Review: Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love by Laura Dern

Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love by Laura Dern
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a fun read. Maybe a little too loud. Okay, they weren’t too loud. I giggled too loud on occasion. Laura Dern and her mother, Diane Ladd, share their relationship with us. That includes love and joy and a squabble once in a while. I think that made this memoir special. And to feel like Diane was trying to get healthy and Laura was trying to save her mother’s life. In the meanwhile, we, the listener/reader, get brought into this beautiful relationship. They share their struggles of the past while dealing with the health issues of the moment. I think mothers and daughters everywhere can relate and learn from these two and their walks.

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Review: Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m not sure where I heard about this book. Maybe GMA? As a writer, it was fun to watch the character development. But as a reader, that was about the extent of it. Yet the writing style was fun. I loved some of the authors’ idioms in descriptions or dialogue.

This was a Libby library audiobook. Marin Ireland (Narrator) kept it fun. Her voice sounded like Kelly McCreary, Maggie Pierce, of Grey’s Anatomy. The same kind of energy that was fun.

Sadly there wasn’t a lot of growth for these children of wealth, but there is some. Mostly it was a fun little read if you don’t want depth. A good beach read, if you know what I mean.

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Review: Rootless by Krystle Zara Appiah

Rootless by Krystle Zara Appiah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a difficult read. I didn’t initially relate to any of the characters, except for not fitting in. I think everyone has had the occasion where they find themselves in a group they don’t feel is for them. Efe finds herself there most of her life.

At one point, I did find myself paying closer attention. I think it was when the couple found themselves expecting a baby. Yes, I was raised during the 50s and 60s. Women were to be barefoot, pregnant, and happy about it. Well, throwing up and being tired all the time didn’t fit with how I was supposed to feel. Cultural expectations and my own clashed as women’s lib was showing that we had choices. Too late for me. I was already entirely indoctrinated.

Still, after the babies were born, I found they taught me all I needed. They knew how to do the baby parts, and I learned the mama parts. I know for a fact that I was fortunate. Being a mom isn’t built into our genes. No more than being a dad comes with the part he played in the baby-making. And they have had their share of expectations. Now smush those ideas and realities into play, and every marriage and parenting situation brings challenges no one expected.

Efe and Sam come into parenting the same way, full of expectations and realities that don’t fit the stories they were supposed to believe. I can see how poor Efe and other pregnant women can feel the way they do. There can be no normal with mental and emotional issues in the mix. Each person has to learn their way. Here is an excellent story to show how understanding your partner, even when you don’t show what love is. Efe does her best out of love. Sam does his best out of love. Yet, the story doesn’t go according to expectations. I feel like I want to give everyone a hug and move on. No amount of talking can help the emotional issues at hand.

By the way, as indifferent as I felt at the beginning of the book, I suggest having the Kleenex handy. I was in shock and had difficulty sleeping after the story ended.

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Review: The Self-Care Solution: A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier, and Fitter–One Month at a Time by Jennifer Ashton

The Self-Care Solution: A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier, and Fitter–One Month at a Time by Jennifer Ashton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Doctor Jen does her own narration and does a great job of it. She keeps the reader’s interest.

I love the idea she promoted here of attacking one habit a month. I always feel there are so many habits I’d like to form or eliminate, but how does one do that with the hope of success? Ms. Jennifer takes us with her on her own journey, so we see how it all works and occasionally doesn’t work for her.

Since this was a Libby audiobook, I felt I missed the stats and ways to connect with the ideas. So I have ordered the hardback to actually start my own Self-Care odyssey.

Are there some habits easier for a doctor than a person on Social Security to form or banish? Absolutely! But I think her methods could work with any that one would like to try. And the bonus is that by the end of the book, she had learned lessons along the way and kept many habits, and could keep track of those ideas she didn’t want anymore.

I highly recommend this book and these ideas for change.

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Review: The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas

The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A friend recommended this to me. She knew I loved reading about the concept of time travel. And she was not wrong. This was very interesting and even brought up ideas I hadn’t considered before. A lot of time travel science is included in the book, but I loved the story. I loved reading about all the different women who invented the time machines.

I borrowed this Kindle edition from the library. And for a lot of books, the text-to-speech works quite well. But for this book, it made it more challenging. All the voices are the same one, no matter the time or area the person was from; it was the same voice with no emotion. So I got pretty mixed up with who was who. So I have ordered the Audible version to try again later. I am concerned as there are so many characters I may have to take notes to keep it all straight.

Still, even as it was, I found it engaging every single night. I never wanted to quit reading, even when confused.

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Review: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well, I just remembered why I write reviews. So I would look up the book and know if I read it before. But guess who didn’t read the review below? Yep. Me. But I’m kind of glad. I just got to listen to the Audible version of the book with Bailey Carr as the narrator. It felt like a new story to me. Is that because of a different reader? Time? It was several years ago. At any rate, it was an enjoyable ‘read’ even though about a tough time in American history. The funny thing is, it is far easier to relate to now since America has dealt with Covid19. Anyway, I highly recommend the read, again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Here’s the review from 2015~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I finished this masterpiece a couple of days ago. It was part of my anti-depression about my husband being in the hospital while I was home with fibro flare. In this case, I would say misery loves company. Or… at least things aren’t as bad as it was then.

This was a birthday present from me–to me! I had picked up the whisper sync for voice also, so I was able to listen to Emily Bergl’s narration. I have to admit she is not my favorite narrator. But once she was into the story, I felt drawn in and forgot that there was a narrator.

Laurie Halse Anderson always amazes me with her works. This book is no exception. Wow! The amount of research that she dug through to write this fiction is overwhelming! This is based on a real epidemic that happened just a few years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Yellow Fever takes over. But no one knows yet that it is due to mosquitoes. Medicine was still in its infancy. Through Ms. Anderson, we get to see what could have happened to a young girl, her family, and her community.

Okay. Confession time. I have never been a history buff. I did have a fabulous professor in college that made me appreciate it a bit. That class was when I was in my forties. So imagine how long it was that I hated history. I think with books like this, I might have been able to relate to historical events as a middle grader. This younger generation is so lucky to have such writers as Laurie Halse Anderson!

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Review: The Burning World by Isaac Marion

The Burning World by Isaac Marion
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Though not as good or a quick a read as Warm Bodies, it was still a crunchie and delicious read. Seeing through the zombie’s eyes, R’s, we learn as he does about his past and the world’s past and present. The romance, though ongoing, seems to be cooling as a whole team of acquaintances attempts to find places of safety.

The narrator, Jacques Roy, does a great job acting out the various characters. At least he doesn’t make the females sound like he’s demeaning them. He keeps the listener engaged.

The author, Isaac Mario, melds action and poetry. Sometimes I wish I could turn on the light and write down a line or two he says. Just beautiful for a zombie story! Especially toward the end. I have already ordered the next book. And though this was a Libby audio, I ordered my own copy of the audible version, and I now have the blu-ray. I love this series!

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Found on Facebook

Yep. Kindle holds thousands!

One-Liner Wednesday

Found on Facebook

Yep.

One-Liner Wednesday courtesy of Linda G. Hill.

Review: Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan

Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you, Netgalley, for letting me read this book.

Sadly, I nearly quit reading at the first chapter. Nothing against the writer, but I had assumed the book was about women. Fair warning: it is about a family, including the father and son. Each member gets their chapters. I must admit that listening to text-to-speech, it was hard to tell who the chapter was about. I think that if an author sets up a book this way, they should include the words Chapter 1 or another number and then the name of the point of view. That would clear confusion right up front.

Once I figured out who the chapters were about and the book’s aim, I could see the novel through.

On the other hand, though this book was about an Indian-American family, it was universal in many ways. People not listening to each other. People not expressing their authentic truth. People jump to their own conclusions. Gossip. Betrayal. The reader wonders if they will ever find their way to healthy relationships. It was hard to live through all of this.

It is worth the read to learn how new Americans of other origins might see how this melting-pot culture gets in their own ways, too.

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