Summer Reading Celebration

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 read where someone compared this to an updated Huck Finn story, and that's pretty close. More of a fantasy-style fiction, but the setting is quite historically accurate, which made for a great read. Recommended!

The pictures of the different places in Jamestown NY were really cool to see. I have lived in Jamestown for about 14 years and I learned quite a bit. I recognized a lot of the buildings on Main Street but Brooklyn Square was totally unrecognizable. The Fenton House is one of the few structures from the early days still standing other than churches. There were lots of fires in those days so lots of buildings from the early days of Jamestown were built and rebuilt several times. The James Prendergast Library looks pretty much the same from Washington Street but with the new entry way and with subsequent additions it looks different from other views. The pictures were interesting and fun to look at.

It was such a good book! Can’t wait for Love Arranged.

A heartbreaking sorry of what happens when children don't learn how to fail. The book highlights how social media tends to exacerbate problems for young perfectionists today as opposed to those of prior generations.

In the fourth and final installment, Daine and Numair are in the battle for their lives. The barrier between the Divine Realms and the human realms has completely collapsed. The immortals, hurroks and Stormwings, have been unleashed upon Tortall. These immortals have aligned with enemies of Tortall and Daine and her friends are losing the fight. Daine and Numair are up against a new and horrifying threat when they are plucked from the human realms and dropped into the Realms of the Gods. Trapped in the Realms of the Gods and desperate to return to their friends, they must travels across the Realms to the Dragonlands to enlist aid in their return. Along their route they discover more immortals, spies, animal gods and a plot by enemies of Tortall to not only overthrow order in the human realms but the Realms of the Gods. The human gods are fighting against their sister the Goddess of Chaos. The goddess of Chaos has gained powerful allies in the human realms to aid in tipping the scales against her god siblings. Will Daine and Numair find a way to return to their friends and help in the fight against not only their enemies but the enemies of the gods? I love this series so much! I love Daine, Numair, Alanna and so many other characters from this series!

This book echoes a prominent theme in current parenting: get kids outside interacting with nature. I appreciate the practical suggestions on gardening, but the chapters on hunting and fishing were unrelatable.

ARC read. I love Tarah DeWitt. Love the content warnings, Loved everything. How beautiful and sad and unexpectedly spicy.

Pirates of the Caribbean meets Chronicles of Narnia. Privateers, Navy, fauns, minotaurs, humans and elves with plenty of magic oh my! There were parts that were slow or dragged too much for my liking but, for the most part it was well placed. I did not like the MFC but she grew on me. Honor Renn, Navy blue mage, is left adrift until she is picked up by the notorious Ship of Spells. On-board is an eclectic crew of misfits amd a charismatic captain. There battles on land and sea, treachery, loathing, love and a ton of magic. Thoroughly enjoyed all of the tension on board the ship between Honor Renn, the crewand the enigmatic captain Thanavar!

I enjoyed this book! I found the information about tardigrades amd bar-headed goose to be the most interesting animals highlight in the book. Tardigrades could be, for all intents and purposes, be dead. Add some water amd tada alive again. Crazy! Then, bar-headed geese not only fly over Mount Everest but thrive in one of the harshest environments in the wprld with little to no oxygen. The book also described some of the harshest environments including animals that thrive in deserts, Arctic Circle and even the bottom of our oceans. Alex Riley narrated the book and I enjoyed his British accent and his nerd jokes like 42, the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. If ypu enjoy learning new things about animals and harsh environments, read this one!