07/31/24
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General
Posted by:
Ann @ 2:55 pm
Hi to all my Blog readers. I hope you all are having a good summer, and there is no denying we are having a long hot summer this year. Hot, hot, hot…Whew! We have had lots of family and friends visiting, some for several days and some for only a few hours. We’ve made wonderful memories with all and have had fun reconnecting with every one of them.
I’ve been able to wrap up a few bookkeeping problems that have been hanging over my head for months. It is such a relief; I feel like a load has been lifted from my shoulders. Now my mind is less pressured and I should be able to get some real writing done.
I’ve read only three books this month. I started three others but did not finish them …remembering some of my mother’s last words… “life is too short for bad books.” (She was an avid reader.)
The Boys In The Bunkhouse - Servitude And Salvation In The Heartland by Dan Barry. Nonfiction. 2016. (The author is an alumni of St Bonaventure U., a New York Times reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 1994.) This was an enthralling tale that would probably have been rejected if written as fiction. It gave me chills to think this was happening for over 30 years in the USA. Right under the noses of so many authorities. The people of Atalissa, Iowa accepted and often befriended ‘the Texas boys’, all with intellectual disabilities. ‘The boys’ lived in an abandoned school house and woke before dawn, were transported to a turkey processing plant to butcher turkeys, year after year. They received food and lodging plus $65.00 per month. No one seemed to notice the neglect, exploitation, physical and mental abuse. A compassionate look at social justice, nonfiction that reads like a good novel. I highly recommend this book.
I Found You by Lisa Jewell. Fiction/Mystery/Crime. 2016. This was our Book Club’s book for July. It generated a lively discussion, and most everyone liked it. It was a bit complicated with interesting characters and many plot twists. I will paraphrase a paragraph from the back of the book: In a windswept British seaside town, a single mom finds a man sitting on the beach during a rainstorm. He has no name and no idea how he got there. Meanwhile, in a London suburb, newlywed Ukranian immigrant Lily Monrose becomes anxious when her British husband fails to return home after work, but the police soon deliver even more disturbing news - the man she married never existed. And the plot thickens with each page. This is the writer’s 14th novel and she’s had many top-selling novels; its the first book I’ve read by Lisa Jewell but it will definitely not be my last.
Getaway Mountain by Michele Huey. 2016. Fiction. (One of my closest friends told me about this book several months ago. She gave it to me to read when I was unable to find the book to buy a copy. I hope you will be able to find a copy, it’s a very good book!) This book starts out calmly, much like many other books I’ve read but soon becomes a page turner whodunit. Plot twists and strong likable characters make it a compelling novel that I highly recommend.
We went to the movie at our local movie theater last Sunday afternoon and I didn’t even relent to the delicious smell of popcorn! We sat on the edges of our seats to watch Twister. It was an excellent movie and we were glad we went. Our movie theater is closing on August 4th. It make those of us who’ve enjoyed movies there for many years so very sad.
Till next month, be well and keep reading my friends.
Later,
Ann
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