"We need to remember across generations that there is as much to learn as there is to teach."
                                                                                          --Gloria Steinem

Since one of the books I reviewed this week, My Life on the Road, was written by Gloria Steinem, I decided to start with a quote from her.  I started looking at a list of quotations attributed to her and had trouble choosing. Although best know for her efforts to further the rights of women, she has spent her life working to advance many causes.  As a teacher, this is the quote that got me thinking.  I always said that I was learning as much from my students as they were learning from me.  They kept me current.  My knowledge of current music took a real hit when I left the classroom.

Sometimes adults overlook the wisdom that children/teenagers have to share.  Their minds interpret things in a special way, and I used to love to watch them think things through. Unfortunately, turn-about is sometimes fair play, and today's youth seem to dismiss the wisdom born from experience that senior citizens have to offer.  In each stage of life we are blessed with the ability to take in knowledge and share that knowledge in a special way.  We need to be open to learning from every generation instead of becoming centered on only those in our own.

The book After the Fire by Robin Gaby Fisher was recommended to me by several people.  It is the true story of two college roommates who were critically burned during a fire in their dormitory.  I decided against reading it, because I feared it would be more upsetting than I could handle. Something made me change my mind though, and I agreed to give it a try.

The story, while definitely upsetting in many ways, was also quite uplifting .  It shows how determination and support from those around us can take us through even the roughest times. The fire was set by arsonists, and the reader follows a bit of detective work, too.  I am glad that I decided to give this book a chance and recommend it highly.

Well, Halloween is only two days away, and most children are eagerly anticipating the night of the sugar rush.  Even as a youngster I was not a big fan of this particular holiday.  When my own children became old enough to trick or treat, I went into full nervous mom mode.  Unbeknownst to them at the time, I would go out and buy a fortune worth of their favorite candy bars, lollipops, etc.  While they roamed the streets collecting candy that I imagined was filled with instant death, I was busy filling duplicate bags with all of the stuff that I knew was safe.  When they came home to change out of their costume, I switched their bags for my "safe" bags, and they were none the wiser.  Hmmm...I am actually surprised that I survived motherhood.

As always complete reviews will follow this blog.

Happy haunted reading,

Beverly
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Genre: Memoir

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Gloria Steinem is a writer, lecturer, editor and activist.  She helped pave the way for women of my generation, those of my daughters generation and those of my granddaughters' generation. Not in a small way did she contribute to Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina being presidential contenders this year. It was rarely easy, but somehow Gloria's varied fights for the rights of others seemed like something she was destined to do.

Her father was a traveler, and she learned to love the road along with him. The family spent most of the year exploring different parts of the country, and it became a way of life for young Gloria. When she became an adult she continued her nomadic ways both in America and abroad.  She became a political activist and involved herself in advancing the causes of many.  She is best know for her fight for the equality of women and Ms Magazine.

I remember hearing my mother's generation of women speak a bit disdainfully about her at times, and their reactions made me curious.  I ended up researching her years ago and becoming an admirer.  I looked forward to this book and wasn't disappointed.  Ms. Steinem writes with the same humor that has carried her through some trying times.  She peppers the book with some of her philosophies that run close to mine. She explains that instead of two sides, many questions have "three or seven or a dozen" sides, and she seems to try to discover those sides when working with her passions.

She tells a story of coming across a motorcycle "gang" and becoming a bit fearful.  In those days the tattoos and leather jackets signified some rough riders.  While in a diner, a couple from the "gang" came to her table.  They had recognized her and were fans. The woman explained that they had been riding for years.  For most of the time she rode on his machine while clutching his back.  After the kids were grown and gone she decided she wanted her own bike, and bought a purple Harley with Ms. on the license plate.  Now she rides next to her husband instead of behind him.  This led to another bit of Steinem wisdom:
"I've come to believe that, inside, each of us has a purple motorcycle. We have only to discover it---and ride."

I admire the woman, enjoyed the book and have decided to go find my motorcycle.

- Beverly


Publisher - Random House
Date of Publication - October 27, 2015

Genre: Non Fiction

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We all complain about things that happen to us...a little ache or a missed opportunity...but every now and again we are faced with the unimaginable.  On January 19, 2000, two people changed the lives of many by starting a fire that ultimately killed three and injured an additional 58.  The fire consumed much of Seton Hall University's freshman dorm, while the arsonist went off to party.  Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos were roommates who were both horribly burned.  This is their story.

The author takes us through the terrible event and years that followed.  We take part in the search for the arsonists and a truth that is too well hidden.  We meet doctors and nurses that face unimaginable suffering every day and continue to help those that need them desperately.  Mostly, we admire Shawn and Alvaro as they refuse to give up.

Ms. Fisher has a way of making the reader appreciate the good that surrounds us, even as we see the evil.  All of the people that touch these young men's lives have amazing strength and share that strength with Shawn and Alvaro.  I rarely opt to read a book that is so heart breaking, but the recommendations that I got piqued my interest.  I am so glad that I took the chance, because this book was as heartwarming as it was heartbreaking.

- BEVERLY


Publisher - Little Brown and Company
Date of Publication - August 25, 2008

"If You Don't See The Book You Want On The Shelf, Write It"
                                                                      --Beverly Cleary


When Mike was about five years old, he came home from his grandma's house one day and realized that he had missed his favorite television show...again.  He marched into his room to sulk and came out an hour later with an idea for a new invention.  He wanted someone to figure out a way to tape shows for later watching.  Although the VCR was actually invented in 1956, it wasn't ready for household use until the late seventies/early eighties. Mike had never heard of such a thing, but in this case, necessity was certainly the mother of his invention.  We tease him to this day, about his million dollar idea.

We all have those great ideas, but it takes a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs of the world to put the ideas into action.  It is not a superior intellect or unbelievable skill that makes the difference, it is confidence in one's self and a tremendous amount of determination.  I am blessed with creativity, so the ideas for books flow freely through my brain.  I am logical enough to come up with ideas for businesses and/or items that would enhance our lives.  Before that first word hits the page, or that great idea takes shape, my lack of confidence causes me to put on the brakes.  This lack then gets into an argument with my determination, and somehow the determination is KO'd in the first round.

Last year I decided to work on my confidence and force myself to do things that I wouldn't normally do.  This blog is an example.  I love reading and writing, and I often thought of doing this, but fear overtook desire.  I forged ahead this time and am very glad that I did.  I started to "market" it a bit, and my audience started growing.  I know, through comments and correspondence, that I have readers from Europe and South America due to the wonders of the Internet.  I even heard from a reader in India several months ago, but then my inner brakes took over again.  I stopped reaching out to people and put my ideas for building this blog on a back burner.  I could tell you that it is because of the stress of building a house and being "nomads" in my sister's beautiful house this year, but those would be "cop out" excuses.

So next year's new year's resolution is to shake up the confidence and determination that have been on a permanent vacation, and add more to this blog while building a bigger readership.  Beverly Cleary is correct, and I am going to take her advice and live my life by writing my own "books!"

Speaking of writing books, John J. Davis decided to write an espionage thriller last year, and I think it was a successful endeavor. Blood Line introduces us to the Grangers, a married couple who both happen to be former CIA agents.  Somehow Davis manages to humanize them and even throw in a teenage daughter to make sure his readers see more than just the typical stone-faced agent that populates most espionage novels.  The story is exciting and flows well, and I had fun reading it this week.

Another good read this week was written by one of our frequent reviewers at Madderly Review. I was a bit nervous to read Worst in the World: International Football at the Bottom of the FIFA Rankings by Aiden Williams, because how could I tell him if I didn't like it.  Wow!  No worries there...it was really good.  The subject matter was interesting and different...rarely does someone write about the bottom of the heap...and his is writing much more literate than most sports writers.

He obviously took a page out of Beverly Cleary's book and wrote the book he didn't see on the shelf.  Now it is your turn to read it.

Happy reading

Beverly

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Genre: Non Fiction/Sports

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Everyone loves a winner!  Fans pay big money to see their favorite teams win big, and teams pay much greater amounts of money to get the best players.  Big business at its best.  What if money didn't play into it though? What if men played for the joy of the game?  Aiden Williams takes a very different approach to sports writing in his book, Worst in the World.  He introduces us to the five worst teams in FIFA and tells us some very interesting anecdotes about the teams and their players.

Williams is an exceptional writer and captured my attention with his style as well as his substance.  His figurative language seemed almost out of place for the subject matter, but it quickly drew me in to life at the bottom.  I loved reading about exploits of  the American Samoa team.  I became a fan in an odd sort of way.  I enjoyed the chapter on the teams from Montserrat and Bhutan.  He made the interesting point that no matter how big (or small) a town is, there are still the same amount of players on each team, and sometimes losing is winning if you hold the title of worst in the league.

If you are a Soccer fan, a Football fan or simply want to smile your way through a well written story about those who will never be in the World Cup race, BUT will always play with a full heart, then this is the book for you.

- Beverly


Publisher - Bennion Kearny Limited
Date of Publication - July 30, 2015

Genre: Thriller

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Blood Line keeps the reader on the edge of his/her seat from page one, but this spy thriller is different than the typical offering.  Most espionage tales feature a lone man or woman (usually misunderstood) who must save the nation and sometime win the guy/girl on the way.  This novel features a family that captures our interest right away.  The Grangers, Valerie and Ron, were former CIA agents who kept up their skills through the years.  She was an assassin and he was strong in hand-to-hand combat. Their teenage daughter, Leecy, knows nothing of their past when a home invasion wakes her in the middle of the night.  Within minutes one intruder is killed by Valerie and the other beaten to unconsciousness by Ron.  

The family is called to the police station, questioned by some odd FBI agents and realize that there is more than home invasion involved.  Leecy is brought up to speed, and the three must flee until they can solve the mystery surrounding them. The characters in Blood Line were way larger than life, and sometimes it was difficult to accept their abilities to get out of impossible situations.  Even if you can swallow the skills that her parents possess, it is hard to fathom that Leecy can handle herself so well.

I really liked the characters though, and I was able to look past some of the bizarre happenings and simply root for them to come out on top. There were a lot of twists and turns to keep me guessing, and even though there was the occasionally slow few pages, I will look forward to Davis' next book.

 - Beverly


Publisher - Simon and Winter Inc.
Date of Publication - October 14, 2014

"Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow" 
                                                                                                   - A. P. J. Abdul Kalam​

We have gone way past politics now, and we are way past worrying about people's feelings.  We need to stop the rhetoric and grow up!  Last week there was yet another college massacre at a small community college in Oregon.  Some lunatic decided to make a name for himself by shooting up another school.  I will not print his name here...ever!  I will tell you that he had fourteen guns.  I will also tell you that the sheriff whose department cleaned up his mess once sent a letter to Vice President Joe Biden. 

    " 'Gun control is NOT the answer to preventing heinous crimes like school shootings,' Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said in the Jan. 15, 2013, letter, a copy of which was posted on KPIC-TV’s Web site.

'Any federal regulation enacted by Congress . . . shall not be enforced by me or by my deputies.' He also said he would stop any federal agent from enforcing gun laws in his county."  

How can this be?  How can people sworn to uphold the law arbitrarily decide to break the law? How do we willingly accept and laud these lawbreakers just because they happen to be "standing up" for our beliefs?  You want to see anarchy...let's only follow the laws that we find personally pleasing!   Honestly, I respect your right to personally challenge a law and take the consequences of that challenge, but to do so please leave any employment position  in which your challenge affects the laws of this land.  

And while we are at it, we need to change the terminology "gun control!"  Control makes people nervous.  We don't have "automobile control."  We have automobile regulations.  I may desperately want to pass a school bus while children are exiting, but I don't feel my rights are being infringed upon when I am forced to stop.  I realize that my individual rights might occasionally take a back seat to the rights of the group.  When I think people are trying to CONTROL me though, I go back to being the teenager who only wants it my way.

No more GUN CONTROL...just enough regulations to keep us safe.  Law abiding citizens can legally obtain protection because they will pass background checks.  If they have to renew those licenses like they do automobile licenses, it is not because they themselves are suspect.  It is because they are worth protecting from their neighbor who has suffered with recent mental issues that render him unable to safely handle a weapon. If they can't easily purchase automatic/semi-automatic weapons, they can take comfort in the fact that it will be equally difficult for criminals to obtain them.

I am concerned as to who will have the right to make those decisions too, but we need to trust someone.  We need to start somewhere, because if we spend all of our time believing that we need guns to protect us from a government gone rogue, we just might miss the fact that the things we most want to protect are being taken by those standing right beside us.  I wonder if Sheriff Hanlin still believes that the government is a bigger threat than the twenty-some year old with a collection of guns...the very twenty-some year old whose right to carry weapons on a campus is being fought for every day.  I wish the "bad guys" we're distinguishable in a crowd, but they are not, so we all have to give up a little to live in a world where schools are not battlegrounds.

Since the news this week was filled with various battlegrounds, I decided to go light on my choice of books.  Joe --The Horse Nobody Loved by Vicky Kaseorg, had me smiling from page one.  Vicky tells the story of her youth, fifty years prior, and we are thoroughly entertained by her whimsical way of writing.  Her relationship with this once-tortured animal is a lesson for us all.  Inner beauty is far more important than a fine mane or a young girl's luxurious head of hair. Recognizing inner beauty in others is a talent we all should strive to achieve.

The second book I read this week, Phone Kitten by Marika Christian, was a perfect choice to lift my mood.  The heroine in Christian's tale is desperate for a job after her BFF gets her fired from the one she has, and she finds that being a phone-sex kitten pays exceedingly well.  Unfortunately, one of her clients gets murdered, and she decides to investigate.  This is a light-hearted mystery that kept me happy.

Happy is what we all need in today's environment.  There is so much beauty and joy around us everyday, and sometimes we let the shadows get in the way.  It is time to push away the negativity that is creeping into our lives and embrace the beauty and love that surrounds us...and of course...the books.

Happy reading,

Beverly

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Genre: Fiction

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Although this book was probably written with children in mind, it turned out to be a terrific read for adults as well.  It was written from fifty year old memories, yet I felt that each event had just happened.  Vicky was raised by parents who believed in "benign neglect."  In those days it wasn't unusual to see children playing outside all day, so the fact that her parents trusted a nine year old to spend hours on her own wasn't surprising.  

Vicky wasn't comfortable with people, and when the family moved to Illinois she wandered over to a nearby horse farm.  Her instant love of the horses made her offer to work for free.  Milly and Burton, the farm owners, appreciated this nine year old girl's love of the farm and amazing work ethic, and Milly taught her how to care for the animals and eventually ride the horses. Her relationship with Joe, the "ugly duckling" horse on the farm, proves what an effect love and respect can have on animals as well as people.

This is a feel good book that gives us a peek at life a half century ago.  We get wonderful insight into Vicky as she confides in Joe, the once abused horse that nobody else could reach.  I found myself laughing at her stories about school, family and Mick...the mad crush whose face she can't remember today. Her ability to connect with Joe was heartwarming, and I am so happy that this book was recommended to me.  It is a fast read that will make you smile. 

- Beverly


Publisher - Amazon Digital Services
Date of Publication - March 31, 2015

Genre: Mystery

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Marika Christian's book made me laugh from the very beginning.  Her confrontation with the boss who didn't know her name was priceless.  We have all felt invisible at one time or another in our lives, and it was obviously Emily's time to blow. Unfortunately, her boss does not take kindly to being yelled at, and she is escorted out of the building.  Desperate to find a new job, she decides to give acting a try...or more specifically, phone sex "acting!" Anyone who has any illusions about "sex kittens" should not read this book.  Emily got her first night's training from a 400 pound gay man who used an electric toothbrush to simulate vibrator sounds.  Oh yeah, he explained to his callers that he was a Britney Spears look alike.

Emily takes to this job and its benefits, until one of her clients gets murdered, and she decides to investigate the crime.  Suddenly she is dealing with a new job, old friends, a new boyfriend and a murder.  We watch as she deals with some unsavory people and gets into some really uncomfortably dangerous situations.

Emily is a very relatable heroine.  Her constant battle with weight and a slight feeling of inferiority are both handled well by Ms. Christian, who invites the reader to take part in this lovable character's adventures.  We never actually feel sorry for Emily, because we realize that since we want to be her friend, she is bound to turn out the winner.

The book is a winner too, and I recommend it for everyone who just wants to laugh his/her way through a fun mystery.

- Beverly


Publisher - Booksbnimble.com
Date of Publication - January 19, 2014