Book: The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus

 Book: The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus

Author: Emma Knight

Pages: 379

This is my 214th read for they year

What Amazon Says:

Arriving at the University of Edinburgh for her first term,Pen knows her divorced parents back in Canada are hiding something from her.  She believes she'll find the answer here in Scotland, where an old friend of her father's - now a famous wrter known as Lord Lennox - lives.  When she is invited to spend the weekend at Lord Lennox's centuries - old estate with his enveloping, fascinating family, Pen begins to unravel her parents' secret, just as she's falling in love for the first time.  As Pen experiences the sharp shock of adulthood, she comes to rely on herself for the first time in her life.  A rich and rewarding novel of campus life, of sexual awakening, and ultimately, of the many ways women can become mothers in this world, this book asks to what extent we need to look back in order to move forward. 

Stars: 2 

Book: End Of Days: Ruby Ridge The Apocalypse, and the Unmaking of America

 Book: End of Days: Ruby Ridge - The Apocalypse, and the Unmaking of America

Author: Chris Jennings

Pages: 385

This is my 213th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

On August 21, 1992, shots rang out while federal agents were surveilling a cabin in Boundary County, Idaho as part of an operation to arrest Randy Weaver - a reclusive, mountain-dwelling survivalist - for failrue to appear in court on a gun charge.  When Weaver finally surrendered to the authorities 11 days later, his wife, son and dog lay dead, as did the US Marshal.  Ever since, America has been trying to make sense of what happened on Ruby Ridge.  Today, the question could not be more urgent, as the shock waves from Ruby Ridge have amplified and compounded, cracking the very foundations of our democracy.  In this book, Chris Jennigns explains the significances of this historic siege by setting the story of the Weaver family within the long history of apocalyptic Christianity in the US, illuminating the ways in which that faither has gradually transformed the nation.  The strain of doomsday Christianity that gripped the Weavers, he shows, was grounded in a particular reading of biblical prophecy that can be traced back to the 1870s and up through the 20th century rise of Christian fundamentalism to the right-wing conspiracism that now defines American society and politics.  The events at Ruby Ridge acted as an accelerant for this spreading worldview, and are essential to understanding the crisis that our national confronts today.

This was an interesting book.  I didn't know much about this story since I was high school age when it happened.  I also didn't realize that this attact snowballed into David Karesh in Waco, which then lead to Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing.  The book also goes into a deeper dive into Christian Fundamentalism and how it is affrecting our society and politics today.  Good read.

Stars: 4 

Book: The Bonesetter's Daughter

 Book: The Bonesetter's Daughter

Author: Amy Tan

Pages: 400

This is my 212th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Ruth Youngand her widowed mother have always had a difficult relationship.  But when she discovers writings that vividly describe her mother's tumultuous life growing up in China, Ruth discovers a side of LuLing that she never knew existed.  Transported to a backwoods village known as Immortal Heart, Ruth learns of secrets passed along by a mute nursemaid, Precious Auntie; of a cave where dragon bones are mined; of the crumbling ravine known as the End of the World; and of the curse that LuLing believes se released through betrayal.  Within the calligraphied pages awaits the truth about a mother's heart, secrets she cannot tell her daughter, yet hopes she will never forget.

This book was fine.  I read The Joy Luck Club a few years ago, and also thought it was fine, but wanted to try another Amy Tan book.  I found that it drug a bit and did not really find Ruth likable.  The back and forth timelines started to wear on me.  It was an interesting enough story - it just felt like 2 different stories that did not mesh well in the end.

Stars: 3

Book: Between The Strokes of Night

 Book: Between The Strokes of Night

Author: Charles Sheffield

Pages: 352

This is my 211th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

By leaving their home planet after the final nuclear war, a group of young people live to see the spectacular series of scientific advances and human tribulations of the near and far future.

This was an interesting book.  I read it for a book challenge where two authors were reltaed, but in that challenge I found 2 interesting books that I would not have read otherwise.  (his wife was Nancy Kress and the book I read was Beggars in Spain).  Sheffield was a physicist, and it shows in this book.  It was entertaining and well written, but you did have to pay attention.  Glad I read both their books.

Stars: 4 

Book: Separation of Church and Hate

 Book: Separation of Church and Hate

Author: John Fugelsang

Pages: 304

This is the 210th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

For more than 2 centuries, the US Constitution has given us the right to a society where church and state exist independently.  But Christianity has been hijacked by far-right groups and politicians who seek to impose their narrow views on government, often to justify oppressive and unequal policies.  The extremists who weaponize the Bible for early power aren't actually on the side of Jesus - and historically they never have been.  How do we fight back against those acting - literally - in bad faither?  In this informative, perspective-shifting book, Fugelsan takes readers through common fundamentalist arguments on abortion, immigration, LGBTQ rights, and more - exposing their hypocrisy and inaccuracy through scripture, common sense, and deeply inappropriate humor.  It offers practical tips on how to debate your loved one, coworker, or neighbor on the issues that divide us using that Bible they claim to follow.  But Fugelsang's message is about more than just taking down hypocrites.  It's about fighting for the love, mercy, and service that are supposed to make up the heart of Christianity.  It's a rallying cry for compassion and clarity for anyone of any faith who's sick of religion being used as a cloaknig device for hate.

This was a pretty good book.  I felt it was well researched and I even learned a bit.  No one who actually needs to hear these words would read this book, but I am glad I did.  Good book to remind people to stop hiding behind religion to be mean to your fellow man and those you do not agree with.  He does say over and over in the book that it is important to listen.  Something we all need to do more of.

Stars: 4

Book: My Life in Orange

 Book: My Life In Orange

Author: Tim Guest

Pages: 320

This is my 209th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

At the age of 6, Tim Guest was taken by his mother to a commune modeled on the teachings of the notorious Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.  The Bhagwan preached an eclectic doctrine of Eastern mysticism, chaotic therapy, and sexual freedom, and enjoyed inhaling laughing gas, preaching from a dentist's chair, and collecting Rolls Royces.  Tim and his mother were given Sanskrit names, dressed entirely in orange, and encouraged to surrender thermselves into their new family.  While his mother worked tirelessly for the cause, Tim-or Yogesh, as he was not called - lived a life of well meaning but woefully misguided neglact in various communes in England, Oregon, India and Germany.  In 1985 the movement collapsed amid allegations of mass poisonings, attempted murder, and tax evasion, and Yogest was once again Time.  In this extraordinary memoir, Tim Guess chronicles the heartbreaking experience of being left alone on earth while his mother hunted heaven.

This was an interesting book.  Always interested in reading about cults and what draws people in.  He and his mother left the cult when he was 11, but Tim's life continued to be a struggle.  He died in his 30s of a drug overdose.  I read this book because it was part of the Rory Gilmore challenge, but glad I decided to finally tackle it.

Stars: 4

Book: Nickel and Dimed On Not Getting By in America

 Book: Nickel and Dimed On Not Getting By in America

Author: Barbara Ehrenreich

Pages: 256

This is my 208th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Millions of Americans work full time, year round, for poverty-level wages.  In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them.  She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that a job - and job - can be the ticket to a better life.  But how does anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich left her home, took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered.  Moving from Florida to Main to Minnesota, she worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaningwoman, a nursing-home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk.  She lived in trailer parks and crimbling residential motels.  Very quickly, she discovered that no job is truly "unskilled", that even the lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and muscular effort.  She also learned that one job is not enough; you need at least 2 if you intend to live indoors.  This book reveals low-rent America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity - a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate stratagems for survival.  Read it for the smoldering clarity of Ehrenreich's perspective and for a rare view of how "prosperity" looks from the bottom.

This was an interesting book.  It is part of the Rory Gilmore reading challenge, so that is what drew me to it.  It was published in 2001, but of course it is still relevant today.  While the minimum wage and sort of crept up a bit, the cost of living has skyrocketed, so I can imagine how much more a squeeze living day to day would be for a large part of Americans.  The author left her comfortable living to spend some time with people who were trying to get by on minimum wage and who were forced to take even 3 jobs just to keep a roof over their heads.  And not even then was it sometimes possible.  It was eye opening and a good read and I encourage you to check it out.

Stars: 4