THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion
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WHAT BOOKS HAVE YOU FINISHED?
Goth Girl and the Pirate Queen
by Chris Riddell (Goth Girl 2.5) 3.0 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Sounds good. Hollywood scandal is always fun. 🌞
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by Walter MosleyNew York private detective Leonid McGill is hired by a beautiful woman who fears for her life.
Good noir mystery. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A Second Chance
by Jodi Taylor (Chronicles of St Marys #3) 4.0 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Harlan CobenThis is the second book in the 'Wilde' series, featuring the former 'feral boy' who lived alone in the woods as a child. In this story, Wilde decides to look for his birth parents via DNA and gets caught up in murder. The book is fine as a standalone.
Good story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I Know This to Be True: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
by Ruth Bader Ginsburg (3.5 stars)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Louise PennyChief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté de Québec investigates a murder in a monastery.
Interesting story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Felicia BerlinerThe story revolves around a teenage girl named Raizl who lives with her Chasidic (orthodox Jewish) family in Brooklyn. Raizl is addicted to porn and is torn between her community and her wish to have some freedom.
This story is certainly something different. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Over My Dead Body by Sweeney Boo. Entertaining YA / Fantasy graphic novel. 3.5 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Mask of Fu Manchu
by Sax Rohmer (Fu-Manchu #5) 3.0 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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To the Land of Long Lost Friends by Alexander McCall SmithMma Ramotswe - who owns No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - gets involved in various disparate situations.
Entertaining and fun book. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel
by Jason Reynolds 4.0 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman by Abby SteinIn this memoir, the transgender author Abby Stein writes about leaving her ultra-orthodox Chasidic community and transitioning from male to female.
Interesting and enlightening story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just finished Under A Veiled Moon. Excellent Victorian historical by Karen Odden.
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The Interrupted Journey: Two Lost Hours Aboard a Ufo: The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill by John G FullerProbably one of the most publicized incidents of a (purported) alien abduction involved a married couple named Barney and Betty Hill. This book tells their story.
Interesting story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A short time ago, I finished reading the new book "American Midnight: Democracy's Forgotten Crisis, 1917-1921" by Adam Hochschild.
Reading AMERICAN MIDNIGHT: Democracy's Forgotten Crisis, 1917-1921 was a very sobering experience for me. It showed how the U.S., from the moment it declared war on Germany in April 1917, allowed itself to be swept up in a hysteria that would brook no dissent or criticism, however slight, of the war and of the nation's leaders.
Prior to reading this book, I had known of the widespread anti-German sentiment that led to the banning of the teaching of the German language in many school systems, the prohibition of the playing of classical music of German composers in orchestras across the country, and the renaming of frankfurters as "hot dogs" and sauerkraut as "liberty cabbage." But I did not realize the full extent of the changes the U.S. went through from being a neutral nation prior to April 6, 1917 to a country at war that became suffused with a hyper-patriotic fervor which gave the government license to brutalize and dehumanize conscientious objectors, made it permissible for people to beat or kill union leaders and organizers, tar and feather union members, and ignore people's constitutional rights to free speech and assembly.
Then, once the war was won in November 1918, the U.S. government continued to promote and encourage a repressive environment that, using the fear of the threat of Bolshevism (in the wake of the Russian Revolution and subsequent Russian Civil War), led to massive crackdowns on labor unions, the Socialist Party (which, before the war, had been gaining much national appeal; indeed many Socialists had been elected prewar to various state offices and Congress), and a spate of arrests of people deemed as "threats to the peace and security of the nation." (The country itself in 1919 endured race riots, a number of bombings thought to be caused by anarchists or Bolshevik agitators, and scores of labor strikes; for with the end of the war, came inflation, and a major economic downturn.) Many of those arrested who were found not to be American citizens were hastily deported through the frenzied efforts of the Bureau of Investigation and the Attorney General (A. Mitchell Palmer, a Quaker) and his young assistant heading the Justice Department's Radical Division whose name was J. Edgar Hoover.
What I also found galling was President Woodrow Wilson's general indifference to the domestic scene during most of those years. Frankly, I can't think of someone given his position who was such a gross and shameless hypocrite. Wilson presented himself to the world as an apostle for democracy, while remaining unconcerned with the plight of African Americans who, whether serving in the military during WWI or in support of the country at home, were treated with suspicion, scorned, despised, and if deemed by the white power structure in the South guilty of 'socially unacceptable behaviors' more likely to be lynched.
Furthermore, Wilson's efforts to get the U.S. to ratify the Versailles Treaty and become a part of the League of Nations (his brainchild) were for naught. For his pains, Wilson suffered a paralytic stroke in September 1919 while on a cross-country speaking engagement to convince the public to support him. He spent the remaining 18 months of his presidency closeted in the White House, where his wife and some of his aides largely acted in his stead.
Truly this was a shameful period in U.S. history. One that should never be forgotten.
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[bookcover:American Midnight: Demo..."
I didn't know about all this either. It's important information to know.
Wilson wasn't unconcerned with African Americans, he was prejudiced against them. He was a big fan of Birth of a Nation. I used to be a big admirer, when all I knew was that he wanted the League of Nations. Recently read about his radical war-mongering!
The Sea is Full of Stars
by Jack L. Chalker (Well World #6) 3.5 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by David RosenfeltIn this 26th book in the 'Andy Carpenter' series, set during the Christmas season, the defense attorney represents an ex-convict accused of murder.
Fun humorous mystery. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Vicki DelanyIn this 7th book in the 'Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries', bookstore manager/amateur sleuth Gemma Doyle investigates a death at a country manor.
This is a light but enjoyable cozy mystery. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Get in the Van: On the Road With Black Flag
by Henry Rollins (the life of a touring hardcore punk band) 4.0 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
After You with the Pistol: The Second Charlie Mortdecai Novel
by Kyril Bonfiglioli (Charlie Mortdecai #2) (3.0 stars)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Raquel V. ReyesAmateur sleuth/cooking show host Miriam Quiñones-Smith, who lives in multiethnic Miami, looks into a series of crimes.
Engrossing culinary/cozy mystery. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence by Ken AulettaAuletta provides an in depth sketch of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, from his childhood to the court proceedings for sexual assault.....and beyond.
Well written and interesting. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Maigret at the Crossroads
by Georges Simenon (Inspector Maigret #7) (3.5 stars)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Terry McMillanA successful African-American optometrist feels unfulfilled, and decides to look up old beaus and change her life.
Good story with drama and humor. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Debra SennefelderIn this 'Resale Boutique Mystery', store owner/amateur sleuth Kelly Quinn investigates the murder of a shoe store proprietor.
Entertaining fashion cozy. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by James Lee BurkeIn this 4th book in the Holland Family Saga, Aaron Holland Broussard mourns the death of his beloved daughter while he confronts white supremacists and deals with evil ghosts. (The author says this is his most autobiographical novel to date.)
Compelling story. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
by Art Spiegelman (4.0 stars)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Lore Olympus: Volume One
by Rachel Smythe (3.5 stars)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Dana HaywardIn 2066, planet Earth is dying and America establishes a colony on the moon. Things get hairy when China builds a lunar colony nearby.
Good sci-fi story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Detective's Daughter
by Lesley Thomson (Detective's Daughter #1) 4.5 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America by Psyche A. Williams-ForsonThe author, a professor who studies African American food culture, writes about the scrutiny and criticism of Black people's eating habits, which has its basis in racism.
Interesting book. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Ms. Tree, Vol. 2: Skeleton in the Closet
by Max Allan Collins (4.0 stars)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Garry HarperIn 1844, the preacher of a church in a farming town says he knows the Second Coming of Jesus will occur in six months.....and the townsfolk better get ready.
Good portrait of a charismatic leader and a 'cult.' 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Nora MurphyTwo professional women, a lawyer and a doctor, find themselves in toxic abusive marriages. Then someone takes action.
Good domestic thriller that addresses a big (probably universal) problem. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Stacy WillinghamIsabelle Drake's baby son was abducted a year ago, and Isabelle is determined to find the perpetrator.
Very good psychological thriller. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
Books mentioned in this topic
The Skull Mantra (other topics)Murder With Chocolate Tea (other topics)
The Left Hand of Darkness (other topics)
The Good Neighbors (other topics)
Listen for the Lie (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Eliot Pattison (other topics)Karen Rose Smith (other topics)
Holly Black (other topics)
Amy Tintera (other topics)
Rachel Hawkins (other topics)
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This book represented my first experience with Wharton, though I've known of her literary reputation for years. It was interesting through these stories to be able to look into the lives of moneyed, privileged Americans who lived from the late 1800s to the early 20th century.