The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman

My Rating: 3.5

This is told through a parable and conveys learnings like not resisting what comes your way.

This is a mixture of Zen and Taoist with a healthy dose of humor thrown in. It is a self-help book told as a novel.  Two complaints I have heard is that it has mystical realism (or magic) and that it is very drawn out and you have to slog through parts. I feel there are definitely books with better writing but, it is all about what resonates with you to help you understand the concepts.

Bookmarks Magazine March/April 2019

I haven't had a chance to truly devour this magazine but here the initial books that jumped out of me that I have put in my queue:

      


    

I don't know exactly why but this one really intrigued me!



Do you have any great books you are reading - please share! If you get Bookmarks, let me know any picks I missed.

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

My Rating: 4.8

This is a re-telling of the Iliad is from the persepctive of a woman, Briseis and covers the final days of the 10 year long Trojan War, After Achilles, Greece’s greatest warrior, conquers Troy’s neighboring kingdom, he takes Briseis for his concubine.

The Illiad has Achilles as a hero but, this re-telling shows the perspective from a very different angle. Before you write this off as some "Greek mythology book" that wouldn't appeal to you, I urge you to give a try. I thoroughly enjoyed this well written book with it's spectacular writing.

The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer

My Rating: 4.8

What would it be like to free yourself from limitations and soar beyond your boundaries? What can you do each day to discover inner peace and serenity?

This book is not for everyone. It is about enlightenment and some reviewers felt that it is very preachy. I like the first portion of this book that deals with becoming aware of your inner voice much better than the rest of the book. There are many statements that are made as fact ("the analytical mind can not handle the infinite" - really? I guess no one told John Wallis this!) which becomes very annoying. Combine this with the latter part of the book being very repetitive. If you can get past this and that it can feel "woo woo" it is a great concept of: you are not your thoughts and not allowing your thoughts to control you.

My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

My Rating: 4.4

Twin sisters, Korede and Ayoola. Korede is a nurse and is always there for Ayoola who is stunningly beautiful and has a habit of killing her boyfriends. Korede sides with her sister as she is family. It is only when her sister starts dating a doctor at the hospital that Korede has a crush on that she considers turning in her sister for the protection of the men in Nigeria.

I loved the Nigerian voice of this book and capturing so many colloquialisms. I don't know what I was expecting from the ending but felt disappointed. All in all, a quick delightful read. 

The Au Pair by Emma Rous

My Rating: 4.5

Twins Seraphine and Danny were born at their family’s estate on the Norfolk coast. Within hours of their birth, their mother threw herself from the cliffs, the au pair fled, and the village thrilled with whispers of dark cloaks, changelings, and the aloof couple who drew a young nanny into their inner circle. Now an adult, Serphine comes across a photograph of her parents, their older son Edwin and only one baby. Why weren't both twins in the picture? Which one of them is it in the picture? Seraphine starts digging to find answers and unravels some unexpected answers.

I enjoyed this quite a lot. The author led us down a certain storyline and I definitely thought I had it all figured out but there were a lot of twists at the end so I enjoyed having it unfold. 

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

My Rating: 3.0

Washington Black is an eleven-year-old field slave who knows no other life than the Barbados sugar plantation where he was born. When his master's eccentric brother "Titch" chooses him to be his manservant, Wash is terrified of the cruelties he is certain await him. Titch is a naturalist, explorer, scientist, inventor, and abolitionist and opens Wash's eyes to many things Wash had never thought of.

I wanted to love this book as the first 1/3rd of the book storyline pulled me in and had me eagerly reading on for more. Unfortunately, the rest of the book didn't deliver. It was long, meandering and had bizarre contrived story lines. Sad, as it had great promise.

Bookmarks Magazine Jan/Feb

Life has been crazy busy so this post is later than usual.  This edition of Bookmarks Magazine is packed full of great picks

They had a whole feature on Sebastian Faulks who, I am embarrassed to admit, I am not familiar with so, I went on Goodreads and picked out his highest rated book and got it out of the library:


I skipped over the feature on Liane Moriarty as I have found her books to be moderate, at best.

From their highlighted new books, here is what I put into my queue:

  

I am currently reading (probably from a previous Bookmarks recommendation):


Another one that was new to me:

I skipped over Haruki Murakami as I just haven't connected with his books in the past.Then I found a few more that were new to me:

     

I already had Tana French's latest on my library hold list:

This young adult novel sounded intriguing to me so I added it to my queue:


I am sure like all Bookmark's Magazines I will glean more from it in future but I felt like this was a great edition. Let me know any books you added that I may have missed! xoxo

Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks

My rating: 2.5

Jessica signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. Little does she know that this study will gradually pull her in to become more personal and she soon will wonder just how much Dr. Shields knows.

This had a very promising unique story line and I was intrigued. I also loved that Jess was a make-up artist and there was a lot of attention to fashion but, that could only keep me enamored for so long. I didn't care about the characters and the plot quickly turned implausible. I think I am tired of these thriller suspense novels where the female characters don't have a brain.

The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar

My rating: 4.8

Bhima had just been fired from her 20 year job as a servant for a woman who she thought of as family. After this difficult parting, Bhima is struggling to make a living for herself and her grandaughter. This captures their daily life in the slums of India. Bhima makes an unexpected relationship with Chitra and Sunitra as well as an older crotchy woman named Pavarti.

This is the 2nd part to The Space Between Us and again, Umrigar doesn't disappoint in her ability to capture the poverty of India, the struggles of all women and trying to make a life as well as friendships. Such beautiful writing and powerful characters. 

A Meal In Winter by Herbert Mingarelli

My Rating: 4.9

Three German soldiers in the middle of winter in Poland. They will either have to execute Jews or, be sent out to hunt them down. Their Commander sends the three men out into the frozen Polish countryside to bring back a Jew for execution.

This was such beautiful writing. It flowed so easily I could have devoured it all in one sitting but I wanted to savor ever sentence. The descriptions of the winter made me feel cold to my bones. This made me wonder how I would feel being in any number of their positions. War is not a happy story but this was a delight. This was very different and yet somehow reminiscent of City of Thieves.

The Girl Who Was Taken By Charles Donlea

My Rating: 4.7

Two high school seniors, Nicole and Megan, are at a beach party when they go missing. Megan escapes but Nicole is never heard from again. Livia, Nicole's older sister and a pathologist, does an autopsy on a young man connected to Nicole.

This twisted thriller moves at a fast pace and kept me enthralled  This is a disturbing and original storyline. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

After The Fire by Will Hill

My Rating: 2.5

Moonbeam is raised in the Holy Church of the Lord's Legion cult in Texas. There is a fire and it flashes back and forth between "before" the fire and "after" the fire.

There really isn't a story here as you know there was a fire from the title. This is just Moonbeam flashing back and forth between telling what life was like in the Cult to the psychologist in the pysch ward.  The only "suspense" if you want to call it that is what will happen to her after the Psych hospital. I felt that this was VERY long and drawn out and absolutely nothing happens. I know I am in the minority but I would not recommend.

Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon

My Rating: 1.5

Florence lives in an old folks home and has fallen. As she lies on the carpet waiting for someone to rescue her, the story unfolds of a new resident in the home who she thinks is from her past.

The first chapter, I thought I knew what was going on but told myself "no, that wouldn't be so obvious". I kept reading and tried to put that thought out of my mind so, when right near the end they have "THE BIG REVEAL" and it happened exactly as I had thought in chapter 1, to say I felt it was cheezy and predictable is an understatement. I also felt the author was intentionally trying to manipulate our feelings (hate that!) with the sentimentality. There was a lot of over dramatic writing to try to pass it off as amazing prose or trying to be cute. Too bad as this had promise.

We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson

My rating: 1.0

Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods—until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiosity and hostility of the villagers.

This had a sense of being creepy, only in the strangeness of the family not fitting in with the townsfolk and feeling ostracized by the townsfolk. Other than that, this is just plain boring. Definitely don't waste your time.