The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

I don’t have any images of this book. It was based on a real person. Our February pick for Book Club. It is an excellent book about the past. Once those people were human too. They had the same ambitions and goals that we have today. Some things have changed since the early 1900s, but not much.

The book is about a woman who was passing. She got a job as a personal librarian. She was in charge of organizing books and art and obtaining new works. She was a brilliant businesswoman. She acquired more art and books that later turned into a public library. She traveled and fell in love. Every day she feared that she would get exposed for pretending to be white.

Women are allowed to do more now regardless of the color of their skin. Women can drive and vote now. We can have our own bank accounts. We can own our own houses. We can express our thoughts and feelings. We can wear whatever we want to. We have more freedom.

On the flip side, there are things that we cannot do. I am not going into everything that society limits women on. Men still get paid more for the same job with the same experience and education level. We are blamed for crimes committed against us.

I apologize for the lack of images. I have plenty of my own photos that I have taken. There is nothing that goes with this. Sometimes it is better to enjoy the written word over the images.

Back to the book! Everyone should read this! I love it! It is available on Amazon and at the local library. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did and it sparks many conversations if you use it in your book club.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Photo from Pinterest

This is a book I read years ago, I read the series out of order the first time around. Hannah Swensen is a spunky character. She runs a bakery that mainly sells cookies. Cookies for breakfast! Hannah solves mysteries. She has two sisters and a mother who lives in the same small town.

The series is very addicting! You’ll want to go right into the next book, then the next book! Recipes are included with every book. They look like they would be very good to try out.

The book is set in Minnesota. Hannah mentions Hot Dishes just like Molly Yeh makes on her show.

Books With Dinner in the Title

I was doing the Popsugar reading challenge last year. One of the prompts was a book with cutlery on the cover. I could not decide on one book, so I read several! I loved them all and they are really good reads. Thanks to the two challenges I participated in last year, I made my reading goal.

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle was completely awesome. It was thought-provoking. If you could have one night, one dinner with five people, who would you choose? What five people would you like to spend five hours with? I would do this yearly, on my birthday with different people. Audrey Hepburn would always be on my list. Lena Turner, my grandmother would also be on my list. Lillian Dobson my other grandmother would make the list too. Terry Goodkind would be an amazing guest. I suppose Anne Rice should be on the list too. There are my five. Read the book and decide who would make your list!

Lucy Foley is one of my favorite authors. She is absolutely amazing. I could read any of her books over and over again. This book was about a wedding and many secrets. I had to keep reading! There was a movie based on the novel as well. I really want to watch that movie.

A very rich bride had her mind set on a destination wedding. It had to be absolutely perfect. The groom was a reality TV star. Family and friends came to this secluded island for the perfect wedding, Secrets began to unfold and disaster struck. Another book that should be read!

Two books in, I found the book that fit the prompt. I loved the cover. Every reader does choose books based on the cover! Some would never admit to doing that, but I’ll admit to doing that. There is a reason there are attractive covers on books.

This book is described as a domestic thriller. A mysterious woman shows up and becomes entangled in the lives of Charlie and his husband. I could not put this book down! I had to know what happened next. I was not sure where this book was going from the beginning, but I was intrigued enough to keep reading. It was not the usual book I could predict the ending at all. I loved this book too.

A new mysterious neighbor and invitations to a dinner party bring excitement to the neighborhood. Another page-turner. So many secrets going around. Dinner evolved into an escape room. Close to the same title as the prompt. By the time I figured out I was reading the wrong book, I was hooked! I just had to finish it, I have a superstition that whatever could happen if you don’t finish a book! Just kidding.

Normally I focus on one book at a time. All of these books have a basic theme connecting them. Dinner. Click on the books to take you to Amazon so that you can buy them or get them with Kindle Unlimited.

There was another book too, but it will be on its own. I am going to try recommending books more often. I am also going to finish the list I began two years ago. Stars Books & Tea is my inspiration.

My Thoughts on Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis

Years ago I discovered the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Many of their songs spoke to me. I could relate to them on a level that was transcendent. Under the Bridge helped me with my own battles with drugs. I loved every album they released. Anthony Kiedis is a rather handsome man. I adore John and Flea. Chad was such a smooth addition to the band. I could just name every song that spoke to me. I am sure that many people feel this way.

Most of the book illustrates the life of a drug addict. I have written about living with a drug addict before. I never thought about life from the other side. This book has opened up my eyes and changed my opinions on the matter. I imagine being dependent on something to make you feel normal, completely does change everything. I am not willing to allow myself to return to the person who fathered my children. I can empathize with him more now.

I was curious about one thing, all the concerts mentioned there was no mention of a single convert in Atlanta, Georgia. Nothing at all! I found that rather curious because Atlanta is known as the Party City. Drugs flow through the city like candy. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have toured in Atlanta many, many times over the years. Not one word about anything that might have occurred in Georgia. The omission causes me to think something terrible must have happened. Maybe nothing at all happened for mention in his memoir. I would love to talk to him and ask him about his music, life, and how aging has changed his way of thinking.

Click on image to take you to the Amazon site for the book.

I did learn some things from the book. For some reason, I thought Flea began his acting career after The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Actually, he was acting long before the band was even a consideration. Flea was in other bands and acting at the same time. I have always wondered what exactly happened with John too. He’s very talented and the tagline story was rather fishy.

I would highly recommend this book to any Red Hot Chili Pepper fan. I loved reading it. The face of the man who led the band is a regular person just like all of the rest of us. I hope you find joy reading this book as well. I listened to their music while reading the book.

Train Tracks and My Thoughts

The railway tracks run behind my house. Some people do not like this, but I find them very relaxing. I found some wisteria growing behind my house too. I also realize that walking on the tracks was not very safe, but the tracks are a rather safe and clear vision of oncoming trains.

The oldest system of transportation. To think people used to travel the world on a train. Private cars for the wealthy were common. It must have been very romantic. Very Murder on the Orient Express!

It was a boring day, so I decided to go on a little walk with my camera. I never uploaded the photos until recently. I have had lots of things on my mind. I have had my hands full. I have also been through a lot these past few years.

Unlike my daughter, Stars Books & Teas, I am a total slacker! She keeps up with writing almost every day! I wait until I get to thinking about it! All everyone wants to talk about is the economy and how terrible things are. Things go bad and get better. it is nothing new. Our country has survived many things. We will survive this.

I think this came from a train. I am not sure. It was too far away from the road to be from a car. If you are wondering what the photos have in common with the post, probably nothing. It is my train of thought! I just like taking a walk and taking photos of everything.

I have been online researching mental health issues. It takes time to recover from Gaslighting. Being in the situation, it is hard to see that something is going wrong. Even when someone close to you points it out, the abuse is not seen. I thought I was lucky to be in the relationship. His children treated me like crap, but I was supposed to accept that. I never did anything right, and I was supposed to accept that too.

I tried and tried to make everyone happy, but it was never good enough. One of his children actually threw away everything I had ever bought him like it was trashy and cheap! Thousands of dollars of gifts were thrown away and I was not supposed to be upset about it. If he did not want them because they came from me, he could have donated them to Goodwill!

His daughter-in-law made fun of me all of the time and I was told I misunderstood what she was saying. I was supposed to be thrilled whenever she snubbed me. She acted like she was so superior because she went to college. She acted like she was better than everyone. His family also treated my daughter like she was trash. It was always uncomfortable when the entire family was together.

I never said anything to anyone. My daughter saw it all. There are times when I really miss him, but I do not miss the situation that I was in. Years and years of resentment have built up inside me. I feel like I cannot move on until I face what happened to me.

I have been sitting on this post for a while. I was not sure I was ready to expose myself to the world, but I have gotten stronger, even from when I first began writing this. I am no longer afraid of hurting anyone’s feelings. It is not like they were ever afraid to hurt my feelings. I am getting better every day. I have great things going on now. I will try to write more, my feelings were also hurt that I do not have a big following and it was rudely pointed out a few months ago.

LLS 2022 Part 2

Night or day, the river looks amazing! I know that I have not even made it inside the event! I have tons of photos on Fiji film, which I have not transferred to my computer yet.

Every day there was events all planned out. The entire day could be planned out for every interest. I wanted a more laid back week, so I chose the Mad libs and Book Walk. The Mad libs is self explainatory. The book walk is like a cake walk, except you get books instead of cake.

Mad Libs

At first, only a few people showed up, then more and more people popped in! It was enjoyable, especially in a group. RK Phillips hosted the event. She is so enthusiastic and intelligent that even Mad Libs is fun for everyone.

I did not attend last year, but I heard the Book Walk was a huge success as well. This year was impressive enough. I won a book and my daughter won a drinking glass. Lots of prizes were won by all! RK phillips also hosted this event, she made sure that everyone was a winner and left the event very happy.

Book Walk

The book walk was lots of fun too! Notice the girl reading while walking! Gotta love the dedication! There really is too much to cover! There will be more coming! Need to organize the photos!

If you are interested in joining LLS 2023, check out the Facebook page.

Literary Love Savannah 2022

The river behind the hotel. It was rather quiet this year. I suppose this part of the news is true, less and less supplies are coming into Savannah. Every year we have come to the LLS con in Savannah, I end up outside with the other smokers. There is as much going on outside as thre is inside the hotel! All good fun!

We decided to go to Paula Dean’s place for lunch. It was really good. I won a contest a few years ago that ended here. It was a ghost tour. Savannah has the best ghost tours. Check online before going to Savannah and check them all out.

We spent the first day in Savannah shopping. We got some cookies and dog treats. It began to rain and I realized that I had left my umbrella at the hotel! It was still fun! We had taken a Lyft to the Market. There’s so many cool shops and great places to eat there.

There’s a lifesized cutout photo of Paula Dean that I just had to have a selfie with! There was a wait of course, so we had some downtime to fool around with the camera! We found a photo of Bobby Flay also, I did not take a photo. All of this before the con and all in one day! I will write more about the Literary Love Savannah! There’s so much to cover! It is a great event to meet new and loved authors.

Moonheart by Charles DeLint, #35 on the Reader’s Choice List

Moonheart was published in 1984. The story is set in Ottawa during the 80’s. It is another urban fantasy novel by Charles DeLint. This is another author where several of his novels appear on the list. I have almost all of his novels and have read every one of them.

Believe in fairies! This is an awesome book to read and read again. I do not want to say anything to spoil the novel and saying anything will spoil the novel. Find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Thrift Books. This is will be the author you fall in love with.

Question: What is the genre you read? Do you try other genres to see if you like them too?

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, #34 in the Reader’s Choice List

Lolita was published in 1955 by a Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. It was widely popular for many decades. There are two movie adaptations 1962 and 1997 which can found on Netflix DVD. Stanley Kubrick directed the 1962 film, which I did like very much even with the disturbing content.

I have read the reviews which portray the young girl in the novel as a siren and seductress. Reading the novel, the reader knows this is not true. The main character views these things in a really sick way. He married the mother to be close to the girl, so he could watch her every day. There is something disturbing about Humbert Humbert.

I have been thinking about the current sex trafficking of children. This has been going on for a long time. These are children. No different than Lolita in the novel. Adults sexualizing children is completely wrong and immoral. While the novel does cover an adult male fantasizing about a young girl, it is clear that the author is not encouraging this behavior.

I would read this novel again. I am still waiting on the 1997 movie on my Netflix cue. While I hope justice is served on the ones who have victimized many children with their deviant behavior, I hope this novel is not mixed up in the midst. It is all a matter of perspective, and I do not feel like Lolita was any sort of temptress seeking the sexual attention of an older man. She was being a child, a young teenager. She survived the trauma and found her own life.

Question: What are your feelings about this novel?

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, #33 in the Reader’s Choice List

A literary classic is what The Sound and the Fury has become. The novel was published in 1929. William Faulkner writes in a narrative style-stream of consciousness. A brilliant artist. When I was younger, I wanted to find southern authors. I was curious to see how the writing differed from regions of the country. I heard many stories about Faulkner, being the Southern Hemingway.

There have been two film adaptations for the novel, one in 1959 and the the second one in 2014. James Franco directed the second adaptation. I still have not seen the movie, but James Franco did an excellent job on As I Lay Dying. Faulkner appears several times on this list as well. Shows how much the readers love him.

The various book covers are all very interesting. I love the old south feel to his novels and the covers reflect the feelings of living in the south during the 1920’s. Faulkner’s novels are very deep, intellectual and morally provoking.

I feel like schools should include more Faulkner into their curriculum. The more exposure to all literature will only open the young minds. One day these young minds will be our future. The concentration should be placed on how we are not doing our children or their children any favors by keeping them from everything offensive.

Question: Do you have any favorite authors? Where are they from? Do you know any Indie authors?