112. The Natural Laws of Good Luck

By:  Ellen Graf
Rated 1 Star, DNF
From:  Library

I am the type of person who finds a lot of things about life amusing.  Sometimes I am the only person in a room laughing.  So I was shocked when I discovered that contrary to the reviews I did not find one single things about this book funny.

For the most part, I really enjoy enjoy learning about other people lives and experiences, especially from other cultures. So, The Natural Laws of Good Luck sounded like a wonderful book, but sadly it was not a book for me.

This book came across to me as being about two people who were more alike than unalike, people who never thought a single thing through, never looked before they leaped even from the highest cliff and got a lot of perverse pleasure out of doing every thing the hardest way possible and being delighted with slip shod results.  I got so tired of them both blundering their way along and never leaning from their experiences that I finally just gave up in disgust.

PUBLISHER SUMMARY:
 
The quirky and funny story of a woman in upstate New York who marries a man from China whom she barely knows. They don’t share a language or a culture, but together they discover what matters most—a story of taking risks, culture clash, and the journey to real love.

111. Higher Authority

By:  Stephen White

Rated 4.5 Stars

From:  Library

Recommended by Stacey

Good Grief, this books certainly paints an unflattering picture of the LDS Church.  This is the third book with a religious theme I've read this month.  I need to move on.  But as a mystery it was excellent, as Stacey's recommendations usually are.  I'm getting really hung up on Stephen White.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

Attorney Lauren Crowder recommends a Salt Lake City lawyer for her younger sister, who has accused her former boss, an impeccably Mormon woman with high political and church connections, of sexual harassment. Crowder assists a private investigator in gathering information on the potentially explosive case, but murder intervenes: someone kills the P.I. and the former boss. Crowder then calls upon boyfriend Alan Gregory (Private Practices, Viking, 1993) to outmaneuver the ubiquitous, corrupt tentacles of the Mormon church.

110. The Family

The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power

By:  Jeff Sharlet
Rated 4 Stars
From:  Library


I heard about this book on the internet when it was recommended by a blogger who was writing about my Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor who is a member of this organization.  It's enough to make you want to throw up.


PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
 

A journalist's penetrating look at the untold story of christian fundamentalism's most elite organization, a self-described invisible network dedicated to a religion of power for the powerful

They are the Family—fundamentalism's avant-garde, waging spiritual war in the halls of American power and around the globe. They consider themselves the new chosen—congressmen, generals, and foreign dictators who meet in confidential cells, to pray and plan for a "leadership led by God," to be won not by force but through "quiet diplomacy." Their base is a leafy estate overlooking the Potomac in Arlington, Virginia, and Jeff Sharlet is the only journalist to have reported from inside its walls.
The Family is about the other half of American fundamentalist power—not its angry masses, but its sophisticated elites. Sharlet follows the story back to Abraham Vereide, an immigrant preacher who in 1935 organized a small group of businessmen sympathetic to European fascism, fusing the far right with his own polite but authoritarian faith. From that core, Vereide built an international network of fundamentalists who spoke the language of establishment power, a "family" that thrives to this day. In public, they host Prayer Breakfasts; in private, they preach a gospel of "biblical capitalism," military might, and American empire. Citing Hitler, Lenin, and Mao as leadership models, the Family's current leader, Doug Coe, declares, "We work with power where we can, build new power where we can't."
Sharlet's discoveries dramatically challenge conventional wisdom about American fundamentalism, revealing its crucial role in the unraveling of the New Deal, the waging of the cold war, and the no-holds-barred economics of globalization. The question Sharlet believes we must ask is not "What do fundamentalists want?" but "What have they already done?"
Part history, part investigative journalism, The Family is a compelling account of how fundamentalism came to be interwoven with American power, a story that stretches from the religious revivals that have shaken this nation from its beginning to fundamentalism's new frontiers. No other book about the right has exposed the Family or revealed its far-reaching impact on democracy, and no future reckoning of American fundamentalism will be able to ignore it.

109. The Fruit of her Hands

By: Michelle Cameron
Rated 4 Stars
From:  Jani



Beautifully written, absorbing novel set in the thirteenth century.  Highly recommended.

Product Description

Crafting a richly textured, absorbing novel based on the life of her ancestor, renowned thirteenth-century Jewish scholar Meir ben Baruch of Rothenberg, Michelle Cameron paints a page-turning and deeply personal portrait of Judaism in medieval France and Germany. Imagined through the eyes of Rabbi Meir's wife, Shira, this opulent drama reveals a devout but independent woman who struggles to preserve her religious traditions while remaining true to herself as she and her family witness the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe.

Raised by her widowed rabbi father and a Christian nursemaid in Normandy, Shira is a free-spirited, inquisitive girl whose love of learning shocks the community. But in Meir ben Baruch, a brilliant scholar, she finds her soul mate and a window on the world of Talmudic scholarship that fascinates her.

Married to Meir in Paris, Shira blossoms as a wife and mother, savoring the intellectual and social challenges that come with being the wife of a prominent scholar. After every copy of the Talmud in Paris is confiscated and burned, Shira and her family seek refuge in Germany. Yet even there they experience bloody pogroms and intensifying hatred. As Shira weathers heartbreak and works to find a middle ground between two warring religions, she shows her children and grandchildren how to embrace the joys of life, both secular and religious.

A multigenerational novel that captures a hitherto little-known part of history with deep emotion and riveting authenticity -- and includes an illuminating author's note and a Hebrew glossary -- The Fruit of Her Hands is a powerful novel about the enduring spirit of the Jewish people.

108. An Echo in the Bone

By Diana Gabaldon
Rated 3 1/2 Stars
From:  Library

This is what, the seventh book in the Outlander Series?

I had a hard time getting into this one.  I thought it was a little slow and a whole lot choppy. The story abruptly bounced back and forth between POV's, centuries and continents with out any lead in and often didn't leave me there long enough to start getting a feel for the story.  Some readers apparently can handle all this careening around but I am not one of them.

Also there were some story lines that left me thinking *why*? Why reintroduce a story line that really did not have anything to do with what was happening so far in the book.  If she is going to flesh out this storyline in a later book it seems to me that she ought to have left it for the next book and not further confused things.

Oh well . . .  this is just me and my take on thins.  My favorite parts were the William, Ian, and the Hunters.  Here is good fodder for a future book, maybe with a much older Jem and Amanda thrown to keep the time travel thing going.

But overall, after a slow start the book started picking up for me about half way through.  About 3/4 of the way through I finally figured out what Roger and Brianna were doing.  Up to then they had just sort of been there without adding anything to the story.  Obviously Diana was setting up for the next book.

My one actual criticism of the book and not just my opinion was the editing.  While this book was more tightly edited than some of hers have been someone was obviously not keeping count of how many scenes particular conversations were held.  Ian and William had the same conversation three times and Jenny and Clair the same one twice.  Publishers obviously don't spend much of their budgets on competent editorial support for their authors.

107. How to be a Bad Bird Watcher

By:  Simon Barnes
Rated 4.5 Stars
From:  Library
Recommended by Julie

Product Description

Look out the window.
See a bird.
Enjoy it.
CONGRATULATIONS!
You are now a bad birdwatcher.

In this refreshingly irreverent introduction to the subject, Simon Barnes makes birdwatching simple—and above all, enjoyable.

Anyone who has ever looked up at the sky or gazed out the window knows a thing or two about birds. Who doesn’t know the brisk purpose of a sparrow, the airy insouciance of the seagull, the dramatic power of the hawk? Birds are beautiful, you can encounter them anywhere, and they embody one of the primal human aspirations: flight.

Birdwatching starts, simply, with a habit of looking. You let birds into your life a little at a time. You remember bird names as you would the names of people you’ve enjoyed meeting. And if you share your looking and listening with other people, so much the better. Birdwatching might even help you get along with the father who never approved of anything you did—as it did for Barnes.

As Barnes shares his relaxed principles of birdwatching, he also shows us the power of place: the elation of spotting kingfishers in Kashmir, hawks over the Great Lakes, or the birds closest to home. And he shows how, no matter where you live, birds can connect you to the greater glory of life.

Funny, enthusiastic, and inspiring, How to Be a Bad Birdwatcher demonstrates why you don’t have to have fancy binoculars or lifetime checklists to discover a new world. So, begin the habit of looking. See that bird . . . Enjoy it!

106. The Two Towers

By:  J. R. R. Tolkien
Rated:  5 Stars
From:  Library, Unabridged Audio Book

Even though I have practically memorized the movies there is so many more details in the books.  And I am learning that I can get deeper into a story by listening than I can reading because I am forced to listen at the pace the reader reads.  

The Two Towers continues the story begun in The Fellowship of the Ring but introduces new characters, more battle scenes and a nearly palpable feeling of impending doom as Sauron and Saruman search for the ring.

In this part the Fellowship disburses with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli setting off in one direction to rescue Merry and Pippen who have been captured by Orcs.  Frodo and Sam set out on their own in another to try to reach Gondor and destroy the ring.  This part of the story starts to show more directly the dual nature of good and evil that is at the heart of each of the three books. Every element of good has an opposite. There is the dark tower and the good tower of Gondor (hence, the "Two Towers"). There is the good hobbit Frodo and his opposite Gollum who is a distortion of what was once a hobbit-like creature. There are elves (good) and orcs. (bad) There is the good wizard Gandalf and the evil Sauron. I have not figured out yet where the Dwarfs fit in except that Gimli was a good dwarf but I am not sure his goodness represented all dwarfs. {shrug}

Yet, while these pairs are opposite, they are also linked. Even Saruman was at one time a good personable fellow. Gandalf fears the ring because he can see himself becoming like Saruman and Sauron.

This book introduces my most favorite characters in the book, the enormous tree like creatures - the Ents. They are so charismatic and lovable They steal the show.

105. Pardonable Lies

By: Jackqeline Winspeard
Rated: 4 Stars
From: Library

Publisher Summary:

In the third novel of this bestselling series, London investigator Maisie Dobbs faces grave danger as she returns to the site of her most painful WWI memories to resolve the mystery of a pilot’s death

A deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton to seek the aid of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. As Maisie soon learns, Agnes Lawton never accepted that her aviator son was killed in the Great War, a torment that led her not only to the edge of madness but to the doors of those who practice the dark arts and commune with the spirit world.

In accepting the assignment, Maisie finds her spiritual strength tested, as well as her regard for her mentor, Maurice Blanche. The mission also brings her together once again with her college friend Priscilla Evernden, who served in France and who lost three brothers to the war—one of whom, it turns out, had an intriguing connection to the missing Ralph Lawton

104. The Game of Kings

By Dorothy Dunnett
Rated:  At least 10 Stars on a scale of 1/5
From: Library Interlibrary Loan
Version:  Unabridged Audio CD'

Listening to this audio version has been a delightful experience.  I have learned that I must read way too fast because by listening I am forced to the slower pace of the person who is reading it and I am finding all sorts of details that my eyes had apparently skipped over when I first read, and then re-read this series. 

I don't think it would matter how many times you read these books, there would be some new for you there every single time. There are subtle little insights into characters and their motivations scattered everywhere. Dorothy sure packed a heck of a punch on her old Olivetti typewriter. 

I have already ordered Queen's Play in the same format from Interlibrary Loan.  But I don't think the last two books in the Lymond Chronicles have been recorded so I guess I will have to read Ringed Castle and Checkmate with my own little eyes.

Synopsis

The Game of Kings: First in The Lymond Saga.

It's August 1547, and unrest in Europe is rife. Scotland, nominally ruled by 4 year old Queen Mary, is heaving with intrigue - and hot gossip. The notorious rebel, Crawford of Lymond, is rumoured to be back in Edinburgh. The city is sealed, but such things never worry 'Lymond'. As usual, he leaves a characteristic trail of hue and cry, vanished contraband, and a drunken sow.

Infamous for his ingenuity, Lymond has his own plan, starting with setting fire to his brother's castle and purloining his mother's silver. Stories about him abound, agreeing only that he's not a man to sit idle. With Europe recently unbalanced by royal deaths, he'll take a hand in The Game Of Kings.

103. Kill Me

By:  Stephen White
Rated 4 Stars
From:  Library

This was an interesting premise and one that hit a few of the buttons that I acquired during my Mother's end of life illness.  It's not an easy question when you are standing in the middle of a personal situation.

But all that aside, I didn't like it as much as I did The Siege.  It just wasn't as gripping.  Maybe down deep I like books about psychopaths with lots of blood and gore more then I do psychological thrillers where it's mostly about outwitting someone.  Surely not! (G)

From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller White (Missing Persons) takes an endlessly debatable question—at what point would a decline in your quality of life cause you to want to end your life?—and leverages it into a clever, absorbing thriller. The anonymous narrator is in his prime, a happily married father of a young girl given to high-risk sports. An assortment of grim fates and a near-escape of his own make him consider the question. A shadowy group called Death Angel Inc. contracts to guarantee that if the life of the "insured" should reach a certain agreed-upon level, they will terminate that life. Fascinated and impressed by the Death Angels' knowledge and reach, he eventually negotiates terms with them. This Faustian bargain doesn't take long to reveal its dark side, and White pays almost equal attention to the philosophical and the physical as his hero has to both approach the conditions that would trigger his contract's death clause yet remain healthy enough to fight back.

102. The Motion of the Ocean

By:  Janna Cawrse Esarey
Rated 4.5 Stars
From:  Amazon

I ran across this book on beachreaders blog.  It's another one of those books I would have missed left to my own devices.

This book is part travelogue and part the story of the beginnings of a marriage.  I thought that the author had a tendency to nit pick her relationship with her husband to where I would have understood if he had thrown her overboard once or twice.  But then I thought about it and gosh, living for 18 months on a 35 foot sail boat with no once else around for most of it, I mean what else was there to do other than over analyze things.  I think she finally saved her life and her sanity by using her computer and journaling her thoughts and experiences.

But annoying spots aside, this is the story of a very gutsy couple who had a dream and just went out there and DID IT!  On a shoe string budget, storms, break downs, pirates and lack of open ocean sailing experience  - they always sucked it up and came through.  If she got a tad bit winy during the slow times, well IMO she earned the right.

But I gotta say this one last thing and that is that had I been her I would have demanded a better stove.  Trying to cook on a pitching boat with the one she had is the stuff nightmares are made of.

Amazon Review
"On her honeymoon Janna Cawrse Esarey and her fisherman husband set sail in pursuit of her childhood dream....Motion of the Ocean is a fresh and honest story on many levels. It's an entertaining read for those who enjoy a voyaging story or are contemplating an adventure, though in the end it's not about achieving the sailing dream -- it's a love story in which Janna discovers how to live and enjoy life."

101. South of Broad

By:  Pat Conroy
Rated:  3 Stars
From:  Library

 I just never really got it with this book and was never able to move away from the idea that this was some nerdy guy's fantasy life or put another way, jazzed up revisionist history.

On the other hand, it was readable.  Although I grumbled I didn't get the urge to wall bang it or just give up on it although I have to confess to much eye rolling.

I have recently criticized another author who used so many gimmicks and plot hooks it turned her book into a cliche.  Well Conroy has pretty much done the same thing.  Family drama, relationship drama, racial drama, religious drama, deaths, suicides, crimes, affairs, addiction, mental illness, natural disasters, and, for heaven's sake, not one psychopath--but two!  Whatever happened to simple but well told stories?

The waiting list for this book at my library is huge, and growing every day.  Obviously other people are seeing more in this book that I am. (sigh) I really, really don't get what the big deal is all about.  It's an OK book.  But that's about all.

LIBRARY SUMMARY:  After his brother's suicide, Leopold Bloom King struggles along with the rest of his family in Charleston, South Carolina, until he begins to gather an intimate circle of friends, whose ties endure for two decades until a final, unexpected test of friendship.