The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah

The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah

This book was incredible. It's hard to believe it's fiction. I make a point of reading books, both fiction and nonfiction, about World War 2, as a way to remember what happened and honor those who suffered. 

This is the story of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle Rossignol, and happens during the occupation of France by the Nazis. Vianne has a husband, child, and home, and Isabelle is much younger, but wild and impulsive, and has been kicked out of multiple finishing schools for her uncontrollable personality. Both have been rejected by their cold father, and their mother has long been dead. The two don't know how to be sisters. Isabelle needs Vianne's love and affection, and Vianne is so wrapped up in her own life and responsibilities she has none to give her.

Then they are personally affected by the Nazi occupation. As their village is occupied, and Vianne's husband, who went to war, is in a POW camp, a Nazi officer billets at her home. Although he is polite, Isabelle understands that all Nazis are venomous snakes, and she can barely control her tongue around him. Vianne decides to be as quiet and compliant as possible, to protect her daughter and keep her home. Isabelle gets involved with the underground resistance, and decides it's best for everyone if she goes to Paris. 

From here, their stories differ, but yet both find ways to help fight the Nazis. Isabelle rescues fallen airmen and gets them out of the country, and becomes "The Nightingale". Vianne does not really try to do anything dangerous as she is trying to protect her daughter, but as Jews are being taken away to concentration camps, some of the mothers ask her to take their children. This is the beginning of her work, taking orphaned Jews and hiding them away in a safe place. 

I did not cry in this book, but I was on the verge of tears in many places. The heartbreak, the struggle with doing what one must to survive as well as protect others,  the loss, even exploring the idea of a Nazi officer who knows what he must do is morally wrong, and believes that once, he used to be a good man, really made this story come to life. This has to be one of the best WW2 fiction books I have read. If you have not read it yet, do it before you go see the movie.

 

A Dance of Birds, Poetry and Paper Collage by Angela Blair and Sherri Linnemeyer

A Dance of Birds, Poetry and Paper Collage

Angela Blair and Sherri Linnemeyer

Last night I attended the premiere book signing for this book, A Dance of Birds by Angela Blair and Sherri Linnemeyer. The book was written by Angela, and is a poem about birds, and is suitable for young children to adults. The illustrations are by Sherri, and were created with tissue paper collage, and they are exquisite. So much so that I not only purchased a book and had them sign it, but I also bought one of the original pieces of art by Sherri that is included in the book. I would have loved to get the parrot cover art, but that, I knew, was not available or had already sold. But the piece that I did get, was of a starling in front of the Notre Dame cathedral and will look great on my wall. 

European Starling and Cathedral

Sherri Linnemeyer

The event itself was also lovely. It was held at Churchill School in Baker City, which is an old elementary school turned into a multipurpose center for arts and events (including an  Air B&B, bike hostel, recording studio, artist studios, hair salon, and more.) The Dance Hall was used for this event, which is the old school gymnasium auditorium. It has old school tables and benches that fold into the wall on one side, and repurposed theater seating on the other side, with seat backs custom painted by local artists, including me. Angela and Sherri were both there with a table for purchasing books and where they would both sign, and Sherri had her art on display and for sale. There were treats served by East Side Bakery, and drinks served in the bar by Corinne Vegter. Robert Anders and a friend (I am sorry I did not get her name) played guitar and violin to serve as atmospheric background music and it was very well done. Angela and Sherri spoke about how the book came into being, and then Angela read it for all of us. It was truly a delightful evening, and great for me and my daughters to get out of the house for a bit and be among some wonderful people.

This book is available to purchase from Amazon, or if you are in Baker City, Oregon, you can find it at Betty's Books. The author's website is angieblair.com for more information.

 

If Keanu Were Your Boyfriend, by Marisa Polansky

If Keanu Were Your Boyfriend by Marisa Polansky

It is no secret that when I laid my girlhood crush on Ricky Schroder to rest, that I then discovered Keanu Reeves, not yet the superstar that he would shortly become. I wasn't as outwardly fanatic with this crush, but I used to joke that I was going to marry him....or Cary Elwes (Westley from Princess Bride). 

So when I found this book at the local library book sale, of course it had to come home with me. It was meant for me, right? 

This is a fun, quick read based on articles and interviews with Keanu Reeves. You learn little tidbits about him like his favorite food, where he was born, tragedies that have occured in his life, and even the rumor that he may be immortal because he looks so youthful.

It was a nice distraction from the craziness in my life. I have a friend I am loaning this to, so she can imagine what it might be like if Keanu were her boyfriend.  

O Keanu, I pined for you in my youth, but that was a lifetime ago. I am married over 30 years now, and those fun celebrity crushes of my teenage years must now be only appreciation for the beautiful person you have become and the roles you have played. You will have to be my boyfriend in some alternate universe where I might be found worthy of your affection. 

 

Daybreak--2250 AD by Andre Norton

Daybreak--2250 AD, Andre Norton

I have no clue where I picked up this old paperback book, but I have a special place in my heart for science fiction that is from the 1960s or earlier, and this one is dated 1952. This is the story of a half mutant human in a post-nuclear war America. Survivors of a nuclear war have banded into their own tribes--the knowledge, science, and history seeking mountaineer Puma Clan, the wandering and adventurous Plains People who live much like Native Americans of old, the Flying Men, a tribe of dark skinned artists and inventors descended from airplane pilots,  and the Beast Things, which come from  human ancestry but are mutated into savage monsters. 

Fors is the son of a Star Man, an honored title of an expert mountaineer, and he seeks to follow in his deceased father's footsteps to also become a Star Man. However, his mother was a mutant, the type which have white hair and can communicate with animals; so Fors has never been fully accepted as part of his tribe. He has taken all the tests to become a Star Man, and did well, but unexplicably was not approved, knowing it was because he is mutant. So now, he must become a laborer and give up his mountaineer ways and live as little more than a slave. He escapes his clan and takes his mutant cat with him, to try to find something in the city ruins of the Old Ones, that will bring him approval from his clan. But he must steer clear of the blue territories, which are still radioactive, and avoid the Beast Things if at all possible, for they are vicious and will hunt him down and eat him.

While he is out, he finds a dark skinned man in a trap, and pulls him out and bandages up his wounds. This is Arskane, of the Flying Men, a tribe that is from the south. He and Fors become friends like brothers, and learn of some things in their journeys about each others' peoples, and how they would like to seek peace with men rather than battle. But they also learn that the Beast Things have been attacking and perhaps evolving in their intelligence, and are becoming a bigger threat to all humanity. All clans must ban together to survive the Beast Things. 

This was written at a time where there was massive racial division, and the author's message was all about looking past differences to see that we are all brothers and sisters, we are all human. Page 81 stood out to me where Arskane and Fors are talking about their civilizations: "It seems to me,"he said slowly, "that we are like the parts of one body. My people are the busy hands, fashioning things by which life may be made easier and more beautiful. The Plainspeople are the restless, hurrying feet, ever itching for new trails and the strange things which might lie beyond the sunrise and the sunset. And your clan is the head, thinking, remembering, planning for geet and hands. Together--"

"Together," Fors breathed, "we would make such a nation as this land has not seen since the days of the Old Ones!"

"No, not a nation such as the Old Ones knew!" Arskane's answer was sharp. They were not one body--for they knew war. And out of that warfare came what is today. If the body grows together again it must be because each part, knowing its own worth and taking pride in it, recognizes also the worth of the other two. And color of skin, or eyes, or the customs of a man's tribe must mean no more to strangers when meeting than the dust they wash from their hands before they take meat. We must come to one another free of such dust--or it will rise to blind our eyes and what the Old Ones started will continue to live for ever and ever to poison the earth."

 

The Engines of God, Jack McDevitt

The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt

This is the first book in the Priscilla Hutchins or the Academy series. I came upon Deepsix, which I believe is the third in the series, and started out with that, not realizing it was a series. Deepsix was really enjoyable, made me want to read more. So I went on Paperbackswap.com and found the others in the series. This first book in the series did not disappoint, and I look forward to reading the others in order!

These are set in the not too distant future, where space travel has become a common thing, and the people of earth have started exploring other planets, looking for those that might be able to hold life and be terraformed, because the Earth is becoming volatile, with wars, famines, massive storms destroying everything. They have found one planet with intelligent life, but it is not advanced beyond Earth's 19th century. Other planets have been found with life, but not intelligent. But there are a few planets that have been found where there were once civilizations, but they have been extinct for thousands of years, and what's interesting is that each one has some kind of geometric structure on a moon, and on the planet itself, a sculpture of some being, which is the same sculpture and same being, placed on each planet. 

So the Academy has set up archeologists and scientists on these planets to try and solve the mystery of who these beings are and what has happened on the planets. 

Priscilla Hutchins, or Hutch, is a pilot transporting people and supplies to and from these places, and she is called to one where a large temple has been found with plenty of artifacts. The scientists are sure they are about to discover something big, like a Rosetta stone, which will make it easier to translate the writing, but this planet will begin terraforming very soon, with large chunks of ice being dropped in from the sky to raise the water levels. Everyone needs to be evacuated before it begins, because everything will soon be underwater. 

What happens next, I won't say, just in case you want to read it, but be sure, nothing goes according to plan, and it's up to Hutch and her team to solve the mystery and perhaps even save the Earth.

 

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

This book was recommended to me by my daughter, Elizabeth, one of the many books she has recently read. This is a cozy romantasy, I guess you might call it. It's clean, and by that I mean no sex scenes or coarse language. It's the story of a young woman with purple skin, Terlu, an extrovert who needs connection with other people, who takes a job as a librarian in the city of Alyssium. She ends up working in a section of the library where she gets very little connection with others, and she is extremely lonely, so she finds a spellbook, and uses a spell to make a spider plant sentient, so she can have someone to talk to. (In this world, magic is only allowed to be used by sorcerers, and it's a punishable crime to cast a spell if you are not a sorcerer). She and her plant, Caz, get along well, and then someone turns her in. She goes to court and is punished by being turned into a statue as an example to others.

Years pass, she drifts in and out of consciousness as a statue, and wakes up in the snow, someplace she doesn't recognize, and she is no longer a statue. Confused, she tries to get her bearings and discovers a giant greenhouse, made of smaller greenhouses. She meets a winged cat named Emeral, and eventually a young man with golden skin and black and gold hair, named Yarrow, the gardener in charge of taking care of the greenhouses.

She learns that the greenhouses, which are magic, are dying, and Yarrow believes she can save them. She doesn't believe in herself enough to think she can do that, and is fearful that the authorities will find out if she does, and turn her into a statue again. So will she do what she believes is lawful, or will she do what she must to save the wondrous greenhouses?

I enjoyed this book, it's on a world very different from our own, yet many similarities. The author chose to make many of the plants and foods earth foods, so for instance, they cook with garlic and tomatoes, or make honey cakes. 

This is a love story between an extrovert needing connection with people while on an almost uninhabited island, and an introvert who prefers to be alone but not totally alone. It's about embracing what makes us unique and celebrating it, not just in ourselves, but in others as well, about not trying to change others to be like us but just accepting them as they are. 

This author has written many other books, and I have not read any of them, but apparently this is part of a series, the first being "The Spellshop" so I will probably read that as soon as I get a copy of it. 

 

The Little Paris Bookshop, Nina George

 The Little Paris Bookshop, Nina George

This book tells the adventure of a grieving man who owns a floating bookshop (boat turned bookshop) and his journey into letting go of a loved one lost, and learning to love again. 

Jean is a man in his 50s who is able to prescribe just the right book to help a reader's soul. He has incredible insight into what others need to read to help them heal or grow. He is an avid reader, and has turned a boat into a floating bookshop. One day, a tenant in the apartment building is in need of help--she just left her husband and is starting over with literally nothing---and he gives her a table from a room in his apartment that he has boarded up and forgotten about for 20 years. 

The neighbor discovers a letter inside a drawer in the table and returns it to him, which opens up a raw wound caused by the woman he loved with all his soul leaving him abruptly 20  years ago. He never read the letter, just hid it away because he was so angry being abandoned by her without even a goodbye. But when he finally opens the letter, he learns the truth---she was dying, and was leaving him to go spend her last months with her husband. She asked him to come. Her husband knew about him and would be expecting him.

20 years gone, and she must have died waiting for him to show up, and he was clueless to what was going on. He decides to lift anchor and head down the river, to find her husband and finally get some closure. 

A famous author quickly climbs aboard as he is setting out and goes with him. They have adventures along the way and meet some new friends, while learning about themselves, about life, death, grief, acceptance, and love.

This book was a little different from what I normally read. There was some  sexual language in it, but I was glad that there was not a lot of it. There was a lot of very vivid, colorful, poetic prose which did make the book more enjoyable. I liked how Jean, a loner without anyone in his life to love or even like, learned how to make friends, find love, and create his own unlikely family. 

A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim

A Forgery of Fate, Elizabeth Lim

I picked up this book from a rummage sale for two dollars. It has to be the most beautiful modern made book I have ever had in my possession. The full color illustrated dust cover has illustrations on the inside and outside, with gold accents. The illustrations inside the cover are front and back, full cover, and different from each other. And sprayed edges! This was an autographed Owl Crate exclusive, and if you can ever get your hands on one, it's glorious.

sprayed edges and gorgeous cover

front inside illustration

back inside illustration

This is inspired by Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Paintbrush, and Asian folklore about the Dragon King and his undersea kingdom.

This is the story of Truyan Saigas, the daughter of a merchant. She is a gifted artist, and when her father goes missing, she must take care of her family, and she does this by forging art and selling it for high prices. This leads her to the Dragon Prince, who is under a curse put on him by the Dragon King. He convinces her to marry him (an arranged marriage for one month), and create a magic portrait of the Dragon King who is destroying his own Kingdom and its people, and this portrait will be his undoing, but we don't learn how until later in the book. 

Tru must travel to the undersea kingdom and learn to paint the Dragon King perfectly in order for the plan to work, but he has spies everywhere, and he seeks to destroy the Prince and his plans. Will Tru be able to pull off this painting? Will she and the prince fall in love, or will their marriage end with the contract? Will the prince be saved from his curse?

I really enjoyed this book, visually, and the writing was easy to read and follow, the story, inspired by other folklore, easy to recognize, but the author made it her own story. I loved it, and if you love fantasy, or books where love conquers all, this is a good one to read.

 

The Young Elites, by Marie Lu

The Young Elites, Marie Lu

I pulled this one out of a Little Free Library. It's the story of a young girl in an Italian renaissance-era type fantasy land, Adelina, who survived a deadly fever ten years earlier as a child, but this fever, as it swept through the realms, marked its victims, and some of them developed supernatural powers. Kind of like the Powerless series I read. But in this one, the Inquisition is out to destroy all of these marked ones. 

Adelina and her younger sister live with their widowed father, who is controlling and cruel. He has plans to marry off his beautiful youngest daughter, and he is going to sell off Adelina to be a concubine, since she is plague marked. She doesn't seem to have a power, but he tries over and over to induce situations that will awaken a power, because it might make her more valuable to sell. But it never happens, until one night, she hears he is going to sell her into sex slavery, and she runs away from home. He catches her, and in her panic to flee, a power emerges. 

This begins her journey into escaping the Inquisition, joining a group known as the Young Elites, and trying to learn to control her power, while also trying to figure out who she can really trust, and seeking unconditional love and acceptance.

I did enjoy this book, It was darker than I expected, but it left me wanting to read the next book in the series, which I will need to search for!

 

The Field Third Reader, by Walter Taylor Field

 The Field Third Reader

Walter Taylor Field

This is a lovely little third level reader, published in 1924, with gorgeous illustrations by Blanche Fisher Laite. It was written by Walter Taylor Field and published by Ginn and Company. It's pretty beat up as it was used in a school, although I am not sure where it came from, it's one I picked up undoubtedly from an estate sale. It is an interesting mix of Native American folklore, historical stories, Bible stories, fantasy, and other everyday life stories, mixed in with poems, and there are vocabulary words listed at the end of each story. I enjoyed reading this, I always feel inspired after reading old readers, to come up with a new reader in the style of the old ones. Maybe someday, who knows. This will be going into my collection of vintage and antique readers.

Fearful, Lauren Roberts

Fearful

Lauren Roberts

This is another novella from the Powerless series, and this one focuses on what happens in the last full novel, with Kitt and Mara, and also Lenny and Blair. We get a look into why Kitt made the choices he made and also a deeper look into Blair, painted as a villain and killer in the other books, but forced into a life she never wanted, information withheld from her causing her to make a choice she thought was correct, but haunts her now that she knows the truth. All this as witnessed by Mara, mysterious reaper of the underworld.

I thought it was written well, and we even get hints as to how Mara came about, although not fully disclosed in this little book. I look forward to finding out more about this little universe that Lauren Roberts is building. This series has been hard to put down, easy to consume and enjoy, and I always hope for another book in the series.

 

Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee

Free Food for Millionaires

Min Jin Lee

This is a glimpse into the life of Casey Han, a young Korean American woman living in New York. A twenty-something woman, she still lives at home with her parents and younger sister, even though she has just graduated from college. Her father is angry with her, I don't remember the exact reason but it has to do with her not living up to his career expectations, so instead of actually communicating with her, he punches her in the head and demands she leave their house, he wants nothing more to do with her. Beaten and bruised, she seeks solace with her boyfriend, showing up unexpectedly at his home to find him in a menage a trois with two women. Now, Casey does not know where to go or what to do. This is her story not just of how she got back up on her feet, how she learned through trial and error,  but it's a story exploring relationships, hers, and those of the people around her. All are broken in some way, and even the ones who would be villainized have a human side we don't often see in stories. 

I found the Christian background to the characters interesting. The author obviously must have grown up in a church culture with the way she wrote about the Bible, church, and other similar themes.

I also noticed that Casey is very gifted in business, she is going to business school and works for a banking firm, she's very promising in the industry and yet she hates it. Her real passion is in the art of hatmaking and fashion, but it's not something that one can make a living on. Ultimately, she must decide between what she does really well and hates, and what she is passionate about.

 

More Than a Hobby, David Green

More Than a Hobby by David Green

Just last year, I actually walked into Hobby Lobby for the first time. There's a store in Nampa, Idaho, about 2 hours from where I live. I am an artist, but I also like putting together funky earrings so I am always looking for fun beads and charms to use. I usually go to Michaels, but they jacked up their prices incredibly high I couldn't afford to shop there anymore. So I decided to try Hobby Lobby and their prices were amazing and I was hooked! 

Not long ago I found this book at a thrift store and because it combines two of my passions, arts and crafts, and entrepreneurial leadership, I thought, well, this should be good. 

This book is written by David Green, the founder of Hobby Lobby. It is part autobiography, but moreso tells about how he runs his business and why, and how that has worked for him, and he also talks about some of the things he has tried that haven't worked, because after all, failure is a way to learn and eventually succeed if you learn from it.

 

What I Read in 2026

Always Time for Fishing, Altered Art by ME!

The photo is just so I have something to look at. I am an artist and this is one of my altered art pieces, and prints are available in my Etsy store, AmyVanGaasbeckArtist.

I didn't read as much as I had hoped to in 2025. The year kind of threw me for a loop. My mom went from stage 5-ish Alzheimers to late stage 6. She fell and broke her hip. Then my mother in law had a stroke and my sister took over caring for my Mom so I could move my inlaws into my house to take care of them full time. Oh yeah, and my father in law has dementia/Alzheimers at an earlier stage than my mother,  so I have to be alert all the time. So as we tried to renovate our house to accommodate them, and are still working on it, and working on dealing with combining two households while also trying to get over to visit my mom on occasion, and bring in an income...it's been a lot. It doesn't help that they insist on having the TV on all day and refuse to read, color, or get up and do anything at all. I have tried, but they won't do anything. So I have to wait for relief so I can hide away and read a chapter of a book. But that's life and I am glad I can serve them no matter how crazy it can get!

What I read this year:

JANUARY

More Than a Hobby by David Green

FEBRUARY

Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee

Fearful by Lauren Roberts

MARCH

The Field Third Reader by Walter Taylor Field

A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

APRIL

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

MAY

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

JUNE

The Engines of God, by Jack McDevitt

JULY 

If Keanu Were Your Boyfriend: The Man, The Myth, The WHOA by Marisa Polansky

Daybreak--2250 AD (Star Man's Son) by Andre Norton

A Dance of Birds Poetry and Paper Collage by Angela Blair, Sherri Linnemeyer

AUGUST

The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah

 

Tress of the Emerald Sea, Brandon Sanderson

Tress of the Emerald Sea,

Brandon Sanderson

My daughter recommended this book to me, she knows the types of books I like, and this definitely hit the target. This is by Brandon Sanderson, author of the Wheel of Time series which didn't really register in my head until I searched Paperbackswap.com for some of his books. 

This is set in his Cosmere universe (I have not read any of his books but am aware of some of them) and it is the story of a young woman who lives on a dangerous planet where spores fall from the heavens and form seas, where any water or moisture activates them and each kind of spore has a different property: verdant spores rapidly grow vines, rose spores grow crystal, others explode, or grow spikes, etc. The only way to be safe from them is not just to stay away from them but salt and silver will kill them quickly. 

Tress lives with her parents and helps take care of them, and also washes windows for a living, including the windows of the Duke of the island she lives on. Her friend, Charlie, is the Duke's son but he pretends to be the groundskeeper so he can spend time with Tress. She knows who he is, but plays along because it makes him feel better. They long for a quiet, uneventful life, with no desires for adventure, just daily life, and Tress enjoys collecting cups from other countries. 

Charlie and Tress have a budding romance, but then his father discovers it, and sends Charlie out to sea, to find a suitable wife from the nobility of the other lands. He is determined to come back to Tress unwed, and sends her a cup from every island he visits, where he has made himself seem as boring as possible to be rejected by the prospective wives. Then the cups and letters from him cease. She learns that he has been taken by an evil sorceress and his father has left him for dead.

Tress believes it is up to her to rescue Charlie, so she stows away on a ship in disguise, and so her adventure begins. She befriends a talking rat, learns how to sprout spores to be used for their benefits, befriends a crew of pirates, and a seeming idiot named Hoid, who actually narrates the book. 

The obstacles she must overcome to get to the Midnight Sea where the Sorceress lives seems impossible. Will she get there alive? Or is the whole idea completely impossible?

This is the illustration at the beginning of the book, and I find it absolutely captivating in its loveliness. It reminds me of Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride.....and there is a reason for that. Reading the Afterword, we learn that the author was inspired to write this book with the idea of Buttercup seeking to go out and find and rescue Westley when she learns he was taken by pirates, instead of just standing by doing nothing. I think that influence might be why I like it so much. If you like the Princess Bride, I think you will like this book.

Something I liked about this was how Tress was content with what she had. If she had food that might be stale or old, she would find a way to make the most of it, using her creativity and wits to make it edible. She found joy in her surroundings, found beauty even in the deadly spores, and found good in the people around her. She didn't desire excitement; but when adventure came for her, she didn't shy away from it, and the experience changed her, caused her to grow. (Spoiler) There is a part where it seems she might be reunited with Charlie, but Charlie, even though he was separated from her, captured, and held hostage for a long period of time---he was no different than the last time they met--happy go lucky, unfazed like nothing had happened. In that moment Tress realizes that she has changed and grown too much to be in a relationship with this version of Charlie, who is unaffected. She loved him, but THIS was not, could not be Charlie, because there was no way he could remain exactly the same after going through such a traumatic experience. And then she quickly realizes why....which I will not divulge...but I liked that this growth happened, that she could never be exactly the same afterward, just like a verdant spore exposed to water, she could never be the same again.

I also really liked the character of Hoid, who narrates the whole story. We quickly learn there is something very wrong with him. He is a blathering idiot who cannot speak in a sensical way, nor dress with any taste. Obviously there is something off and we know it is fixed at the end because of his narration, but it isn't made clear until the end what happened to him. He brings wit and humor to the story that I appreciated.

 

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause, John R. Lee, MD and Virginia Hopkins

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause

John R Lee MD with Virginia Hopkins

This book was so enlightening! As someone going through menopause, I always wondered if I should be on something, remembering back to when my mom had a hysterectomy and was put on HRT (hormone replacement therapy) and hearing so many people say I should be on estrogen. I have always been reluctant to go on estrogen as I have heard so many terrible things about it. This book is very straight about estrogen and progesterone and what they each do. Estrogen creates growth, progesterone creates maturity from the growth. A woman's body can handle lower levels of estrogen with no problem in most cases, but it's the lower levels of progesterone that are bad news. A woman should in most cases not be on an estrogen supplement, but should be on a progesterone cream----not a progestin which is a chemically tweaked version, but a natural progesterone like wild yam. This book explains why, and how much you should be taking, and yes, you should be taking it for the rest of your life, as it helps protect against osteoporosis, heart issues, mental decline, and more! I immediately ordered some good quality wild yam cream after reading this (transdermal progesterone is absorbed better through the body--through pill or digestive tract, much of it is excreted from the body) and I honestly could feel an improvement in my body after just a week.

I highly recommend this book. This printing was from 1996. I am interested to know if any of the information has changed since then, but it seemed pretty solid and factual.

 

Jerusalem's Heart, Bodie & Brock Thoene

Jerusalem's Heart, Bodie & Brock Thoene

 This is the third book in the Zion Legacy series, which is about post WWII in Israel, when the Jews from other countries all came to Israel, only to find that it was war torn and they would have to fight to defend and take back the land from the Arabs. In this book, the city of Jerusalem has been under siege for so long that unless miracles happen, the Jews will die or be taken by the enemy. We see some terrible tragedy, but we also see the hand of God working miraculous intervention. 

I thought this was the end of the series so how it ended seemed weird with no true victory, but the story actually continues into more books, so now I need to find the next in the series. I have checked a few places online and have had a hard time finding it, so reading this series will be put on hold until I can find book 4. 

Fearless, Lauren Roberts

Fearless, Lauren Roberts

Part of the Powerless series, this book takes place after Kai brings Payden back to Ilya and Kitt surprises everyone with a decision not to execute her for the death of the king, but instead to marry her to bring unity to the people of Ilya, a merging of the ordinary and the gifted. However, her heart belongs to Kai; but what choice does she have? It is marry Kitt or be executed.

This book deals with grief after trauma and loss, and the many ways that people process their grief, both healthy and unhealthy. We see how even those we paint as villains for their choices have to carry that burden of what they have done and sometimes they really felt they had no choice in the matter. We see how being raised in traumatic ways ends up causing one to turn from his harmful practices, while another succumbs to the brainwashing and mental illness he grew up in, trying to justify his heinous behavior for the greater good. It shows humanity in all its imperfection, the good and the bad, and also, secrets are revealed that end up changing everything.

 

Oathbound, Tracy Deonn

Oathbound, Tracy Deonn

This is the third book in the Legendborn series. Bree Matthews, a black girl in the south, going to a mostly white college, ends up being the heir of King Arthur, and the society of the Legendborn is beside themselves that his heir is a black girl, not a white male. Many  of them turn against her and try to kill her, so she leaves them to protect herself and the ones she loves, and makes a bargain with the Shadow King, to learn everything he knows. This is not to turn to evil, but find a way to thwart the source of evil that is trying to destroy her world. 

I should have written this when the book was fresh in my mind but life got in the way. It is a book filled with magic and sorcery and is a mixture of the legend of King Arthur and the racist southern American areas, truly and interesting choice of combination.

Things in this book were not wrapped up, and a fourth book is in the process of being written, I did enjoy this book as well as the whole series. I heard there may be a tv series in the works as well.

 

Monster in the Cave: How to Face Your Fear and Anxiety and Live Your Life, David Mellinger and Steven Jay Lynn

Monster in the Cave: How to Face Your Fear and Anxiety and Live Your Life

David Mellinger and Steven Jay Lynn

I found this book to possibly help my husband, who has had some severe issues with anxiety and dissociative episodes. It was easy to understand and talks about many different kinds of anxiety and also includes such issues as schizophrenia, OCD, etc. There are chapters on different types of medication used for treatment, what they do, pros and cons to taking them as well. There are worksheets to use for different exercises in learning how to control anxiety, and many different things you can do to help cope with it and overcome it. It took me most of the summer to get through it...not exactly pleasure reading, but also we dealt with my mother and mother in law having medical issues and taking care of them... so not a lot of reading went on over the summer. Glad to be done with this, it was enlightening.