promised.

Tomorrow we will probably start bringing in patio furniture and securing our plants while hoping the storm travels farther away before hitting land. Of course while that might be good for us, it will mean someone else is facing destructive forces, so there is no good place for it to land. I guess I can just keep my iPad charged up, my flashlights nearby and lots of reading material at my fingertips, while I hope that Dorian decides to veer back out to sea and leave us all to contemplate our near miss.

I did get to read/review a book this week. Accused by Mark Gimenez is a legal thriller centered around the pro golf tour, and I found it informative as well as fun to read.

As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly
​Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned in today's blog
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Accused by Mark Gimenez

8/29/2019

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​​​​Genre: Legal Thriller
​​​​Click book cover for Amazon.com
I am a fan of Gimenez and his protagonist, Scott Fenney, so I was excited to find a book I hadn’t read featuring Fenney. In Accused, Attorney Fenney is contacted by his ex-wife Rebecca, who is being accused of murdering her current boyfriend. Since he was the one she left Scott for, taking her case is not a simple decision.

Trey Rawlins, a rising star on the pro golf tour, lived with Rebecca in a ultimate-million dollar home on the beach in Galveston, Texas. When Rebecca called the police to their home in the middle of the night, she was covered in Trey’s blood and her fingerprints were on the knife that killed him. She swears she is in innocent, and Scott agrees to bring his crew to Galveston to defend her.

The story is well written, but I found his description of all of the women in the novel disturbing. Aside from his daughters, the housekeeper and his law partner, there were few redeeming qualities in any of the female characters. They were all unfaithful, interested in money and fame above everything else and lied continually to get what they wanted.

He also made the pro golf tour seem populated with over-sexed men with questionable morals and more vices than the NFL and NBA put together. I had trouble empathizing with any of the characters other than Scott’s immediate family and co-workers and the D.A. who seemed almost too good to be true.

Scott never gave up in his defense of his ex-wife, and the reader gets to experience the seedier side of Galveston as more “bad guys” enter the scene. It was difficult to figure out who “done it” although I had my suspicions throughout. If you can get past the women bashing, this is a fun book to read.

- Beverly


Publisher - Navarchus Press
Date of Publication - ​​​October 1, 2011
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Thru My Looking Glass

8/23/2019

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“How we deal with life is really a matter of choice, so choose to be happy. Find joy in the simplest things and see beauty in each person you meet.”
—-Nishan Panwar 

When I sat down to write my blog today, I had several current topics going through my head. I thought about the bias in medical care (thanks John Oliver), the continual dangers of growing up as a minority, and all of the political issues that we faced this week. Then I decided...NO! This week I will expose no horrors or disappointments. This week I will leave politics to the pundits.. Yes, this week is all about the tasty way we celebrated Hubby’s birthday.

We celebrated Arthur’s birthday last Friday at a restaurant we have never tried before, and it was delicious. If you happen to find yourself hungry in West Palm Beach try Kitchen Restaurant. Chef Matthew Byrne started his career in Philadelphia, did a stint as a personal chef to Tiger Woods, and then he and his wife decided to create a restaurant like their kitchen at home. Oddly configured (several storefronts that all lead into a common kitchen),  the atmosphere is warm and friendly. If you go, start your meal with the crispy eggplant. Plated with creamy burrata cheese, roasted red peppers, and peppery arugula, this appetizer topped with a small homemade cracker was a great way to start.

Three of us at the table ordered fish entrees, and they all were perfectly cooked. While simply prepared with a liberal use of lemon, it was obvious that Chef Byrne intended to let the impeccably fresh fish shine. He has a small selection of interesting sides, and we were told to pick any two we desired. The goat cheese mixed in with the butternut squash successfully tempered the squash's natural sweetness, and the home-cut fries were outstanding.

For the birthday boy, it was all leading up to dessert, and he wasn’t disappointed. His coconut cake was moist, light and packed with flavor. The rich coconut taste of the icing that was liberally sprinkled with coconut flakes caused moans of delight with each bite.

My only complaint is that Chef Byrne seems to have bought in to the trend that is going around and is charging for his bread. After years of being offered warm baked bread gratis in restaurants, being charged $4.00 for a small baguette sliced into a half dozen or so thin pieces seemed petty. If one insists on charging for bread (and one shouldn’t ) then at least deliver a plate of homemade Parker House rolls or a flavorful focaccia. Still,  this restaurant, although somewhat pricey, will definitely be at the top of my list for a special dinner out.

I believe it is important to grab all of the delicious enjoyment that life offers, especially during a time when so much discontent seems to be brewing in us all.  It is easier to deal with the disappointments when you have taken the time to smell the roses, eat great food and laugh until the tears run down your face. We have taken to searching out sitcoms from all different countries. ACORN TV, which is part of Amazon Prime, offers quite a few foreign made sitcoms that allow us to laugh at simple things that are no where near political.

Of course as much as I love eating and watching television, it is my moments with a good book that really put me at ease. This week, The Murder List by Hank Phillippi Ryan captured me from the first page. I highly recommend it as a temporary escape from reality and today’s newspaper.

As always, a complete review of this book follows my blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly
​Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned in today's blog
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The Murder List by Hank Phillippi Ryan

8/22/2019

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​​​Genre: Mystery
​​​​Click book cover for Amazon.com
Hank Phillippi Ryan’s ability to make the reader question every character at one time or another is what makes The Murder List so interesting. It is difficult to pick a character to root for, because all of them are somewhat unappealing, yet I found myself searching for a “happily ever after” as the book progresses.

Rachel North is a law student married to Jack Kirkland, a top Boston defense attorney, and her goal is to become his partner. She accepts an internship with Jack’s sworn enemy, ADA Martha Gardiner, hoping to get a little insight as to how the other side thinks. There is no doubt that Martha and Jack would do anything to see the other fail, and Jack believes Martha requested Rachel as her intern so the ADA will have inside access to his handling of cases.

Author Ryan uses the flashback technique quite effectively to show us how all of the players came together. Rachel worked for Senate President Thomas Rafferty six years previously, and events that occurred then come back to haunt everyone. We see how Rachel and Jack met and why Martha’s animosity towards Jack has no bounds.

As each character shows the reader his/her best and worst character traits, it is difficult to pick the true “bad guy,” but there is enough murder and mayhem to keep us guessing until the last few pages. Thank you Ms Ryan, for a few fun days of reading.

- Beverly


Publisher - Forge Books
Date of Publication - ​​August 20, 2019
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Thru My Looking Glass

8/16/2019

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“You’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So...get on your way.”
—- Dr. Seuss 


Mid-August is upon us, and much of the country is either in school again, or preparing for the 2019-2020 school year. Parents are busily searching for each child’s “must have” backpack, sneakers and first day outfits in a mall too crowded for any human to successfully navigate. Speaking about searching, mom and dad are also having an impossible time trying to find the summer reading lists that each child misplaced on the first day of summer. Parents know full well that each book will require a project that proves their child read the book, and each project will require a pile of arts and crafts supplies that no store will have in stock.

The students, on the other hand, are torn between excitement and terror. Will their friends be in their classes? Will they have the easy chemistry teacher or the one whose tests are impossible to pass. Will they have the same lunch period as their BFF? Will they be able to finish their summer reading lists? Will their parents get them the art supplies in time for them to do their projects?

Meanwhile, teachers are spending more of their time and money than any non-educator can imagine, trying to build an atmosphere that will help our country’s youth develop into successful adults. They are fighting a system that often feels like the enemy and parents whose frustrations can find no other outlet, while trying to balance their own home life and checkbook at the end of the day.


I have been there...the student, the parent and the teacher. In each case the fear is as real as the excitement. Students fear different things in elementary, middle and high school, but each fear can be overwhelming as the first day of class approaches. We each have it in our power to help make school a better place. It can be safer by controlling guns...it can be more inviting by controlling bullies...and it can help a student mature by introducing the arts as well as the sciences into a curriculum that has lost its way.

Parents, on the other hand, fear letting their child out of their sight. They fear active shooters and inactive classrooms. They fear that their child will be bullied or be a bully. They fear the process of college acceptances so much that some resort to criminal activity to assure their child a spot in their idea of a perfect school. Their overwhelming love can sometimes prove overwhelming to their son/daughter.

The teacher has just as many butterflies in his/her stomach as the children and parents,  while they all await the first day back. She/he will be responsible for anywhere from twenty-five (elementary) to one hundred and twenty-five (middle and high schools) students a day, during a good year, and each student will be devastated if she/he forgets even one name by the second day. A teacher must serve as nurse, guidance counselor, substitute parent as well as top educator as the bells dictate bathroom breaks and eating schedules. All of this is being done with unlivable wages and unreasonable expectations from a school district that is working towards political acceptance and a manageable budget. No wonder they fear the oncoming year.

So, as the new year begins we all need to face it with kindness and understanding towards each other. If the teacher, parent and student begin to empathize with each other, perhaps our educational system will run more smoothly, and we can all put our energies towards correcting the true inefficiencies that face our schools today.

This week I and read/reviewed The Family Lawyer by James Patterson. It’s timely theme kept my interest throughout.

As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly
Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned in today's blog
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The Family Lawyer by James Patterson

8/15/2019

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​​​​​Genre: ​Legal Thriller 
​​​​Click book cover for Amazon.com
Every now and again I read a James Patterson novel that is recommended to me, although I miss his early days when Alex Cross kept me on the edge of my seat. The Family Lawyer wasn’t a typical Patterson thriller, but it did pull me in with its relevant theme. Attorney Matthew Hovanes is shocked to find his high school aged daughter, Hailey, has been arrested for bullying a classmate who eventually takes her own life. Matt and his law partner, Debra, are faced with a prosecutor who has a pretty airtight case.

The supporting characters were a bit weak, and I never quite understood why Hailey’s friends turned on her. In fact, Matt and Debra were the only characters that I found particularly redeemable, and so I never got fully invested in the book. It did capture me in the beginning though, because bullying is so prevalent in our society today. I was hoping this was a novel that would have a strong message, because Patterson is an author with a large audience.

While the first half of the book moved quickly, like many of Patterson’s books, this one seemed to taper off through the last quarter. The ending was somewhat predictable, and I felt like it might be a set-up for another series. I wouldn’t mind a series featuring Attorney Hovanes since he was somewhat engaging, but Patterson, whose real strength is in writing thrillers, needs to surround him with a more appealing cast.

- Beverly

Publisher - Grand Central Publishing
Date of Publication - ​​​September 5, 2017
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Thru My Looking Glass

8/9/2019

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“If you are watching this at home, and you are a Republican member of Congress, consider the fact that when the sun sets on your career and they are writing your story of all the good and bad things you did in your life, the thing you will be remembered for is whether in this moment with this president you found the courage to stand up to him, or continued to put party over country.”
—Pete Buttigieg


Several days before the massacres in Ohio and Texas I coincidentally started writing a blog referencing gun control. The number of guns that flood our streets is a disgrace, and the politicians and organizations that try to tell us that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” need to work on their moral code. Yep, guns don’t shoot themselves, but alternately, people can’t send bullets out of their fingers. They work in tandem, and we must work together to take guns out of the hands of those who abuse them.

My blog began veering off though, and I spoke of bullying and mental illness as contributing factors to the dangers we are now facing in our malls, festivals, concerts and Walmarts. I am well aware of the dangers that bullying foists on society, and the lack of attention paid to mental illness is frightening, but after this past weekend I think I will leave those issues for another blog. Today my mind can think of nothing but guns and bigotry.

I don’t believe that this administration caused more people to hate, but I do believe that this administration along with politicians who are protecting their jobs rather than their constituents have made hate more acceptable. Those who fear or hate others because of their differences have always been around, but they have been kept at abeyance by those in power who tried to protect the freedom and rights of all people. Recently it has become fashionable to wave that hatred around, sometimes in the form of a gun.

When that gun is an automatic or semi-automatic weapon that spews dozens of bullets in the blink of an eye, that hatred can quickly turn into unfathomable tragedy. Allowing those types of weapons to be sold on an open market seems so counterintuitive that I am wondering how anyone decided not to continue banning them. I am not naive, and I realize that the NRA has the money to buy votes, but this is just astounding.

Banning these guns will come no where near solving our problems, but it is a darn good start. Unfortunately, the reality is, if people can’t purchase these guns then gun manufacturers will lose a fortune. No business person wants to see his/her profits slashed, so they will do what it takes, spend what they must and say just about anything to keep their production numbers high.

We have always turned to our leaders to protect us from those who would do us harm, but that doesn’t seem to be working for us these days. Maybe we need to take matters into our own hands. How about if those people with automatic and semi-automatic weapons walk those weapons into the nearest police station and exchange them for a tee-shirt that says...SAVING AMERICA...ONE HERO AT A TIME.

Then we need to get a list of every politician who voted against banning these weapons. One of those classic movie lines from years ago seems appropriate right about now. In 1976, Peter Finch played Howard Beale in "Network,” and at one point in the movie he opened his window and yelled, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.” I think it is a great time for everyone to join me in opening our figurative windows at our voting centers and yelling that we are just that mad as hell, and we aren’t going to take it anymore.

I reviewed a Jade Harrington book several weeks ago, and decided to read/review the next in the series this week. The Divide (A Jade Harrington Novel) by J.L. Brown was as good as Book 2, and I recommend it if you are a fan of FBI thrillers.

As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly
​Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned in today's blog
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The Divide (A Jade Harrington Novel) by J.L. Brown

8/8/2019

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​​​​Genre: Thriller
​​​​Click book cover for Amazon.com
Unlike me, I jumped right in to the third book in a series right after reading the second. It is a continuation of characters that threads through the series, but new plot lines keep the readers on the edge of their seat. As in past books in the series, we follow the story of two protagonists. Jade Harrington is Acting FBI Special Agent in Charge in this latest book, The Divide, and she is trying to track down the “Shakespeare Killer.”

Brown keeps her audience guessing as she paints to almost every acquaintance of Jade’s, friend or foe, as a possible suspect in several different cases she is pursuing. She begins to realize that she doesn’t know who to trust, including the President of the United States, Whitney Fairchild.

President Fairchild surrounds herself with strong women in the highest of positions and, in fact, offered Jade a position that the agent declined. They both respect each other though, and the President often calls on Jade when she needs a knowledgeable source in the FBI. it is difficult being President in any situation, and Fairchild has some personal issues that often get in the way of a smooth running government.

Brown does a good job of intertwining both women’s storyline as she alternates chapters featuring one or the other. As in her past books, The Divide gives the reader a satisfying conclusion to some of the storyline but keeps us wondering about several others. I generally dislike books that force me to read the next in the series for answers, but for some reason it seems to work in this instance. I will anxiously await Book 4 in this series.

- Beverly


Publisher - JAB Press
Date of Publication - ​​​May 9, 2019
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Thru My Looking Glass

8/2/2019

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“The decision to serve needs to be independent of your politics.”
——Pete Buttigieg

I have watched most of all four debates and can’t help but wonder if any of the candidates can play the role of “Superperson” and save us from our man-made destruction. I believe they all mean well, and if I was forced to chose today I would probably vote for Mayor Pete because he seems to be leading with his head rather than his heart, but his age and lack of Washington experience/connections might stand in the way of success.

I fear that even if one of the progressives were to garner enough votes to win, their radical ideas would never get pushed through a congress peppered with radicals on the opposite spectrum. I do like Kamala Harris’s strong humanitarian heart and take-no-prisoners attitude, but some of her ideas are a bit too progressive for me. I don’t see conservatives or wealthy people as my enemy and would like to find that happy place where we can compromise to make a better world.

Elizabeth Warren is a strong woman with a good heart and a proven track record, and I believe that she could do a good job as president, but I fear that she might turn off the same voters that refused to vote for Hillary Clinton. If Democrats want to win this time, they need to pick a candidate who can appeal to all factions in some way and then support that candidate completely.

Bernie Sanders is a bit too radical and way too grumpy for me. I know he means well and has always been a hero for those in need, but I believe age has worn away some of his tolerance for those who think differently then he does, and being president means working for the betterment of everyone. Joe Biden, on the other hand, definitely shows tolerance for both sides of the aisle, but I fear he somehow fits the mold of all those who preceded him, and we need to bring in a little fresh air if we want to save ourselves from stagnation.

I was a Beto fan when he was opposing Cruz and thought he might be the one to bring both sides together, but his performances during the last two debates were lackluster, and his platform lacked the strength I am looking for in my next president.  The rest of the group is made up of  obviously intelligent men and women who each have one or two planks in their repertoire, but there is not enough substance to build a real platform.

So I am brought back to, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the  37 year old Harvard/Oxford educated war hero with a platform most closely aligned to my beliefs whose uphill battle seems to be strengthening him. I heard him speak on the Bill Maher show several months ago and was impressed with what he said and his manner of speaking. I have followed him closely since then and believe that with a strong vice president to help him face the battles ahead in a split congress, he might just be the hero that we are seeking.

It is early though, and there are many rough days ahead for all of the candidates, but there is one thing that I know for sure. If the democrats want to win this election, then they need to get behind the chosen candidate whether he/she is their original choice or not. Proving a point to a world who couldn’t care less by not voting because your candidate didn’t make the cut is both childish and dangerous. Find the candidate, Democrat or Republican, whose platform most closely matches your beliefs and do your patriotic duty and vote in November 2020.

The book I read/reviewed this week, Spiky by Ilaria Guarducci(author) and Laura Watkinson (illustrator) was as confusing as this year’s democratic choices. It is a well written children’s book with a good message, but there is enough darkness in it for me to offer a warning. I am not sure I want my little one to read about pulling the wings off of butterflies, even if there is a happily ever after ending.

As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly
Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned in today's blog
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Spiky by Ilaria Guarducci (author) and Laura Watkinson (illustrator)

8/2/2019

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​​​​Genre: Children
​​​​Click book cover for Amazon.com
Author Guarducci had a good idea when she decided to write Spiky with an important message for children of all ages, but the graphic descriptions of Spiky’s bad behavior was troubling to me. The animal was trained to be bad. “His father, Mr.Spikington, had sent him to the best school for badness in the whole world.” He used his spikes as protection, and he soon became a bully. Although a bit dark, I realized it was building to a moralistic point, but then it went a bit over the top for me to recommend it without a warning. Before he learns to be good, Spiky pulls wings off butterflies and captures robins and chickadees in glass jars. I worry that this is a bit much for young children to read or be read about.

Spiky does learn the pleasures of being kind when he loses his spikes and is accepted as a friend to other animals, and the illustrations were well done. Children do experience other children behaving badly at times, and this book could definitely be used as a discussion starter, but mom or dad needs to pre-read this story and make sure that they present it in a way that their child learns the correct lesson.

- Beverly
​

Publisher - Amazon Crossing Kids
Date of Publication - ​​​July 1, 2019
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