Book Club

[beckyb1012]

---

@CareBears wrote:

I just finished Never Have I ever by Joshilyn Jackson, it was very good. I highly recommend this one!

Next up Keep your Friends Close by Paula Daly. will post when I finish!

---

Never Have I Ever is tied with Daisy Jones And The Six for being my favorite book of all of 2019.  Too hard to choose between the two of them.  Glad you liked it @CareBears 

[BirkiLady]

---

@Catty2 wrote:

Last night I finished The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman. 

Note:  The author is actually a man but he uses his grandmother's name as his pen name.  This is the second book of his that I've read and have enjoyed them both. 

---

Enjoyed your review of The Recipe Box. However found the notation (above) unnecessary and insulting on so many levels. What difference does gender of the author make to the reader? 

[hooked on books]

I think maybe @Catty2 might just be giving all of us an interesting fact about the author. I think it's kind of sweet actually, the author using his grandmother's name as his pen name!! She must have been really special to him!

[alliswell]

I just started "Saturday's Child:  a Daughter's Memoir," by Deborah Burns

“Deborah Burns fearlessly reveals the hidden truths of a compelling and challenging mother-daughter relationship. Vividly written and thoroughly rewarding!”

―Barbara Novack, Writer-in-Residence, Molloy College, and author of Pulitzer Prize–nominated J.W. Valentine

[house_cat]

I read a string of really good books lately.  Three of them were by Phaedra Patrick. Her fourth book is coming out this spring.  If you're familiar with Anne Tyler, Patrick's books are very similar.

And these...

... and my very favorite of all of them was this one...

I don't participate in this forum very often, so I'm sorry if all the books I posted have already been discussed. I'm just impressed that I hit upon such a long string of good ones with no klunkers 👍

[Catty2]

@BirkiLady 

It makes no difference to me at all but I thought it was very sweet that he took her name as a pen name.  And he talks about it at the end of each book. 

[number one queen]

I finished  THE POISON  GARDEN,,by A J  Banner, interesting book, gave it 4 stars. Characters are very flawed, their actions have consequences that are not totally thought out, and result in a bit of unrealistic expectations. 

[SXMGirl]

I just finished A Fair Time For Death, book 2 in An Italian Village Mystery series, by Adriana Licio.  The book was inspired by the annual Chestnut Fair in Trecchina, Italy, which the author had attended in 2018.  

[BirkiLady]

@Catty2  My apologies for the the previous comment. I didn't realize the author talked about using a female name at the end of each book. From reading other poster's comments it is apparently his grandmother's name, which is very sweet.

I do know many types of books do sell better when ghost-written by a specific name (depending upon subject or interest), which I hope changes now that gender should not make any difference and everyone should be treated equally.  

[BirkiLady]

The Valedictorian of Being Dead The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live by Heather B. Armstrong (3 Stars)

Depression has become an increasingly common topic and I picked this book expected to learn more in an attempt to converse with a friend who recently lost her son to suicide. Instead, this is a story of an unhappy female, marriage, depression, divorce and difficulty coping as a single parent. The lethargy is very real, yet she is able to complain of running a race! The thought of entering a race didn't make sense to someone truely depressed for years to me.

The author writes well, however I was not aware she has authored a blog for years and felt left out of jokes and other things she didn't explain well. 

The book would have been fascinating if she had talked about her depression, rather than complaints of her ex-husband and taking her kids to school. She finally found yet another professional who was experimenting with a procedure involving the use of propofol anesthesia to flat line the brain for 15 minutes for a total of ten times. This was expected to "reboot" the brain similar to a computer. This part was an interesting concept and as a result, she wrote a book.

The Queen by Josh Levin (5 Stars)

Amazing research of this true story of Linda Taylor, who was dubbed the "Welfare Queen" by Ronald Reagan every chance he had during his campaign for President and after elected.

Linda Taylor's age and birth place were unknown. She was bi-racial and able to change her appearance with wigs and make-up. She went by numerous aliases, had several husbands, various children, homes, furs, diamonds, and luxury vehicles by drawing Welfare and AFDC checks in astounding ways. The amounts of money she garnered was amazing, but the Illinois HHS, Judges and legal systems looked the other way when she was arrested in shocking ways.

Josh Levin has compiled a thorough book detailing a dispicable woman who took from everyone and every source she could. She also evaded two murder convictions by a life of lies and cons. The book contains 75 pages of Notes at the back which confirm proof and research.

Linda Taylor has vicious, selfish and without morals. But this book brings out the pathetic side of our society and the reader would be remiss if not acutely aware that this kind of behavior continues years later and politicans are currently trying to cut Medicaid and Medicare in an attempt to save costs while the elderly suffer and starving children are ignored. Has anything changed in all these years? Scary thoughts.

Fabulous book.