The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

 

The Lost Apothecary 

by

Sarah Penner

I chose to listen to The Lost Apothecary on audible for the Halloween season because it sounded spooky.  And it did have murder and magic with in its story.  But the book was not frightening at all.  It is a novel about how everyday women survive in a world where they are often mistreated by men.  There are two time lines in the book.  One is the late 1700s when an apothecary shop caters to women's illnesses.  It also provides poisons for women to rid themselves of abusive men in a time when being abused was often something women had no way out of.  Sometimes the men were fathers.  Sometimes they were brothers.  Sometimes they were husbands.  The second time line is modern day where an amateur historian takes a vacation to clear her head after learning of her husbands affair and stumbles upon the mystery of the long forgotten apothecary.  As a woman and a person who enjoys researching family history this book was right up my ally.  I also have an interest in herbs and plant oils.  So all the elements in the book came together for me.  I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.  When I saw it was a harlequin romance I almost didn't download it.  I had a preconceived connection to harlequin romance and true story magazine from the early 1970s.  After noting it had been on several best seller books I went ahead and selected it.    I am so glad I went ahead and gave this book a try.  I won't consider harlequins trash books any more.  This one was delightful!  Please click on the book title and author's name above for more information and enjoy the short book review in the video that follows.  

The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

 

The Healer's War

by

Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

For my birthday gift this year my brother gave me a kindle book to read.  It took me a while to get to it because I was reading another book at the time but once I got into it I have done little else but read it.  The Healer's War is the story of a nurse in Viet Nam during the Viet Nam conflict.  It is a fiction book but is loosely based on the experiences of several nurses, including the author.  It has a science fiction or fantasy slant to it which makes it a really good October read for Halloween.  But it also gives the reader an understanding of how complicated the conflict was.  I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in fiction books about nursing or military history.  Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to more information.  And watch the video that follows about a real nurse who served in Viet Nam in a field hospital on the orthopedic ward just as Kitty, the main character of the Healer's War, did.  

Wheat Belly by William Davis

 

Wheat Belly 

by

William Davis

This is the book that started the gluten free craze a few years ago.  I have always been curious about it so I decided to listen to it on audio and see for myself what it is all about.  Gluten free diets avoid wheat, rye and barley while Paleo diets avoid grains, dairy and legumes.  There are also the low carb keto diets where people keep their carb micro nutrients to a minimum.  These three approaches have been popular in recent years as ways to manage health.  Many doctors will recommend Paleo as a healthy way to eat.  William Davis, the author of Wheat Belly, is a cardiologist.  And those that follow the low carb way of eating have strong beliefs that it is the healthiest way to eat.  While listening to Wheat Belly I was struck by how this is a very important book for those with Celiac Disease or those who are gluten sensitive to read in order to understand how important it is for them to avoid gluten.  I am not convinced the rest of us should limit our intake of gluten to the degree recommended in the book.  Often when limiting carbohydrates one eats a lot more proteins.  This is very hard on a person's kidneys.  I am concerned about kidney disease as the proponents of these diets age.  As a whole, Americans eat too much protein any way.  In addition there is no doubt that Americans consume way too much wheat. We also consume way too much sugar.  As far as the changes in the wheat crops that allowed us to get a handle on world hunger I recommend reading this PDF on the USDA website.  In my opinion the Wheat Belly book is controversial. I agree that it is wise to limit our portions of all the food groups and after listening to this book will probably select my carbs from rice and potatoes and other starchy vegetables other than wheat when possible.  But eating the occasional noodle isn't going to freak me out.  Clean eating is consuming smaller portions of a balanced diet.  It is always a good idea to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, and fresh protein.  We need all the food groups to get the nutrients we require.  Most of us do need less than what we consume.  If a person chooses to cut out one of the food groups from their diet then I recommend them investigating if adding supplements to replace the nutrients they are not consuming would be a good idea.  In closing I am glad I listened to this book.  It has made me even more aware of the dangers of over doing it with consumption of  grains.   Please click on the book title and authors name above to follow the links to more information and there is one link to follow in the body of this text.  Also enjoy the video that follows.  

Woman As Healer by Jeanne Achterberg

 

Woman As Healer

by

Jeanne Achterberg

Often as I am researching my family history I run across a woman who was a nurse or a midwife.  These women always catch my eye and often are the ones that I choose to write a biographical sketch about.  In order to understand the world in the various time frames these women practiced their healing skills I wanted to read some background information.  Jeanne Achterberg's book Woman as Healer did a perfect job for me of providing some of that back ground.  She writes of the western experience and her book was written in the 1990s so some of her conclusions are dated, but the book covers the history of women in medicine from the earliest times to the late 20th Century.  It is as in-depth as a text book and not everyone will want to dive into this book but it was perfect for my needs.  There is a lack of material on this subject. Especially in the area of pioneer frontier folk medicine from the 18th and 19th century.  Although I will keep looking for more information,  I am sure Jeanne Achterberg's book is one I will return to as a source time and time again.   Please click on the book title and author's name above for more information and enjoy the video that follows.  

People Of The Book by Geraldine Brooks

 

People of The Book

by

Geraldine Brooks

I have not made it through very many books in 2022 but those that I have read have been extremely good.  Today I finished listening to an audio book, People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks.   This is the fourth book by Geraldine Brooks I have enjoyed and she will be an author I will often return to in the future.  People of the Book is a historical novel.  While fiction, it is based on a true story.   The novel is the story a Jewish prayer book that was created in the 1400s.  The story of its creation is woven in with the story of its survival of the Spanish Inquisition in the 1600s,  its survival of centuries of antisemitism including the later 1800s,  its survival during the 1940s and  Nazi Germany, and it's more recent survival of the Bosnian War in the early 1990s.  Each time the book was saved from the book burnings it was saved by a person and the creation of the book originally involved an artist and a scribe.  The people of the book are these people and those around them.  The novel also includes the story of a researcher looking for the stories that the book tells of every where it has been.  The techniques used to find these answers are fascinating.  The answers are teased out within the stories.  This novel is excellent.  It is a mystery story.  It is a historical novel.  It is multiple love stories.  And it is a book that teaches about historical research.  I highly recommend it.  Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow links to more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.  

The Book Of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

 

The Book of Lost Friends

by

Lisa Wingate

“They say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name on Earth for the last time.”  ~ Bansky 

A few years ago I listened to a book by Lisa Wingate on audible titled Before We Were Yours and I really enjoyed it.  So when my sister in law told me about this new title by the same author I knew I would enjoy it and The Book of Lost Friends did not disappoint.   It takes place in two time frames roughly a hundred years apart.  The late 1800s story involves a freed slave girl searching for her family while the late 1900s storyline involves a teacher who engages her troubled students in a local history project.  Wingate weaves the two time frames together in a delightful novel that not only kept me on my toes but left me with a happy lump in my throat when it arrived at its finish.  Inspired by a reader who shared with her a project of the Historic New Orleans Society,  Wingate takes historical newspaper ads and stitches them together throughout the novel.   The novel is fiction and only inspired by historical fact.  It is not historically accurate though out as the author takes liberties while writing the book.  I also did not find it entirely realistic.  But it is a great book that I enjoyed a great deal.  It will be one of my favorite books for 2022 and I highly recommend others to enjoy it.  Please click on the links above to find more detailed information and enjoy the video that follows.  It is about a project similar to the one in New Orleans but taking place in Pennsylvania.  

The Mapmaker's Children by Sarah McCoy

 

The Mapmaker's Children

by

Sarah McCoy

Occasionally a book comes onto my radar that I immediately know will be a favorite.  I know I will be listening to it while I take a walk and while I dust, peel potatoes, weed the flower beds or sew.  Most of the time I listen to audio books when I drive and have no issue waiting till the next car errand to hear the next few minutes of a novel.  But this book by Sarah McCoy was one that I invented tasks to do so that I could listen a few more minutes.  She has created a book that will stay with me in "The Mapmaker's Children".  The book swings between 2014 and the 1860s.  One of the main characters is John Brown's daughter Sarah.  Her story starts just before John is hung for his part in the revolt at Harper's Ferry.  While the historical figure of  John Brown is a familiar one,  I never considered what might have become of his wife and children.   In the novel, his daughter Sarah, continues her work as an abolitionist by continuing to draw picture maps to direct slaves toward freedom.  As time goes on, the book has her incorporating those coded maps onto doll heads.  The part of the novel that takes place in 2014 rediscovers the story from a doll head found in the root cellar of a house that a couple buys in a town near Harper's Ferry.  I highly recommend this book to those who, like me, love a good historical novel.  Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow links to more information.  And enjoy the words of John Brown in the video below as Orson Wells reads John Brown's final speech.  

The Vine Witch by Luanne G Smith

 

The Vine Witch 

By

Luanne G Smith

On Friday 6/24/2022  I was down in the dumps about the current events of the day.  I spent the afternoon in the flower gardens and that helped.  But I was still moping around.  I had seen the demise of Roe vs Wade coming since 11/2016,  but still was sad when it happened.  Normally I read either historical novels or non fiction.  The books I choose are often pretty heady.  But I decided, because of my mood,  a fluff book was in order.  I had a copy of The Vine Witch on my kindle.  I had obtained it free from Amazon.   It look like the perfect escape book so I began reading it.  The book fit my need perfectly!  It is a fairy tale in adult length and an easy read.  I lost myself in it for three days and was glad for a trip into fantasy.  It is a story about a witch who uses magic to care for wine vineyards in 19th Century France.  It is a love story and a bit of a mystery.  If you need to escape a bit I highly recommend this book!  Please click on the book title and author's name above and enjoy the video that follows. 

Waverley by Sir Walter Scott

 

Waverley 

by

Sir Walter Scott

Last month as I started my vacation to Scotland, I downloaded an audio book that was a classic Scottish novel named Waverley by Sir Walter Scott.  I didn't get much of it listened to while I was gone but I have been enjoying it since I have arrived back home.  It is a long audio book lasting longer than 17 hours.  The first one fourth to one third of the book drags and it was hard to keep going.  There is much detail back ground work being laid in the beginning of the book.  But the last three quarters of the book is delightful.  I was sorry to have it end.  The story will stay with. me a long time.  It was written in the early 1800s so has some complicated language and some old fashioned ideas.  For example,  the woman who is explained to be the best candidate for a bride is not the  woman who was not only beautiful but also intelligent.  Instead it was  the one who although pretty enough,  wasn't very bright but was good hearted.   Over all though it was a very good book and one of the first historical novels ever written.  Sir Walter Scott did a great job writing it and it deserves its status of a classic.  The main character of the book is named Waverley and is a British soldier who is sent to Scotland.  He falls in love with a Scottish girl and defects to the Jacobite cause.  He has a lot of adventures but most everyone has a happy ending as Waverly is pardoned and marries the love of his life.  Unfortunately the man who becomes Waverley's best friend in Scotland is executed and this friend's  beautiful and bright sister ends up in a convent in France.  Be sure to click on the book title and author's name above to follow links to more information and enjoy the video that follows. 

The Quarry Wood by Nan Shepherd

 

The Quarry Wood

by

Nan Shepherd

In preparation for my vacation to Scotland one of the books I put on my kindle was The Quarry Wood by Nan Shepherd.  I started reading it and found it quite a challenge due to the dialog.  I would pick it up and read and bit and then put it down for weeks before I tried again. This past Sunday when I was flying home from Scotland I completed the novel.  It was worth the struggle.  A classic and a coming of age story, it is a snap shop of life in rural Scotland in the early 1900s.  For someone who is struggling to understand Scotland and its history this book should be on their reading list.  Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.  

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

 

Kidnapped 

by

Robert Louis Stevenson

In preparation for my upcoming trip to Scotland I wanted to expose myself to some classic Scottish literature.  An obvious choice was Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped.  I listed to it on audio and the narrator did a marvelous job.  Although it is considered a children's book  it would be for upper elementary or middle school aged kids and this grandma loved it!  The book is exciting and in the manner typical of literature  from the 1800s it weaves in good choices and the higher ground when it comes to morals throughout.  I am surprised I have reached my mid 60s without having experienced this book and I highly recommend it to people of all ages.  It is an excellent book.  If you click on the book title above it will take you to a free online version.  And if you click on the author's name it will take you to a biography about him.  The video below is a preview of the Masterpiece Theater 2005 recreation.  There have been several movies made of the story over the years.  This short novel is great fun and I highly recommend it.  It would be a good one to read aloud to one's kids one chapter at a time at bedtime when they are grade school age.  If you do not experience this story, either by reading it or watching one of the movies,  you are missing out.  

The Memory Of Music by Olive Collins

 

The Memory Of Music

by

Olive Collins

This afternoon I finished listening to Olive Collins' third book (for me) although it was the first  one she wrote.  Titled The Memory Of Music, it is about a family who lives in Dublin during the unrest of the the 1916 uprising and the 1922 civil war.  Men who fought together in 1916 found themselves on opposite sides in 1922.  Comrades became enemies.  The author does an excellent job of portraying how the political atmosphere at the time divided families and friends.  Another theme of the book is how war and violence breaks families for generations.  Women are at the heart of the book which is like a mystery as it is necessary to figure out several murders and deaths.  There is romance at the center of the story with deceit and betrayal.  This book held my interest and I enjoyed it.  In fact I recommend all three of this author's books.  Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to more information and enjoy the videos that follow.  

All That She Carried by Tiya Miles

 

All That She Carried 

by

Tiya Miles

Tiya Miles has written a master piece.  Her new book, "All That She Carried", is one you won't want to miss.  It is the non fiction story of a family heirloom that was handed down for a few generations, lost,  found in a flea market in a bag of rags, and now is on display at the Smithsonian Institute.  A cotton seed sack.  Here is a picture of the sack. 

When I read the words embroidered on the sack the hair stands up on my arms.  The words  "It be filled with my Love" brings tears to the eyes.  In fact the author explains the museum has a staff member stand near the display area of Ashley's sack with a box of Kleenex because it strongly affects so many people.  After reading this book, I have a whole new perspective on textile arts that women have historically created.  After reading this book, I will never look at a pecan in quite in the same way again.  In fact, this book is one of those books that profoundly changes a person's perspective.  Instead of trying to recapture what the author has written I am going to share two videos of the author for you to enjoy.  Please watch them.  And please follow the links by clicking on the book title and author's name above.  There is also one link imbedded into the text above to click on and follow for more information.  Most of all,  read the book.  If you don't, you are missing out.  

 

The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman

 

The Orphan Collector

by

Ellen Marie Wiseman

One of my Christmas gifts was a kindle edition of The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman.  I whizzed through it during my vacation.  It is one of those stories that holds a person's attention.  It is about the 1918 flu in Philadelphia which is, of course, very timely with today's issues.  It is the story of a young girl and how it affected her and her family.  She loses both parents and then loses track of her infant twin brothers when she comes down with the flu herself.  Although she survives the virus, she ends up in an orphanage and then the remainder of the book is spent with her looking for her brothers.  I was almost ashamed of myself for liking the book so much because it is filled with so much tragedy.  But it is a really good book and I highly recommend it.  The novel is fiction and would make a great book group selection.   Please click on the book title and author above to follow links to more information and enjoy the video that follows. 

My Ten Best Reads of 2021

 

My Ten Best Reads Of 2021

My reading list was very short this year.  I only read 15 books.  But here are my favorite ten of those that I got through.  I need to read more in 2022! I did finish a book on 1/1/22 so I could not include it in this list although it will certainly make next years top ten.  I also find that instead of listening to audio books as much, I tend to listen to podcasts because my commute is shorter than it used to be. My bedtime reading on my kindle has decreased with hubs working less overtime as I am awake when he gets home.   Click on the titles to follow the link to the blog book review I wrote on each title. 

#10  The Town by Conrad Richter

#9 Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keith 

#8 The High Girders by John Prebble

#7 The Tide Between Us by Olive Collins

#6 Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar 

#5 The President's Kitchen Cabinet by Adrian Miller

#4 The Woman's Hour by Elaine Wiess 

#3 The Weaver's Legacy by Olive Collins 

#2 Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Bobbitt

#1 The Weight Of Ink by Rachel Kadish