Hello there, and welcome to my book blog! I hope to become your regular book blog rest stop. I am a 40 (cough, cough) something bibliophile and busy mother of 2 girls, but somehow manage to find time to read!
I received this ARC last summer from Simon and Schuster Canada... whom I LOVE! Thank you, S & S, for sending me this fantastic book!
Alright, so I think I may have given away this review before actually writing it, as I did really love this one.
The story takes place in early 20th century, on a little plot of land with a lighthouse. It kind of reminds me of a Jodi Picoult type story line, with plenty of room for opinion!
Here is the blurb from Simon and Schuster:
After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.
Stedman has crafted a stunning tale that will be great fodder for any book club as it is rife with moral dilemma. You will find yourself cheering alternately as the story unfolds, perhaps even surprising yourself as to which "side" you may land on! She writes a very believable story that follows the correct social etiquette of the time, sometimes missing in other novels set in the same time period. I personally love reading books about solitary life, as I yearn for the life of a light keeper, or a park ranger, or a hairy hippy who rejects modern life for a log cabin deep in the woods. Sigh. I know I would probably go nutty after a few weeks, but on the busy days heavy with the loud buzzing of technology that is the backdrop of our lives these days, I really wish for the quite life that a day in 1900 looking after The Light would bring. I highly recommend The Light Between Oceans! RATING: 4.5/5
Flavia continues in this novel and here is the blurb:
Eleven-year-old amateur detective and ardent chemist Flavia de Luce is used to digging up clues, whether they’re found among the potions in her laboratory or between the pages of her insufferable sisters’ diaries. What she isnotaccustomed to is digging up bodies. Upon the five-hundredth anniversary of St. Tancred’s death, the English hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey is busily preparing to open its patron saint’s tomb. Nobody is more excited to peek inside the crypt than Flavia, yet what she finds will halt the proceedings dead in their tracks: the body of Mr. Collicutt, the church organist, his face grotesquely and inexplicably masked. Who held a vendetta against Mr. Collicutt, and why would they hide him in such a sacred resting place? The irrepressible Flavia decides to find out. And what she unearths will prove there’s never such thing as an open-and-shut case. I can't wait to read it! Have a wonderful day!
Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion
Library loaner
I actually read this a couple of months ago and loved it! I am fascinated by the world of Scientology and how bizarre it is. Janet Reitman is a journalist and has spent time in Iraq and other war torn areas.
The first section of the book, for me, was the most interesting because I had already heard all of the usual stuff about the "church" like the alien thing, the thetan thing, the billion year contract, etc. The first chapter was all about the history of L. Ron Hubbard. Let me tell you, once you read his back story, you will never EVER be able to look at Scientology the same again. The guy was a top rate wanna be star, who was also a compulsive liar about his life story. Or maybe you could call him a con artist. Either way, his rise to fame is very engrossing, and you can see how systematically he built his empire and how he hooked his followers. How anyone STILL manages to get recruited by the "church" is beyond me.
A few years out of curiosity I went into the only Western Canadian church in Edmonton. Basically it was in a grungy industrial area, and the front of the church looked like a parts shop. But when you enter, the first thing you see is a front lobby, kind of, full of books for sale about the "church" and a desk on one side. Also, in the lobby is a HUGE floor to ceiling portrait of John Travolta and his wife, and beside that a massive bust of Hubbard.
I was immediately greeted by a lady in her 50's, and told her I was curious what Scientology was all about. So she gave me a tour. I had my 2 year old with me, and so she tagged along. We walked down a long hallway and came into the room where they have their church services. It looked kind of like any other church in a building, chairs in a semi circle, and at the front was a podium and behind that on the wall was a large "cross", you know the Scientology symbol thing? And on the left hand side, big shocker, another massive bust of Hubbard. And on the wall at the back a huge painting portrait of the fearless leader. She told me the church services were on Sundays, and I asked if I could bring my daughter, and she looked almost shocked and said, "Oh no. We have daycare for the children." And my immediate thought was, why are children not allowed to the services? What are they talking about and preaching in this creepy place??
We then went back to the front of the building where she explained about the lectures and how when people take courses they listen to audio recordings in these little booths. She said that all recordings that people listen to MUST BE ORIGINAL recordings of L. Ron himself teaching. One of the first rules of a cult is that ALL information must come directly from the leader himself, this is how he keeps absolute control of his followers. So my second alarm bell went off. (the first being the children not being allowed). She then explained auditing to me and hooked me up to the e-reader. I held these two metal cylinders, one in each hand, and there was an indicator there that moved depending on how stressed I felt. Can anyone say "bio feedback machine"? But whatever, it is an E-READER apparently. She asked me my name, and where I lived, and the needle barely moved. Then she firmly pinched the back of my hand. The needle moved quite bit. Then without touching me she asked me to recall exactly what the pinch felt like, "Recall the pinch" she said. And if you watch any footage of an auditor working, they say the exact same thing. And the needle moved the same, quite a bit! Which was pretty cool. Then she asked me to recall the pinch again, and it moved a little less. She asked me about 5 times to recall the pinch until the needle did not move at all. So basically this is what they do with all of your traumatic or intensely emotional memories. You go over the event again and again until you have no reaction whatsoever. Hello... BRAIN WASHING!
She then proceeded to try to sell me auditing sessions at $1200 a piece, she said I would need about 6 of them. This was in 2000. And then she tried to sell me a bunch of books.
So, I can say, that it is not really so much a religion as it is a BUSINESS. And this is what this book essentially says over and over.
She managed to get interviews with your usual suspects such as Marty Rathbun and Mike Rinder, who at one time were extremely high ranking Scientologists and Mike Rinder was in two separate documentaries by a BBC journalist. The first one, he was part of the team that was following the journalist around and being quite horrible. And by the time the second documentary rolled around, he had left the church and was spilling all of its secrets, as well as shedding light on some of the behaviour of he and Tommy Davis during the original documentary. FASCINATING!
It is an amazing look into this bizarre world, and very frustrating to imagine the power that this small group has, and how celebrities who are seemingly intelligent are involved hook line and sinker.
A MUST READ for anyone interested in the inner workings of Scientology.
RATING: 4/5
Here is a link to the ENTIRE second BBC documentary, which is awesome, because it shows footage from the earlier one with Mike Rinder and then interviews with him after he leaves the church and can shed light on some of the weird stuff that went on during the making of the first one.
Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander M.D.
Kindle edition
I originally heard of this book when I saw an interview with Dr. Alexander on 20/20 a month or two ago. (Se below for segment) I PVR'd it so I could show my family, and they were equally blown away with what they heard. First of all, the fact that this guy is a neurosurgeon almost immediately makes you want to believe him. Rooted in science, he is forced to his knees by a bizarre meningitis infection that leaves him in a coma for 7 days. What followed was a proverbial trip down the rabbit hole.
What I loved about this book is that it was written within the experience he was having AND cutting to stuff that was happening in the hospital with the people around him at the same time. This became important later when as people were praying for him or mediums were attempting to contact him, there seemed to be a definite affect within the "spirit world" at these times. The only thing that got on my nerves slightly, was the way he very intentionally ended chapters, with a "cliff hanger" of sorts. This technique is awesome when it works, but when it is done over and over again through out a book, it becomes predictable and tiresome.
His description, however, of the various stages of "heaven" or the Earth Worm's Eye View and The Core, as he calls them, resembles other claims of near death tales. But it was his initial journey that had me going, "WOW. This sounds familiar, yet I have never ever heard anyone describe this before!" It was weird. But in a cool way. Like that he actually was describing a "place" that we have all been, and will return, and that is why it was so familiar to me in a very hard-to-explain kind of way.
All in all, a good solid read, definitely a conversation and/or debate starter. Dr. Alexander was not a man of faith before his coma, but his proclamations after he woke up are very powerful, and considering the man is a surgeon who is still working, it's not like he needs the money from the sales of his book. Or at least, I don't think he does, but who knows!
It's a fast read, which will have you, at the very least, say, "Hmm."
At first when I heard about this book on Oprah's book club I thought, "Meh." But then I ordered the sample (LOVE THIS FEATURE) on my kindle and found myself immediately drawn in.
Cheryl's journey both physical and emotional is a powerful and relatable one. The death of her mother catapulted her into a reckless lifestyle that had she not found the Pacific Crest Trail, she may have ended up in jail, or dead.
Strayed is an incredibly talented writer who is able to paint vivid pictures with her words. Her pain is palpable, and the day-to-day details of her trek is fascinating! I would have never ever in a million years thought of taking a trip like hers, but I found myself going, "Yeah, yeah, YEAH!" in agreement and googling and bookmarking every website and book on the PCT and long distance hiking, despite me having bad shoulders and various other "old lady" ailments that would make a trip like that problematic.
This book was hard to put down, and I was sad to see it end, and it left me wanting to read other books of similar tales.
With the recent theatrical re-release of Titanic, there was a new surge in Titanic books being re-released as well. And if not re-released, at the very least being brought from the back nether regions of the book store to the front shelves at the entrance. This is where I saw this book by Walter Lord. With a bit of research, it turns out that this is the "go to" book for Titanic enthusiasts, that retells the sinking in an extremely exciting novel format, and forgoes much of the science based details of the sinking that some books focus on.
Walter Lord's book was published in 1955, and is one of the most thrilled page turners you will ever read, that is, if you are a Titanic fan. After interviewing many survivors of the disaster, and culling through the pages and pages of testimonials, Lord strings together these memories into a thrilling tale of suspense, heroism, and tragedy. After I finished reading it, I wanted more. I went on a Titanic frenzy!
Reaching the 100 anniversary of the sinking was a sad day. I can't help but think about those that were trapped inside the unsinkable ship, and those that were on the stern when she went down. The stories of husbands and fathers saying goodbye to their loved ones, and watching from the ship as the life boats sailed away, knowing they were probably not going to survive, is heart wrenching to read.
There were also stories I had never heard of before, for example the chef Charles Joughin, who started drinking when the sinking started, and basically got stinking drunk. Whether it was his blood alcohol level, or some other unknown factor, Joughin managed to miraculously survive swimming in the freezing Altantic, while other perished. You can read more about Joughin's incredible story here.
What was great about reading this book, was that James Cameron had used many of the accounts in Lord's book in the making of his block buster film, Titanic, and being a HUGE fan of the film, it was fascinating to learn more of the back story of some of the survivors and victims depicted in the film.
All in all, a GREAT read, and the best Titanic book I have read thus far, though I haven't read many, truth be told.
First off I wanted to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Christine Choe over at Henry Holt and Company Publishers for sending me a copy of this book!
The first thing I wanted to say is that I really enjoyed reading this novel. I am a huge sucker for all things Tudor and I love that Wolf Hall has been continued with Bring Up the Bodies with the story through Thomas Cromwell's eyes is brilliant.
Mantel's writing style is unique, and not an easy grasp, in my opinion, but once I got the gist of it I rather liked her way around the words. Now, I remember in Wolf Hall I was so confused by her use of the word "he" that I often times had no clue who was speaking, and it drove me nuts. I didn't get, at the time, that the book was written solely from Cromwell's view. So, when I was offered an ARC of the next book, I said "yes" and for some reason really grasped the concept well this time around.
I personally loved it when she would use "he, Cromwell, says" or at the end of a sentence by Cromwell, "he said: he, Cromwell." I don't know why, exactly, but it endeared the hell out of me. As does Cromwell himself. LOVE him. Now that doesn't mean he is not self serving, I mean, let's face it, he has a pretty cushy life as the right-hand-man of the king. But that does not mean he is without scruples. And Mantel sprinkles examples of his scruples throughout, which make me like him more and more. I now want to go back and finish Wolf Hall with this new appreciation for the point of view, and enjoy the relationship between himself and Wolsey, which as I remember had quite a humorous way about the two of them in the first book.
So, back to Bring Up the Bodies. This book brings us to the point in Tudor history where Anne Boleyn is no longer in Henry's good books. She has failed to produce an heir, and as it turns out is schtooping every able body in the county. She is not liked by many, and her cunning and calculated ways are a strain on everyone who is near her. Meanwhile, demure and tiny Jane Seymour is quietly making a place for herself in history, and when Henry finally has had enough... well, we all know what happens next.
In the telling of the story from Cromwell's point of view, we see the delicate politics that he faced in this time in Henry's court. In order to carry out the king's wishes, Cromwell will have to ally with some of his enemies. How will he handle himself in these instances? To what lengths will he go to pay for Anne's head?
A beautifully told version of a much told tale and a must read book for any fans of the Henry VIIIth era.
This book is also available in audio format by Macmillan Audio and the reading is done by the very talented Simon Vance.
And here is a video with Hilary Mantel about the book.
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