The life and loves of a she-devil

The life and loves of a she-devil / Fay Weldon, 241 pgs.

A dark tale of revenge and scorn.  Ruth is happily married until her husband cheats on her with a popular romance novelist. Her life falls apart as she has no income, no husband, no will to continue...until she decides to get revenge.  The revenge ideas come on strong and fast.  She wants to ruin the husband and his lover. The plans are complicated and time consuming but she has nothing but time.  She is obsessed and quite successful in her plans. An interesting read.

We Cast a Shadow

We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, 324 pages

The barest description of this book is simple: A black lawyer is doing everything he can to climb the ranks in his law firm, trying to do what he can to make his young son's life easier, both now and in the future. But the intricacies of what he's doing, what he's trying to do, and the hoops he's willing to jump through are what elevate this book to flat-out amazing.

Set in a future where black Americans are not-exactly-forced to live in fenced-off projects and where it's possible (but VERY expensive) to surgically erase blackness through "demelanization" and plastic surgery, our unnamed protagonist must, in turn, become a stereotype and a token POC to "earn" a promotion that will allow his son to get the procedure that will remove a growing dark birthmark from his lighter-skinned face — despite his white wife's protestations.

No matter how many ways I try to type and retype a description of this book, I realize that I'm never going to capture the power of it. All I can say is that, by setting this book in the future, Maurice Carlos Ruffin manages to illustrate the world we live in today better than just about any book I've ever read. This book is incredible, and I'll be shocked if it isn't taught, discussed, and dissected alongside Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man in the future.

Everything Trump Touches Dies

Everything Trump Touches Dies by Rick Wilson (2018) 327 pages

See the players in Donald Trump's campaigning and office-holding from the view of Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist and Never Trump-er. He lists the various people (often with biting, but humorous descriptions) both inside Trump's administration and in the world outside, indicating what he sees as wrong about their actions and/or how their associations with Trump have harmed them and their reputations.

By the last section of the book, Wilson's tone becomes deadly serious, listing what changes need to happen to save the Republican Party and the country itself. After his warnings, Wilson does end on a hopeful note. This book is quite a fast read; even though I try to keep up with current events, I learned a lot of behind-the-scenes detail from it.

A Bicycle Built for Murder

A Bicycle Built for Murder by Kate Kingsbury (2001) 216 pages

Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton - Lady Elizabeth - is the house-rich, cash-poor owner of the Manor House in Sitting Marsh, a small village in England in World War II. Times are rough - most of the village men are in the military, and food and drink are strictly rationed. American armed forces are stationed in the area, and the girls of the village are meeting them in the pub, causing concern in the village that the Americans, although on England's side in the war, are not to be trusted with their daughters. When Beryl Pierce, a sixteen year old girl, is found murdered, suspicions are aimed at the Americans. The older English men who are left to police the village perhaps aren't well-suited to cracking the case, and Lady Elizabeth tries to solve the murder at the request of Beryl's mother. Meanwhile, her mansion has been requisitioned, per orders of the War Office, for several American officers to live in, because there's not enough room at the base.

This is the first in a series of Manor House Mysteries.

Norse Mythology

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman  304 pp.

Neil Gaiman's love of Norse Mythology comes to life in his retelling of many of the stories of the Gods and their exploits from the creation story through to Ragnarok, the end of the Gods. Included are many of the most popular stories including one of my favorites where Thor dresses as a bride to retrieve Mjollnir, his stolen hammer. Gaiman brings the Gods to life with his lively prose. Listening to the author read this book only adds to the enjoyment of these age-old stories. Previously blogs were written by Patrick, Christa, Joshua, Rob, and Kara.

Bless Me Again, Father

Bless Me Again, Father by Neil Boyd  222 pp.

This is the fifth book in the "Bless Me Father" series and fortunately for me they don't have to be read in order. Each chapter is a new episode in the lives of the irascible and cunning Father Duddleswell and curate Father Neil.  The stories, set in the 1950s, mainly involve the parishioners of St. Jude's and their varied difficulties and quirks and Fr. Duddleswell's conflicts with his housekeeper, the Mother Superior, the Bishop, the local Anglican Church, and the church's money issues. The stories are a bit dated but it's the characters that bring the stories to life.

Fame

Fame: the hijacking of reality / Justine Bateman, 204 pgs.

Bateman talks philosophically about fame and its function.  She talks about her own experiences with fame, the good, the bad, the outright ugly.  What is it like for a young girl to be famous?  A young adult?  An adult?  What do you learn from it?  How do you live your life?  Beyond the philosophical are real stories from her life as a famous person and a person whose fame has waned.  I particularly liked the one about her posing on the red carpet and instead of being too short with her time, being asked to move because someone more famous was coming behind her.  After once being the hottest thing, what does that change in attitude do to you?  Have YOU changed at all?  Or is it really just everyone else. Insightful and a little crazy.

Scrappy Little Nobody

Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick, 275 pages

In this charming memoir, Kendrick discusses her life as a child actress on Broadway, her move to Los Angeles at the age of 17 (which may explain her decision to move to the most car-necessary city in the country WITHOUT A CAR), and her rise to fame. It's charming, self-deprecating, and fantastic, especially the audiobook, which Kendrick reads herself. 12/10 would watch reality TV with her while wearing sweats.

Rock needs river

Rock needs river: a memoir about a very open adoption / Vanessa McGrady, read by the author, 182 pgs.

This memoir traces the author's childhood and family background leading up to the adoption of her daughter.  This is where it gets interesting because the adoption was "open" and the birth parents are a part of her life.  So much a part, they lived with her and the child for awhile after they became homeless.  Interesting in so many ways telling of the ebb and flow of the relationship between the new parents and the birth parents.  The audio version is very good.  I was reluctant to stop listening.

Pie Squared

Pie Squared: Irresistibly Easy Sweet & Savory Slab Pies / Cathy Barrow, 321 p.

A slab pie has a rectangular crust rolled out to 11"x15" rather than the standard round.  The key difference, apart from the fact that I found it a little harder to roll those rectangles, is that slabs are shallower pies, resulting in a different (and better!) filling-to-crust ratio.  Following Barrow's instructions to the letter leads to almost-crispy crusts which really shine when paired with her interesting filling combos.  I tried spinach artichoke, asparagus and fontina, and Italian sausage and tomato, all of which were yummy.  The rectangular shape and shallower depth also make the savories more suitable to be served as canapes, although mine did just fine as dinner.