Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

  Isn’t there something appealing about reading a book that takes place in a locale that you are familiar with? I find that it perks my interest. I want to see if I have been in the exact location as the characters and if I can “see” all the places that they talk about.

In Six Feet Deep by Mindy Quigly, we are transported to Geneva Bay, WI. Which, I am sure is based in Lake Geneva, WI. Even the main character’s name, Delilah O’Leary makes me think of the Irish Woods area just east of Lake Geneva, where there was a conclave of Irish immigrants.

Instead of the day being one of the big days in Delilah’s life, it goes from frustrating to disastrous. It is the day of the soft opening of Delila’s new pizza restaurant. Delilah can open this dream of hers with the financial help of her rich fiancé. The sign for the new restaurant arrives and they all go out to watch it being put in place. Delia has reluctantly left the sign as the responsibility of her fiancé. She has a hard time letting go of responsibilities, but she is sure he will get this right. He understands how important it is, right? When the sign is wrong, Delilah loses it with her fiancé. He then walks out on her. She can’t stop to evaluate or work on her relationship right then as she has a restaurant full of people about to arrive. She needs to have her best foot forward. She thinks everything is set until she finds her beloved aunt holding a gun over a dead body. Needless to say, the opening was cut short. When the police detective arrives and the scene and closes her new and newly unfinancially sound restaurant, Delilah has more worries than she can count. But the biggest problem is with her aunt. She is sure that her aunt didn’t kill anyone but how to prove it? And will Detective Calvin Capone be offended by her portrait of his famous relative in the restaurant?

Delilah has to find a murderer, untangle her relationship with her fiancé, (and find him for the police to question), and figure out what is going to happen to her dream.

This was a pleasant read. I enjoyed it. I am sure partially because of the location but the story was well-developed and moved along well. I would recommend it.

Thanks for reading!

Posted in Talking Books | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Book Banning

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

I have been reading articles for the last few months about the attempts in many locations to ban books. Not only ban books but also persecute librarians. (https://www.rawstory.com/watch-new-chattanooga-da-may-prosecute-librarians-for-contributing-to-the-delinquency-of-minors/) (https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/3592899-michigan-public-library-defunded-over-inclusion-of-lgbtq-materials/)

Oh my. I am not sure where to start with this except to say that this is not Nazi Germany or a Communist country. I have no idea what rock these people have crawled out from under, but they need to wake up in the sunlight or crawl back under.

Book Banning and going after librarians is truly scary stuff. This is people wanting to control your thoughts and the information that you can obtain.

I find it truly horrifying. And if you don’t, then you need to pay more attention.

With that in mind, I have decided to educate myself about some of the books that people are talking and complaining about.

If you have never looked at the American Library Association’s list of books that people have tried to ban, you might be shocked. I am a volunteer book group coordinator for a group. I decided that in September (Banned Book Week is in September) that we would read a book that people have attempted to ban. I gave the ladies 5 choices of books. I was in a group that discussed the choices one day and there was general surprise that these titles were on the list. The following are the choices I gave them:

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Are you surprised by these titles? Then let this be your first wake up call as to what is going on in this country. Books that most consider classics and have won numerous literary awards are being objected to – in some cases for ONE PARAGRAPH in the book. (By the way, the voting is almost complete for my group, and it looks like the choice will be The Bluest Eye. (This book was brought up as part of the campaign for Governor of Virginia last year.)

But today, I would like to talk about a more contemporary book that is currently on top of the banned or attempted to be banned book list.

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe.

Please note:  Maia uses alternate pronouns and I am going to respect that. I may not get it right because I am learning but she deserves this respect. Maia prefers ey, em, and eir for she, her, possessive her.

Part of me is not sure where to start. My first thought is that the people objecting to this book have not read it. I can’t believe that you could read this book and not have sympathy as your overriding feeling. I want to reach out and help em more than anything else, but I I want to stand by em side and support em.   

The book is Maia’s story of not feeling right in em body. It isn’t that ey is gay or ey is transgender. Ey doesn’t truly feel good about body. Ey just wants to be non-gender. Ey doesn’t want to be sexually active with anyone. Ey doesn’t like eir breasts, ey doesn’t like eir period, ey doesn’t like anything about eir sexuality. And she realizes that this is not the norm and is trying to find em way.

And I feel sorry for eir constant uncomfortable feelings. It is certainly not written in any titillating way. This stupid STUPID concept of “grooming” could not possibly be applied to this book. Ey doesn’t make it seem appealing. Ey feels bad about how ey is and ey wishes ey wasn’t that way. Ey is willing to be supportive of others who feel this way but ey is scared to volunteer to help because ey doesn’t know how people will react.

Why read this book? This book gives insight into how another person thinks. As with all fiction, it shows us that others think differently, and we can therefore grow because we know another viewpoint. It isn’t whether you agree or disagree with em, it is that you understand that there is this viewpoint.

I didn’t say at the beginning of this review that Gender Queer is a graphic novel. It is easy to read and well done. The graphics enhance eir telling of the story; they are not a distraction.

And no, it was not easy to write this review using Miai’s preferred pronouns. I am not sure I got it right all the time, but I respect em as a person, and it was what I can do to show that respect. As you may guess, my word processing editor has gone a bit mad with this. There are red marks all over the page.

I urge you to think for yourself and read the books on the Banned Book List. See if you think that they deserve this treatment. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

Thanks for reading!

Posted in Talking Books | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Lady Loves Danger by Anabelle Bryant

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

Why do people read romance novels? According to Book Riot (https://bookriot.com/why-women-read-romance-novels/), one of the reasons is that romance novels are “the most optimistic, hopeful genre in the market”. In July of 2021, Esquire Magazine proclaimed in an article that “Better for You Than Porn: Why Men are Reading Romance Novels” and “They can revitalize your sex life, leading to some good, not-so-clean fun.” (https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a37094392/men-reading-romance-novels/)

So, why aren’t you reading Romance? It is uplifting and feels good. It has what we all need these days, a happy ending.

“Romance novels reflect the world around us, and that world is a lot different than it was when your grandma was buying bodice-rippers. These novels aren’t paperback relics of the past; they’re more progressive and inclusive than ever before. “Whatever is going on in the world, and whatever is happening to women or marginalized people, is happening in the pages of romance novels,” said novelist Sarah MacLean. “But with the promise that everything will be okay. That no matter how bad it gets, happily ever after will come.” Romance is pure entertainment, designed to be enjoyed, that can expand your interior life along the way. What’s not to like?” Esquire Magazine

I have reviewed several sub-genres of romance novels in my posts. After all, there are historical romances, regency romances, fantasy romances, sports romances, erotic romances, LGBTQ+ romances, and paranormal romances to mention a few of the subcategories. You can take your pick. Look how popular the Bridgeton series has been on television: it is based on the regency romance book The Duke and I which came out in the year 2000.

This week, I have read The Lady Loves Danger by Anabelle Bryant. This book is the second in the Maidens of Mayhem book series. (See my review of the first book in the series.) As the book opens, we meet the handsome Sebastian St. Allen who is trying to catch a child trafficker at night in a bad part of town. He is thwarted because of a woman who calls out at the last moment. While he loses the bad guys, he chases after the woman to see who she is and why she is there. Lady Delilah Ashbrook runs from the man pursuing her but ends up trapped by a dirty vagrant with ill intentions. She is definitely in the wrong part of town, and it looks like she will pay for her mistake. But at the last second, she is saved by the handsome St. Allen. He takes her to his carriage where he asks her why she is there and why she ruined his chance to save the child.

Lady Ashbrook’s story comes out over two visits with St. Allen. She was out with Oliver, the son of her lady’s maid when he was stolen off the street. She feels responsible and is out looking to find the child.

This is the beginning of the irresistible draw that Lady Ashbrook and St. Allen have for each other. But Lady Ashbrook, who is new to the city, meets several new people in her quest to find Oliver. And alas, St. Allen is not of an equal class to Lady Ashbrook and should be forbidden fruit.

The book is a fun read. It is quick moving and while not surprising, it is satisfying.

Thanks for reading!

Posted in Talking Books | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Gin Sisters’ Promise by Faith Hogan

Posted on June 14, 2022 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

Do you ever have those times when you drift away from reading? It doesn’t happen to me often but sometimes I get busy doing other things and neglect my reading. This is not good when I have two book groups to say nothing of the reading I do for reviews.

I decided that it is time to take some of the guilt for not reading that stack of TBR books that reside in the living room. That stack that I have promised to read for the last TWO YEARS. I have, in the past, gone through the stack and removed one or two books that I didn’t think I really wanted to read. Well, I went through the other day knowing that I can give the books to the local library. The library can use them either to raise funds in the used book sale or by replacing worn copies from the shelves. The library can benefit from the light feeling I get from not having to look at those books. With that thought, it was easier to be truthful about whether I was really going to read them. Besides, I can always take them out of the library if I change my mind.

Sometimes when a book sits around for a while, I feel it gets stale. My interest in reading a book seems to diminish the longer I put off reading it. Do you find that to be the case?

Today, we are going to talk about The Gin Sisters’ Promise by Faith Hogan. This book is a new release – it just came out last week. When I started this book, I knew I was behind and needed to really get in gear reading. The pressure was on. The book opens with the three sisters at the time of their mother’s funeral. Georgie, Iris, and Nora are lost but Nora was so young that the sisters promise to stay together and support each other. And then they grew up. They hurt each other and turned away from their home and each other. Georgie went to work in the advertising industry and became successful in some ways. Iris is the only sister who married but her marriage had caused her separation from the family. It seems that they did not see her husband as being as perfect as she did. And Nora was an actress.

But it seems that their real lives were not what the sisters saw in each other’s lives. Georgie was up for a big promotion that she knew she should get but didn’t. It went so badly that she was out of a job. Iris’s husband left her for another woman – a pregnant woman. And Nora’s agent quit the business and told her that she needed to move on. That there were no other acting jobs for her.

It is with each of the sisters at a crossroads that their father dies. They all go home for the funeral feeling bad that they had not treated their father as they should have. And they all dread facing each other.

With the reading of the will, a change in their lives will start.

I will admit that I was tempted not to read the book as I thought that I could guess what would happen. But once I started reading, I was sucked into the story. The pages flew by. It was not exactly what I would have guessed, and I am still partially surprised by the ending.

I think that this is a good summer read. You can enjoy the evolution of the girls and their life back in the small town of Ireland where they came from.

I just looked and Amazon has the Kindle version on sale right now. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Posted in Talking Books | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Week of Romance

Posted on June 7, 2022 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

Sigh…. It has been a while again. I swear that I will keep this up and then life gets in the way. Since I wrote last, we have moved into Spring and almost Summer. But since I am sitting here in a sweatshirt and slippers, it certainly isn’t Summer today.

I still need to get the hang of audiobooks. I have listened to a couple but so far I haven’t been sold on them. I understand that there are lists of which ones are better than others. ( From Esquire magazine – https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/g39764530/best-audiobooks-of-all-time/) (From Harper’s Bazaar – https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/g38320421/top-audiobooks/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=arb_ga_har_d_bm_comm_lft_us_g38320421&gclid=CjwKCAjwy_aUBhACEiwA2IHHQGHEo8Oxgu6JBfBZZzRl8Z4SL5gF7E-VFmaZDCBKxYTtz9CZFtvHEhoCdo4QAvD_BwE)  The reason this is on my mind is that I have been knitting and I can’t read and knit at the same time. If only I could balance my time better, I could find time for both, like most people do. I seem to do one or the other – read or knit. Audiobooks would solve this and combine the two but I just haven’t found the right audiobook to knit by. I am open to any suggestions you leave in the comments!

I have two books to review for you today. While I normally review books one at a time but I am behind and both books are in the same genre. Here comes – both books were given to me so that I would provide my unbiased review. (There is that disclaimer again!) Both books are in the romance genre. If you have read this blog before, you know that my feeling is that the romance genre has come a long way from when I used to read titles like Sweet Savage Love. Today’s romance novels are much more sexually explicit. As long as you know it is coming… (kind of a pun there)

Fake it Till You Bake It is a modern romance that has a football player and a reality show contestant meeting, clashing, and then well, come on, it is called a romance. Jada Townsend-Matthews was on a reality dating show. The show’s viewers united in not liking Jada and she is having a hard time just walking down the street without being abused. She needs to find a new niche. Donovan Dell is a professional football player who happens to be a baker. He and two of his friends open a bakery named Sugar Blitz. The bakery was doing great but sales have slumped and Donovan needs to do something to perk up sales. When a reporter mistakenly reports that the two of them are an item, they decide to use the mistake to help both of them.

This is a much-simplified plot line. There is more character development and storyline. It is what I might call a “popcorn book” but I do like a good popcorn book from time to time. Do not expect War and Peace. But it is a book that will hold your attention and won’t take too long to read.

The second book for this post is Island Time by Georgia Clark. This book is a new sub-genre for me. It is an LGBTQ+ romance. In the book, the Kelly family, who are from Australia, and the Lee family from the US are on a tropical island off the coast of Queensland together. Why are they together? Matty Kelly met Parker Lee in New York City. They fell in love and got married. While the parents are not so crazy about each other, they both love their daughters. Amelia Kelly is also with her family on the trip. As the story opens, she is waiting for her boyfriend to come to the island to join the family and, she hopes, announce his intention to marry her. While the island can accommodate more people, the Kellys and the Lees are the only guests at this time. Liss, is the staff person on the island, there to help if anything is needed and to give information about the island.

This trip to the island is a prequel to Matty and Parker moving to Sydney. Matty is scheduled to start her route to getting pregnant when they get to Sydney. Jules Kelly, Matty and Amelia’s Mom, is in support of this and has made most of the arrangements. Shortly before the trip, Jules announced to her husband that their marriage was over but that they would not tell the girls until they were all home from the island. Gary is not sure he agrees with this idea. He thinks it would be better to tell the girls the truth right away, but Jules has a more dominant personality and has always been the decision-maker. The Lees are not exactly the “roughing it” kind but they are doing this for their daughter.

Then a nearby volcano erupts and the families and the two island employees are stranded on the island for six weeks, the characters have a chance to find out more about themselves and each other. Right after the eruption, another staff person is on the island, his name is Jarrah and he is a member of the Aboriginal tribe that owns the island.

Alright, I think you need to suspend belief on a few points. First of all, they all seem to have phone and internet service the entire time. I found this hard to believe. Also, there was electricity most of the time. Since our electricity can go out in a big storm and need the power company to come out and fix it, I find it hard to believe that this remote island had power.

Getting past that, the time on the island gives the characters time to learn more about each other and themselves. Yes, there are TWO love stories that start on the island. One that shows some potential and the other hits a setback, but it could continue.

The book was okay. It held my attention and moves along fairly well. But it is a good summer beach read. It just isn’t boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy and girl kiss and makeup. It does show that all couples have issues and can resolve them or not.

Okay, that was our week of summer romance novels. Both books will be published soon. Island Time will be published on June 14, 2022, and Fake It Till You Bake It will be out on June 21, 2022.

Thank you for reading!

Posted in Talking Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment