Book of the Month: February

My best book for this month is Tom Savage's Valentine. While it was published in 1996 I recently found out about it from searching for a selection for the Calendar of Crime Challenge. It is so good that I rated it 10 out of 5 stars. The story was suspenseful but the ending was shocking. I never expected what happened and cannot believe Savage came up with the idea for the ending. If you haven't read it I recommend you check it out. It is unbelievably good.

The theme of Valentine is revenge. While in school, several girls play a nasty practical joke on a fellow student on Valentine's Day. He spends his life churning his anger over the "joke" and eventually gets even. All of the girls who ridiculed him died in accidents except for Jillian. Jillian begins receiving notes from a secret admirer who always signs his name as Valentine. While the ending seems to be predictable, it's not. 

You must check this book out. You won't be disappointed.

Book Cover of the Month: February

I love the cover of Fern Michaels 19 Yellow Moon Road. I chose it as my book cover of the month for it's color scheme. The bright yellow, pink and teal colors are what made me select the book for the Color Coded Reading Challenge. While I was familiar with the author and had a good impression of her writing, I had not read anything by her in years.  I am glad this cover was enticing because the story was outstanding. Michaels is back on my radar and while I wait for her next novel I am going to read her 2020 book Bitter Pill. In this case, it was right to judge a book by it's cover.

Billionaires

Billionaires is Darryl Cunningham's 2021 graphic novel. It is a biography of three of the world's current billionaires, Rupert Murdock, Jeff Bezos and the Koch Brothers. Billionnaire Robert Maxwell plays heavily in Rupert Murdock's story. At 244 pages, each of the billionaires receives about 90 pages of space in the book. Cunningham begins each biography with the birth and childhood of the person. They continue until their death or their current state of affairs. Each of them was driven to succeed by destroying every competitor they had. The key word here is destroy. They were not content to push the competition out of business but rather destroy the owners themselves. All of them had instincts that drove their businesses far above their competitors and created new ways of doing business that other companies have followed.  

While I had previously read alot about each of these men, when I looked at them as a group I saw similarities that I had not seen before. The last four pages of the book discussed the economic and societal problems that stem from the actions of these billionaires. It did sound a little sanctimonious even though I agree with the author's conclusions. However, I cannot think of any way that Cunningham could have said it differently. He addresses the effects they had on American policy making and political campaigning.While each of these men used a philosophy of small government and low oversight over corporations to build their empires, what society has received is the exact opposite. We have alot of government oversight of American businesses. How did this happen? These men used political power to stop any competition. This can only happen if government oversees the affairs of all of the other companies. 

The political power these men held influenced world affairs in a negative way. The founder of the Koch dynasty supported Nazi Germany with its oil refineries. Murdock's love of gossipy newspapers and his media mergers is what gave us opinionated news anchors. In my opinion he gets the bad rap for creating Fox News. Bezos' predatory acquisitions brought us his vision of The Everything Store. No one seems to be able to succeed in selling any products because Bezos will just start selling the product cheaper, putting other companies out of business. 

Billionaires is an insightful graphic novel that gives the reader all the knowledge they need about the lives of these three men. The author has successfully told their stories but in a funny way. There are alot of laughs throughout the book and I can confidently rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

Putin's Russia

Darryl Cunningham's latest graphic novel is Putin's Russia: The Rise of a Dictator. It was published on February 15, 2022 and is a biography of the Russian dictator. As publisher Drawn & Quarterly said recently, it is unfortunate that this comic arrived at this point in time. With Russian troops now in eastern Ukraine, it could not be more timely. News articles state that World War III is right around the corner. I do not understand why WWIII is a possibility but when you read about Putin's rise in Russia you see what he is capable of. 

In this biography of Vladimir Putin we see the development of a schoolyard bully in Soviet era Leningrad into a KGB officer, then on to a corrupt commodities trader and continuing on to being the president of Russia. The reader is shown the brutality that Putin has waged against his detractors as well as his lawless financial dealings. What I gleaned from the book is that everything Putin does politically enhances his personal finances. Taking that idea further, I imagine that Putin will make billions off of Ukraine. Money is the only thing he is interested in. Yes, there are advantages to Russia for invading Ukraine. It has oil and plentiful wheat fields that Russia could benefit from. However, when you see the totality of Putin's life you see that every political decision he makes only makes him richer. 

Putin was lucky is obtaining jobs that brought him more and more power. He was able to join the KGB in which membership is by invitation only. When returning from an assignment in East Germany he somehow found jobs that allowed him to take advantage of the post-Soviet chaos. By becoming affiliated with Boris Yeltsin, Putin was able to become president of Russia. Someone obviously helped him rise to power but the author does not tell us who that person is. Most likely no one knows this information other than Putin himself. Anyone with knowledge about Putin's past ends up dead and by controlling the media, he is able to create his own biography. 

This is an eye opening picture of the Russian dictator. Personally, I like to refer to him as Czar Putin. Highly recommended. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Widow Clicquot

The Widow Clicquot is a biography of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot. After the death of her husband she became driven to succeed as a champagne vintner and created the Veuve Clicquot brand. Veuve means widow in French. Nicole was called Veuve Clicquot by her contemporaries and that is how the brand got its name. I think it is the best champagne in the world.

The book begins in 1789 Reims with an eleven year old Nicole. When the French Revolution arrived in Reims, Nicole had to leave the royal school she attended and be disguised as a peasant in order to safely return to her home. Soon thereafter, her family was discussing possible matches for a marriage. Nicole was lucky to catch the dashing François Clicquot. François was from a wealthy textile family. He, however, preferred to dabble in the production of wine than working in the textile business. François died early in the marriage. A business competitor, Jean-Remy Moet, told everyone who would listen that François killed himself because his business was failing. However, Nicole vowed to make something from her husband's vines. Moet, though, continued to lie about Nicole to keep her business from growing. He wanted her out of business so that he could buy her land. 

During this era sparkling wine was rare. It was not yet called champagne. It was vin mousseux. I was surprised to read that there were several successful women in the wine business during the 18th century. I always thought Nicole was a trailblazing anomaly but she wasn't. These other women were not from the bourgeois class and had more freedom to become entrepreneurs than Nicole had.

Most of the book discusses the problems Nicole had in building her company. She had to deal with the internal politics of France as well as Russian politics. Russia was where she could sell alot of wine, if she could get her bottles over there. Moet again was a trouble maker. He frequently thwarted her plans to have her bottles put on ships that were headed towards her market in St. Petersburg. It kind of makes me want to ban Moet champagne in my household so I can be in solidarity with Nicole. She is definitely seen as a heroine in the book, almost like a character would be in a fiction book. 

The Widow Clicquot tells an inspirational story that anyone can prosper if they don't give up. It took Nicole a lifetime to reach her goal. I think today people would give up after a few years of poor sales but our heroine had a vision that she could not ignore.

4 out of 5 stars 

Stacking the Shelves #13

This weekend I want to showcase two Amish fiction novels that will be published on March 1, 2022. One of them is the conclusion to the Plain Patterns trilogy by Leslie Gould. The other book is the newest release by Wanda Brunstetter, The Sugarcreek Surprise. I love both of these authors and cannot wait to buy copies of them for my Kindle. 

In Threads of Hope Tally Smucker enjoys her quiet life of reading and quilting. However, she has to deal with her sorrow over her mother's illness. When a former Plain friend, Danielle, exhibits the symptoms of PTSD from her service in the army, Tally invites her to join a group of quilters at a fabric shop called Plain Patterns. Here they both learn about the plight of a WWI soldier and the girl he left behind. The story resonates with both of them but for different reasons.

The Brunstetter book is the second book in her Creektown Discoveries trilogy. In this story we meet Lisa Miller, an Amish schoolteacher in Sugarcreek, Ohio. Lisa has a determined admirer in Paul Herchberger. Lisa is just as determined to avoid Paul's advances. After losing both of her parents as a child, Lisa fears loving others because loving turns into loss. I can guess how this will turn out. After all, this is Amish fiction. I will enjoy the read anyway.

What books are you stacking your shelves with?

Night of the Ghoul

The Night of the Ghoul is a new Scott Snyder comic that Comixology is currently publishing. It is a 6 release story and the 5th installment will be published next week. Here are my thoughts after reading 1 - 4 of the series.

The comic opens with Forest Inman, a horror film lover, stumbling across a forgotten canister of footage of the Night of the Ghoul. Director T. F. Merritt's film never made it to the silver screen though. A mysterious studio fire destroyed the footage and killed the cast and crew. No footage had ever been recovered until Inman discovered it. However, the ending of the movie was not among the recovered film. Desiring to know how the movie ended, Inman finds director Merritt in a hospice under the name of Mr. Patrick. An alternating plot concerns the U. S. Army serving in Italy during WWI. Needing to advance to the village of Culla where German soldiers have bunkered down, soldier Kurt Powell and three of his buddies volunteer to do some reconnaissance. However, instead of finding Germans they find a pile of dead bodies.

I was impressed that issues 2, 3 and 4 did not waste paper by merely setting up new characters. All of the characters in this story are introduced in the first issue. The writing style followed the mystery novel format and each issue continued the storyline with increasing suspense. It was a gripping read and I highly recommend it.

Trashed

Trashed was published in 2012. It is a funny graphic memoir of Derf Backderf's time working as a garbage man. Backderf shows us the culture of working with trash in a comedic way. He tells us how he felt coming into contact with wet garbage bags that leaked onto his clothes and shoes. This was usually something with maggots or human waste. Yuck! Sometimes it was a dead body and no, the bodies were not reported to the police. It only took Backderf a week to become blase about these working conditions. He also wrote about having nicknames for customers who had unique garbage. They were cutting remarks and I know I will make sure my garbage is tightly contained in bags and not too heavy for the garbage men to lift. I don't want to be called any names.

The novel was more than entertainment. We learn the parts of the garbage truck as well as some facts about recycling and landfills. The garbage collectors are, in general, pro-environment. It was interesting that the design of the garbage truck has not changed in a hundred years. You would think that modern science could improve the design. 

Trashed was an enjoyable read with plenty of laughs. Check it out.

Stacking the Shelves #12

I just picked up Fiona Davis's latest novel The Magnolia Palace. It was published last month and I am eager to start reading. The themes of the novel are secrets and betrayal. The story concerns a murder that occurred within one of New York City's Gilded Age mansions. The publisher's summary says it all:

Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, twenty-one-year-old Lillian Carter's life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists' models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate—the work has dried up and a looming scandal has left her entirely without a safe haven. So when she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion—a building that, ironically, bears her own visage—Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family—pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death.

Nearly fifty years later, mod English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career - and with it, earn the money she needs to support her family back home - within the walls of the former Frick residence, now converted into one of New York City's most impressive museums. But when she - along with a charming intern/budding art curator named Joshua - is dismissed form the Vogue shoot taking place at the Frick Collection, she chances upon a series of hidden messages in the museum:  messages that will lead her and Joshua on a hunt that could not only solve Veronica's financial woes, but could finally reveal the truth behind a decades old murder in the infamous Frick family.

What do you think? Does this sound like a fabulous plot line? I will let you know when I write a review of the book. There is one character name that caught my attention. Lillian Carter. I may be dating myself when I say that this is the name of President Carter's mother. I remember seeing her in newspapers and magazines during the 1970s. Her image will most likely be in my mind as I read the book but note that, unfortunately, it is not a pretty picture.

London

Edward Rutherford writes historical fiction novels about big cities that span 1000 years. Each book is over 1000 pages and follows several families throughout the centuries. London, however, spans a period of 2000 years and tells the stories of six families. I previously read Rutherford's China and loved it.  In my mind, Rutherford is the James Michener of the 21st century.

London begins with the birth of the Thames River and quickly moves to 54 BCE, capturing the life of Segovax, a man with slightly webbed hands and a flash of white hair on the front of his head. This description of him will be carried forward by his descendants. Segovax is the ancestor of the Ducket and Dogget families, who are fictional families in the novel. There are several historical figures who also appear in the story such as Julius Caesar, Geoffrey Chaucer, Henry VIII and William Shakespeare. We also see the rise of chivalry and the Crusades. In addition, we read about the Norman Conquest of England and the Great Fire of London as well as the Blitz during WWII. 

London is much more than a history book. The reader is given a slice of what life was like for London's residents from its beginnings to the current time period. Not knowing anything about the city during times before Christ, I learned how people dealt with marital and sexual matters, trade and also the type of clothing that they wore. We get all of this information for each time period. In addition, we read what life was like when the Romans, Celts, Saxons, Danes and Normans arrived. It seems to me that people just wanted to go about their lives as best they could when invaders came to their shores. No one really cared who was in power. People just wanted jobs and to be able to feed their families. It was interesting, too, to read about why and how the Tower of London was constructed. The building of St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey is also covered but there was a greater emphasis on the Tower.

I would have to say that the Middle Ages was covered in more detail than other eras. However, the Middle Ages covers 800 years of history. I was surprised that more contemporary eras such as the Victorian Era was not written about in great detail. As far as characters go, I loved reading about Chaucer's life in particular. He is introduced as a friend of one of the main families.  He becomes a godfather to one of the kids before he became famous for his writing. 

There is so much more to say about this book. I absolutely LOVED it and can't wait to read Rutherford's novel on Paris next. I am happily rating this novel 5 out of 5 stars.

Can't Wait Wednesday #8

This week's Can't Wait Wednesday is about Ruth Heald's newest novel The New Girl. It was published last month on January 20, 2022 and I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of it. Heald is one of my newest favorite authors. I read The Wedding and I Know Your Secret and both were fantastic. She writes psychological thrillers that end with a bang.

In The New Girl Sophia moves to a new city in order to escape her past. She brings with her only a small bag of possessions. Soon after arriving she lands her dream job, a beautiful home and a fantastic boyfriend. Sophia begins to think that she can finally trust people again and feels safe for the first time in a long while. However, she starts hearing odd noises during the night and has a nagging feeling that someone is near her door. Sophia then finds a dress hidden behind her wardrobe. After she wears it to work the atmosphere around her chills instantly.

You can feel the tension in the story just from the publisher's summary. I already feel a little scared and plan on reading this one during daylight. 

Never

Ken Follett is well known for his historical fiction tomes but in this new novel he has given us a political thriller that takes place in Chad, Beijing, Pyongyang, Soeul, North Africa, the Middle East and Washington DC.  It is about the beginning of WWIII and is narrated by several characters: Paulette Green is the U. S. President, Chang Kai is a Chinese spy for Homeland Security, Tamara Levit works for the CIA at the American Embassy in N'Djamena, Chad, Kiah is a Chad citizen, and Abdul also works for the CIA as he travels throughout the Middle East. Within the book's 804 pages the author aims to show us how WWIII can start without any one nation actually escalating any of its military activities.

The publisher's summary:

A shrinking oasis in the Sahara Desert; a stolen US Army drone; an uninhabited Japanese island; and one country's secret stash of deadly chemical poisons: all these play roles in a relentlessly escalating crisis. Struggling to prevent the outbreak of world warfare a young woman intelligence officer; a spy working undercover with jihadists; a brilliant Chinese spymaster; and Pauline herself, beleaguered by a populist rival for the next presidential election.  Never . . . is full of heroines and villains, false prophets and elite warriors, jaded politicians and opportunistic revolutionaries. It brims with cautionary wisdom for our times, and delivers a visceral, heartpounding read that transports readers to the brink of the unimaginable. 

I expected alot from this novel given the author's reputation. However, I found that parts of the book were a little dull. It started out well and ended with a bang but the middle was excruciatingly slow. I think if Follett cut the page count by one third this would have been a fantastic read. The parts that I feel are dull have scenes that show the foreign policy of several nations in action. It reflects on their ability to act diplomatically in a crisis which is important for Follett to show whether war is escalating. However, it was boring. Certainly these subplots could have been written more skillfully.

The Chad setting was deftly handled. I could feel the effects of the high temperature even though I am currently freezing in my hometown. The poverty and starvation of the people was portrayed adroitly. Their sense of grief was captured perfectly and I felt so bad about their predicament. The choices they had for survival were dim.

The politics of the U.S. and China were displayed well. Here the reader learns what goes on behind the scenes when nations are determining what course of action to take in a given moment of time. Faulty ideas, and some correct ones too, regarding why world leaders will react in a particular way is dramatized toward the end of the story and gives the novel it's suspenseful ending. 

Follett achieved his goal of showing how war can be escalated by countries without officially escalating their military activities. That was magnificent and gives pause to readers. The boring bits were unfortunate. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Realist

Israeli cartoonish Asaf Hanuka wrote the weekly Realist comic in 2010. It is a collection of autobiographical comic strips that were originally published in the Israeli newspaper Calcalist.  These single page comic strips explore Hanuka's home life, art job as well as his medical and financial issues. The pressure of life in a country with alot of civil unrest is also shown. The comic strips were finally put together in this 192 page book in 2015 and was translated into English.

Hanuka writes about problems that many of us have gone through: having to move ASAP because of the sale of his home, not connecting with his son, avoiding family by always being on the phone, having a distant marriage, dealing with technology advances and his personal feelings of insecurity. I found it difficult at times to read. It took awhile to figure out that these were separate comic strips that were put together in a book. There is no notice given to the reader defining that book as such. However, the illustrations were gorgeous. 

It does pose a question:  is the glass half full or half empty.  I have mixed feelings about the book but perhaps my problem with it is that it is a collection of single page comic strips. That is nothing to fault Hanuka over. 3 out of 5 stars.