Summer Reading Celebration

Alien Rik and the Ingergalactic Waffle Protocol was pure and unadulterated chaos and hilarity. Rik, an alien, crash lands on Earth with his robot assistant Glubax. He befriends Debra, Bud and a goat named Clarity, forms a cult around breakfast and toasters, and reforms a Pentagon agent assigned to shut down his cult. Rik even manages to befriend DJT amd gain a nemesis in an evangelical pastor by the of Lyle Grindle. There are waffles, syrup, guru enlightenment and only a little chia seeds in this romp into one aliens journey to found family, pancakes and a world wholly different from anything he ever experienced on his home on Astralara. The first book in this book was funny, irreverent and entertaining if not equally confusing all at once. Here, Somehow was a little more straightforward but not without equal parts humor. Assistant to Nicola Tesla, Stefan Petrovic is accidentally transported through time from 1895 to current times in an experiment gone wrong. Stefan blindly stumbles through Times Square, New York City until NYC cops pick him up and introduce him to Mira, an NYC Civil outreach coordinator. Mira decideds he is mostly harmless amd takes him into her home until Stefan and Tesla can figure out how to get him home. Stefan meets a lot of people, finds out more than he ever cared to about Instagram while also falling in love. This book reminded me of the 1994 movie IQ where Albert Einstein, played by Walter Matthau, tries to set up Meg Ryan, his niece, with a mechanic played by Tim Robbins. IYKYK. I really enjoyed the relationship between Mira and Stefan and was glad that Stefan decided to stay in the future with Mira.

I have no words. This book was amazing!

This was a somewhat disturbing book. Disturbing in that if you don't happen to be a person if color, you learn what it is like to live in their world. That it would be so bad you would want to "cross over" is telling of the world I do not know. The fictitious story is set in a small town of very light skinned blacks. They pride themselves on their lightness. Some even have red hair and could be mistaken as being white. But as the author notes, even the boy who looks white is not allowed the same privileges that an actual white person would have. The story follows 2twin sisters born in this town. Their daddy dies young and their mothers struggles to support the family. The girls have to chip in and life is very hard for all of them. One of the twins "crosses over" in order to get a job that pays better so she and her sister can afford to live in the city they have run away to. Eventually her white boss falls in love with her. Will she tell him? What happens to the other sister? There are some rough parts in this book, but I appreciated the over all message it told.

The Western Wind carries the changes that the Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment will bring to 15th century England through the microcosm of a small, backwater town called Oakham. The story unfolds in reverse, beginning with the last day and ending with the first which makes for a thought provoking premise from the start. But soon you realize that the narrator isn’t entirely reliable and as the storyteller he attempts to put himself in the best light. It’s a mystery but not a typical whodunnit. The small focus questions center on is it murder, a suicide, or an accident? The bigger questions grapple with the nature of sin and forgiveness, the perceived need for an intercessor between humans and God, the role of art and music in religious experiences. The motivations of the characters are as real as yours and your neighbor’s. There is much to chew on here.

I loved the movie. Read the book. Loved the book. Separately though. Is my brain fully formed?

Quick, cute, interesting to a fault.

Fiction based on an actual historical event. A young black nurse discoverers that 2 of her clients were sterilized without the knowing consent of their legal guardians. That is the true event. Many of the things she encounters in post-seregation Alabama give an accurate portrayal of what life was like for poor black families, and even well off families during that time. Her emotional struggles and character are completely fictionalized. Well written and very enlightening.

Good read with my grandson. A good introduction to learning about the Civil War.

Well written historical novel that portrayals what it might have been like for a woman in the medical profession in England in the 1800's.

Very good book.