October Boo(k)s !
I’m delighted to share my reviews of books I have read and remembered with pleasure. I want to help you find a good book to read. Plenty of treats await- from thrillers to memoirs, the inspiring story of Madam C J Walker and even a holiday story.
Here are my favorite books I read in October. They are available now for you to enjoy on all major retail sites and places!
Thanks to the following for providing me with advance digital review copies. I am so thankful for this privilege!
Netgalley and Rachel’s Random Resources, Meryl Moss Media and generous publishers Delphinium Books, Dunn Books, Grove Press, Gallery Books University of Illinois Press, and Simon & Schuster,
JENA’S REVIEW
Madam C. J. Walker’s Gospel of Giving: Black Women’s Philanthropy during Jim Crow by Tyrone McKinley Freeman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
You may have seen the inspiring and powerful story of Madam C. J. Walker on Netflix. The series depicts her journey from being born to freed slaves to becoming the first woman, and first African American self-made millionaire.
This book digs deeper than the show and presents an in-depth look at her “Gospel of Giving”, “Black Women’s Philanthropy during Jim Crow”.
Generosity brings hope, both to the giver and the receiver and this is the lesson of Madam C. J. Walker. She was greatly influenced by her AME church family, particularly the women’s groups, to begin sharing in her early years, with small gifts. She continued to give throughout her life, through her beauty business by training, educating, employing and empowering black women at a time when it was difficult for African American women to find employment. She also gave monetary gifts to the NAACP, anti-lynching programs, schools, the first black YMCA and many other institutions.
Giving brought joy to Madam C. J. Walker. So did the opportunity to be a “race lifter”, by reinforcing black potential and leadership. A lowly washer woman, she achieved worldly success, while always following her “gospel of giving”.
I found this book to be interesting and I learned a great deal. The book is presented as scholarly research, which is important. We can learn about the horrors of Jim Crow, the development of African American business and philanthropy by looking at the life of Madam C. J. Walker.
Thanks to NetGalley and University of Illinois Press for an advance review copy. This is my honest review.
Kill Chain by Dominic Martel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had grown a bit weary of romance novels. The “meet cutes” were fun, the “first kisses” were charming and there’s nothing wrong with a “happy ever after”. But I yearned for something more exciting. I wanted my pulse to pound in a different way for different reasons. Enough of the sweetness and light. I wanted cunning, ingenuity, deceit, skill, a bit of murder and mayhem and an intriguing rascal…
…so, I decided to accept Dunn Books and Meryl Moss Media’s offer of an advance paperback review copy of a new international mystery crime and suspense story, “Kill Chain”! I read it and I love it!
Author Dominic Martell had featured ex-terrorist Pascual Rose in three novels, published in the 1990’s. Now Pascual is back. He’s an older, wiser, off-the-grid guy in the present day. He has a wife and son that are his world, and every day is a vacation day for him.
“Twenty years off the grid and Pascual thought he was safe.”
But, before he realizes that anything is wrong- it’s too late. The kill chain has been activated. “Kill chain” was first used as a military term, to show the steps of a military action. Now it’s a cyber intelligence term. What this means for Pascual is that his phone, computer- really his whole life- has been taken over and he is plunged into the tech world of high stakes electronic money laundering.
Taken over by whom, you ask? Pascual doesn’t know. But he must race against time to save himself and his family. Pascual may be older now and it’s harder for him to outrun the bad guys, but he still has his smarts and cunning. Shell companies, cryptocurrency, international conflicts and intelligence agencies- Pascual must outwit them all.
This book is more than just an exciting plot. The book features marvelous writing and characters. Readers will thoroughly enjoy the detailed yet crystal clear plot, presented in taut and tight detail. Complex situations are the heart of this book and the author makes them understandable and engaging. Pascual and his family and friends, even the bad guys are vivid and real.
My question for Pascual Rose is- how does ordinary me stand a chance in our high-tech world? Looking forward to seeing you in more books!
A truly readable and memorable book and I thank Dunn Books and Meryl Moss Media for a review copy. This is my honest review.
Lying Crying Dying by Dominic Martell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Lying Crying Dying by Dominic Martell is the first book in the Pascual series which was published in the 1990’s. The book will be rereleased in October, 2020. I had recently met the Pascual in a new book (also releasing soon) written 30 years after Lying, Crying Dying. I was mesmerized by this new look at an older Pascual in Kill Chain, the sequel which brings this Cold War anti-hero into the post 9/11 era. I am now sounding as complex as these amazing books but think about it. How often do you get to jump back into an exciting life and story?
This book should have been called, “Lying, Crying, Dying,THRILLING.” The book begins with Pascual lying low in Barcelona. After he defected to Mossad and the CIA, he was given a new identity. His days as a covert operations courier for radical European groups are over. In addition to all his specialized skills, he knows many languages and has lived in Eastern Europe, Damascus, Aleppo, Beirut, Morocco and even America. Now he is a ghost.
Until…he connects again with Katixa, a player from his earlier days. She has a suitcase with 5 million francs and needs to get away. Pascual gives in to his deep connection with her. From that point on, it’s a leap out of a fourth story window and the life or death chase is on. It’s one thing to avoid the law and underground agents. It’s another matter to avoid a trunk load of plastique.
But who is Pascual running from? The law, hitmen or himself? And is he running to the exotic Katixa or to the most dangerous situation he has yet to confront? Readers hang on to your getaway car- you won’t know until you screech around a curve to the last page.
I was fascinated to see that the younger Pascual in this book really wasn’t that different from the older Pascual I first met in Kill Chain. Of course, he always has his special skills. But the inner workings of Pascual have continued from the past to the present. He doesn’t always trust his inner compass, he depends on friends to help him, and he continues to search for a way to remain sane.
“Now he is launched; he is a stealth missile, off the radar screen. He is invisible and he is deadly and this time he is right.”
Lying, Crying, Dying is skillfully crafted, a dark thriller with literary tones. Plenty of characters from all walks of life are vividly presented. And Katixa is marvelous. Observations about friendship, trust, and the purpose of life from the small details of coffee in a bar to the philosophy of aiming a gun are woven into the suspense of danger and intrigue. Pascual is gritty, life is too and it’s incredible to see this dark hero from the 1990’s to 2020. You have to think while you read this book. You can read Lying first or Kill Chain but do read them!
Thanks to Meryl Moss Media and Dunn Books for an advance review copy. This is my honest review.
Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal by Sarah Maslin Nir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am crazy about this book. Esteemed journalist Sarah Maslin Nir shares her passion for horses, which began when she was two years old. This book gives us the opportunity to peer into her world.
Each chapter focuses on a particular horse she has known. We also get to know the humans who are involved with the horses, and we visit many different parts of the world where horses live. By sharing these stories, the author also shares herself and her family. The best part is when we get to gallop or show jump right along with Ms. Nir. Well, that’s what it feels like, because her descriptions are so vivid.
I intended to read the book slowly- perhaps a chapter or two a night. However, I found each chapter to be so wise, yet approachable, factual yet entertaining, that I galloped (sorry) right through the book. You may have loved Marguerite Henry and Misty, but how much do you know about Black Cowboys? Want to visit a multi-level stable in Manhattan, gallop in India, or ride on a jumbo jet with horses? You can do all that as well as get acquainted with a variety of horse breeds, learn all the wonderful horse-world lingo, and even revisit your childhood passion for Breyer horses.
Horses are expensive, and you can fall off of them. Instead of spending a small fortune on a horse, buy this book! I guarantee it will fill that horse-shaped whole in your heart!
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance review copy. This is my honest review.
Truthtelling: Stories, Fables, Glimpses by Lynne Sharon Schwartz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a collection of short stories! I feel like a character in a story in this book, “Castles in the Air”. An author, for years he was blessed with a “famously fertile imagination” until suddenly, “he had no ideas at all.” Like him, I am blessed with a wonderful book to review, but I am not sure I have the writing ability to convey to readers how much I enjoyed this book and how it made me feel. The stories of Truthtelling, subtitled “Stories, Fables, Glimpses” blend the realism of everyday situations with the experimentation of creative literary writing. Lynne Sharon Schwartz is a powerful and surprising writer.
The author writes with a straight-forward style, which allows her creative flourish of words and ideas to shine. Many stories begin with an ordinary, everyday occurrence that we all can relate to. But then the story veers off to highlight our foibles, moral dilemmas, desires and weaknesses. My favorite is “The Golden Rule”, which begins, “It started innocently enough. Could Amanda pick up a few groceries- it was raining so hard.” Sounds typical, right? Where will this lead to, you wonder? Most of the joy with these stories is in the journey.
“Near November” is very short, but what a poignant and searing look at 9/11. The shoes that are shown on the eye-catching cover may be from the story “Am I a Thief?”, which is ludicrous and likable.
A story that was published on Angionline in January, 2018 seems like it could have been written this year, 2020. “A Few Days Off” tells of a nameless woman who woke up one morning, decided to stay home from work and ended up remaining in bed for days.
Some of the stories are told in the first person and almost all are stories of a woman. Most of the stories are set in New York City, a place that is made for magic and the unexpected. Each story truly is a fable that will give the reader a glimpse into the private lives and thoughts of others and will awaken the quirks and misgivings we all have. Have you ever felt the urge to take something small from someone’s home as you are visiting? Read “An Impromptu Visit”.
Lynne Sharon Schwartz is a distinguished and acclaimed writer and is the author of twenty-three books. She has taught in many universities and writing programs. This collection of her stories showed me that a writer can be literary and stretch the boundaries of her thoughts, while still giving us a good read with some smiles and wry chuckles. I highly recommend this short story collection.
Thanks to Meryl Moss Median and Delphinium Books for an advance hardback copy. This is my honest review.
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Earthlings is the second of 10 books written by Japanese author Sayaka Murata to be translated into English. The first, Convenience Store Woman, was published in 2018 and became a bestseller. I have not read Convenience Store Woman, but after reading Earthlings I did some research to learn more about this author and her unique voice, and odd, but compelling story. I learned that critics and reviewers had a hard time describing and categorizing Convenience Store Woman- was it humor, dark humor, or horror? Was it charming, disturbing, weird, yet at the same time engaging and charming? Earthlings can be described similarly.
If you have not read Convenience Store Woman or Earthlings, be prepared. Earthlings is categorized on Amazon as Coming of Age Fiction. The beginning of the book does seem like a Coming of Age story. Natsuki is a preteen Japanese girl who tells her story in the first person. She does not connect with her family; her strongest attachment is to a plush toy hedgehog. At a family gathering at her grandparents, Natsuki and her boy cousin Yuu connect and they share that they are both aliens from another planet.
Natsuki grows, and the book jumps to her life over twenty years after her eventful summer with Yuu. She continues to be an outsider, to her family and to society. She doesn’t want to be part of the Factory, which is how she views Japanese society. Is she mentally unbalanced? Is she suffering from PTSD? Or is she a keen observer of life and its rules and taboos?
Part love story, part horror, this is an unforgettable story. The writing is incredible; the author uses such simple words and phrases to create such complex thoughts and feelings. A book that is disturbing and readable, all at the same time.
I received an advance digital review copy from NetGalley and the publisher, Grove Press. This is my honest review.
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Picture this- a family gathers at a dreamy cabin in the snowy wonderland of Park City for their annual Christmas reunion with several other families. They’ve sung Christmas carols, drunk festive cocktails and egg nog, had a snowman competition, a Christmas scavenger hunt, a big tree decorating party and they’ve done all this for 30 years. You are thinking, well this could go either way- either they have a big tearful, screamy melt-down this year or they achieve even greater heights of joy and comfort and peace. Right?
But I would bet a big candy cane you wouldn’t guess that one of the family members travels back in time, in fact experiences several different time loops, during the holiday reunion. Well that’s what happened to twenty-six-year-old Maelyn Jones. She has to repeat the holiday week three times just because she asked the universe, Please. Show me what will make me happy.
Author Christin Lauren (actually two writers) is popular in the romantic comedy genre and for good reason. This author team knows how to create fresh characters, great settings, witty dialogue and the passion and heat is just right. In addition to heroine Maelyn, there are two handsome brothers, a variety of adult figures, and a picturesque setting.
Did the opportunity or challenge to relive her holiday over and over help Maelyn achieve her dreams? Well, you will have fun reading this book and finding out. Happy Holidaze!
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advance review copy. This is my honest review.
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