Summer Reading Celebration

The fascinating Hildegard was a composer, seer, nun, and spiritual leader in the 1100s, in Germany. In this historical fiction account of her life the “illuminations” referred to are less about her mystical visions and more about her personal enlightenment and growth. It is about her growth in understanding people, connections, relationships. She grows to understand that some can help and enrich the world and others hinder and harm. Hildegard’s naivety evolves through experience to wisdom. Though her life was nothing like ours, her wants, needs, and desires are as real as yours or mine. Read this book to learn what it is to be a woman ahead of her time.

4.75 maybe 5 Really gripping and mysterious. I loved unfolding the mystery. Very good.

This was a very insightful book focused on the QAnon cult and how/why people are susceptible to believing conspiracy theories. The author follows a number of individuals and their loved ones, documenting the destruction of the American family by those who've bought into QAnon and it's insane conspiracy theories.

I love this series and I love this book!! Reread!

Harry Potter At Home is a Pandemic initiative and I highly recommend that you enjoy it while you can! Harry Potter is read “by familiar voices” with a wide range of HP movie and stage actors reading chapters, and other familiar famous actors as well. It is so well done! And the readings with new voices make the words fresh again. This is available on a website as a video but I prefer accessing it using Spotify and just listening while I go about my day. It is free, and such a pleasure to listen to. Add this to your audiobook listening plans!

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.

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.

If you are a fan of UFOs and Flying Saucers and government cover ups you will find this book, like the one he wrote about the Bermuda Triangle, interesting reading. He revisited this topic in the 70’s and much has been written since this book was written but this one started it all. It does kind of drag in places and goes off on tangents but it is an easy read and is referenced in more modern texts.

Interesting read and great pictures of this military jet. My grandson loved it.

Oh that was good. There were times I was like....okay so where is this going now, only for the story to get more complicated. My only complaint is that the fmc was very smart and clever and competent in the beginning and then she kind of took a backseat...kind of unfortunate. But I did really enjoy it, and hope at least one of the girlies has a lesbian love story ?