Reviews

Mrs. Octavia Darcy and her husband Captain Darcy were living in India when the Captain took ill and left Octavia widowed. Nearly penniless because of the entailment on her late husband’s property in England, Octavia returns to London to live with her half sister and family. It is not a pleasant situation. None of Octavia’s half brothers and sisters have ever been the least bit kind to her. Nor did they ever forgive their father for marrying a nobody half his age, a woman who died while giving birth to Octavia.

Sara Lapp, known in the Amish community as Spinster Sara and shunned because she studied to be a midwife, thinks she has been summoned to assist her best friend Abby during birth. But when Sara arrives, Abby is dead. Abby’s husband, “mad” Adam Zuckerman, tells Sara she must take the children and leave but she refuses. Obviously, the death of his wife has not changed his usual manner; ill-tempered, cold and totally indifferent to everyone’s feelings including those of his children.

During this time of year when the leaves start to turn and the wind gets a chill, it makes you want to curl up in bed and read a good book. Halloween is this weekend, and readers are always looking for horror tales to thrill and chill them.

After reading many news stories through the years about Ted Kennedy and his family, I looked forward to the release of his memoir. In the media, Ted Kennedy was often portrayed as a stereotypical, hard-drinking, womanizing politician. His father was portrayed as a philanderer, a power-hungry man who pushed his sons into politics and who was willing to play dirty in business and politics.

Bess Crawford, battlefield nurse, is witness to the devastating casualties of WWI, and her dedication and compassion for the wounded and dying in her care prompt her to agree to the deathbed request of one patient she has grown particularly fond of, Arthur Graham. She is then duty-bound to personally deliver his cryptic message—“Tell Jonathan I lied. I did it for Mother’s sake.

This very “readable” biography should be a must-read for all biology and medical students. HeLa cells, taken from Henrietta Lacks when she was in treatment for cervical cancer in 1951, are still alive and have been used in developing the polio vaccine, in vitro fertilization, cloning, gene mapping and much more.

First, let me apologize to those readers who are on the waiting list for Half the Sky. While certainly compelling, it is not a quick read, and I took more than my fair check out period. As a conscientious borrower, let my overdue status serve as a testament to the weight of this book.

In the Time of the Butterflies was recommended to me by several of my Latino patrons.

I stumbled upon this essay by Jonathan Acuff on CNN.com one day, which lead me to his blog, which lead me to his book Stuff Christians Like. I’m not a Christian, so why did I like this book so much?

After reading (listening)  to the biographical book Infidel by Ali Hirsi Ayaan, I have a new female hero in my life.  Ayaan went through so much in the name of religion. Many women and men would never have survived let alone excelled in life.