2024 Reads and Reviews - Anything Goes

[Koren]

Island Practice: Cobblestone Rash, Underground Tom, and Other Adventures of a Nantucket Doctor by Pam Belluck
3 stars


The story of a small-town doctor on Nantucket Island. When you are one of only a few doctors in an area you get to be a jack-of-all-trades. It is refreshing to read about a doctor that is more concerned about his patients than how much money he can make and stands up for his patients. I do think when someone writes a memoir, they should include at least one picture of the person they are writing about. I did find a picture of Dr. Lepore by searching, but this book was written in 2012, when google wouldn't have been as big of a thing as it is now.

[Book Concierge]

Koren wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: "

Enough
– Cassidy Hutchinson – 4****
Cassidy Hutchinson was an idealistic young woman fresh out of college when she landed a job in the Trump ..."

A lot of her personal background is in the book which was never a focus of any of her interviews or her testimony before the congressional committee.

[Book Concierge]

Dragon Pearl – Yoon Ha Lee – 3***
First book in the Thousand Worlds series. This space opera is a quest, an adventure, and a coming-of-age story. I was intrigued by the world the author has created, melding traditional Korean folk tales / mythology with a futuristic space odyssey plot. Thirteen-year-old Min is determined, resourceful and intelligent, but she is young and makes several mistakes.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Ellie And the Harp Maker – Hazel Prior – 4****
I really enjoyed this modern-day fable. I loved seeing how Ellie and Dan grew emotionally throughout the book. I loved spending time with these characters in the English moors. There are several bumps in the road here, but I was with them all along and Prior gave the reader a perfect heart-warming ending.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Got to fit in a Christmas read ...


A Snow Country Christmas – Linda Lael Miller – 3***
A typical cowboy Christmas romance. The tropes are all here, but who cares. Love the snowy setting, the Christmas cheer, the uber wealthy Branson who has managed to get unique and spectacularly appropriate gifts for virtually everyone, and the fiercely independent Raine who is ready to succumb to “Mr Hollywood.”
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Artificial Condition – Martha Wells – 3***
Book two in the Murderbot series. Science fiction is not really my jam, but I am enjoying this series. It feels fresh and inventive, and I’m surprised by how much I connect with Muderbot and ART – two non-human characters that fully support this story.
LINK to my full review

[Fishface]

MURDER By SUICIDE: A reporter unravels a true case of rape, betrayal and lies, by Larry Welborn

5 stars!

A gripping read about a frustrating cold case and the author's role in uncovering the truth. I could hardly put it down. Highly recommended!

[Book Concierge]

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee – 5***** and a ❤
A singularly powerful novel that had a great impact on me when I first read it at age 13 and has never failed to move and inspire me as I’ve re-read it over the years. It has touched generations of readers in the 60-something years since it was first released and remains high on many “must be read” lists. I think the major theme of the novel is personal integrity and courage – doing what you know is right when all about you seemingly disagree and even when it may be dangerous to do so, being true to your own moral compass, and instilling those values in your children by example not just words.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Jacqueline In Paris – Ann Mah – 3.5***
This is historical fiction that gives the readers a glimpse into the life of a young Jacqueline Bouvier, spending a year as a student in Paris shortly after the end of WW2. Mah did extensive research, and while most of Jackie O’s private papers have remained private, many of the people she came in contact with have made their remembrances available. What we see is a young woman just beginning to spread her wings and try independence from family.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Frontier Christmas – Ana Leigh, Carolyn Davidson & Kate Bridges – 3***
There are three novellas in this collection of Christmas stories set in the latter part of the 19th century: Ana Leigh’s The Mackenzies: Lily, A Time for Angels by Carolyn Davidson, and Kate Bridges’ The Long Journey Home. They are all predictable historical holiday romances, and suitably entertaining.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Hark! The Herald Angel Falls – Tricia Goyer – 3***
This is number 31 in the Sugarcreek Amish Mystery series (I think), but the first one of the group that I’ve read. It is a charming cozy mystery featuring an Englischer woman, and her Amish mother-in-law as the amateur sleuths. I like how the women go about gathering information and deliberating about possibilities. I figured out the perpetrator as soon as the character was introduced, but still enjoyed watching how the women (and law enforcement) came to the same conclusion.
LINK to my full review

[Fishface]

The Sewing Girl's Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America, by John Wood Sweet

4 stars!

This is one of those true stories that reads like a novel. The author, a historian by trade, takes on one of the earliest rape cases taken to court in the United States. This happened when George Washington was still in the White House. Alexander Hamilton was one of the attorneys on the case and the accused was a scion of the Bedlow family, who owned -- among many other properties -- Bedlow's Island, which is now called Liberty Island because that's where the Stature of Liberty stands. The author did an incredible job of reconstructing the world where this happened, in a New York City that had a population of only 40,000 and almost everyone there was personally involved in, or knew someone who was personally involved in, the American Revolution. The legal case is equally fascinating. Don't miss this one.