A Series of Catastrophes & Miracles by Mary Elizabeth Williams 616.994 Wil

About seven years ago I read an entertaining book about finding a place to live in New York City written by this author.  I had no idea this was the same author until I read the About the Author section at the back of the book.  I found out I still love her writing. And her sense of humor!

This book is about her Melanoma diagnosis.  She begins the book with this: SPOILER: I lived!

In August of 2010 Mary Elizabeth Williams decided to call a dermatologist to do something about the scabby place on her scalp that had been bugging her for a while.  It never occurred to her that it could be cancer.  And not a regular skin cancer - it was a melanoma. Putting her info into a Google search she finds the survival rate for ten years is not good.  The first part of treatment was surgery after which her surgeon declares her cancer free.   Well, not so fast.

This is the story of diagnosis, treatment, emotions, friends, doctors, love, and SCIENCE.  As Williams points out, she isn't alive today because she fought a good fight or because she had a positive attitude or because of prayers.  She is alive because of science.  Along with her story we are privileged to get to know her close friend Debbie who has also received a cancer diagnosis.  It is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it.

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A Question of Honor by Charles Todd FIC Tod

This is one of the series featuring Bess Crawford the WWI nurse who also solves crimes on the side!  These books are rather long and involved so I wouldn't want a steady diet of them but I do enjoy them.  This book begins in 1908 when Bess was a child living in India.  It seems that a soldier in her father's regiment has become a dangerous man and is believed to have killed five people.  His name is Lieutenant Wade.  The authorities were unable to bring him to justice because he escaped and it was believed that he was dead when he never surfaced again.

Skip forward to Bess a decade later when she is a nurse with the troops.  A dying man tells Bess that Wade is still alive.  Thus begins an investigation by Bess (and friends and family!) to find Wade. Her impetuous was to clear the cloud above her father that remained since the incident.

I love the background of WWI and reading about the social norms of the day.

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Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen FIC Qui

I love Quindlen's books and wish she could write one every month!   Miller's Valley is a small town where the Miller family is still represented after decades.  The story is told through the voice of Mimi Miller.  She lives with her parents, Miriam and Buddy and her older brothers, Tommy and Ed.  Her mother's sister, Ruth, lives in a tiny home next to the Miller's house - and she literally lives there because she never comes out of the house.

The Miller's are a bit dysfunctional but probably not any more than a lot of families.  When Mimi was a child her town became the target of a government buy-out so that a large lake community could be created.  Many people fought hard against it for a long time.

In the meantime Mimi is growing up.  Her brothers are leaving home, her best friend gets religion and changes are all around her. The book drew me in from the beginning.  Her characters are wonderful and true-to-life.  Since this is a book about a family, you know you can expect to find out that there are some secrets to be uncovered.  A great book!!!!

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The Rainbow Comes and Goes by Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt 070.92 Coo

I loved this book!   Anderson Cooper has been one of my favorites on TV but I had no idea that he was the son of Gloria Vanderbilt.  If you had asked me what I knew about Ms. Vanderbilt I would only have been able to say that she designed some very expensive jeans and that she had been referred to at some point in time as the "Poor little rich girl".  Her life is a lot more interesting (and often heartbreaking) than that of the average person!  Though her life was interesting that wasn't my favorite part of the book.

When Gloria turned 91 she and Anderson began a special correspondence that lasted a year.  Anderson knew very little of the real story of his mom's life.  He began to ask some questions and she answered them in a very honest way.   The sub-title of this book is "A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss" sums up this book!   There were many times when I would pause and reread a passage that spoke to me.

One of my favorites refers to the title of the book.  Here's a quote:  "In every life , you have moments of blinding beauty and happiness, and then you land in a dark cave and there is no color, no sky.  Then the rainbow returns, sometimes only briefly, but it always does come back.  You have to believe that it will, even in the darkest of times.  That belief is what is really important."

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The Good Girl by Mary Kubica FIC Kub

Mia is a young woman who loves her job teaching art in the inner-city of Chicago.  She has a boyfriend although he is obsessed with his job and often stands her up at the last minute. One night it happened again - but this time she stays to have a drink and ends up talking to a stranger.  He is charming and she is headed to a one-night stand after doing some drinking.  Although he was a stranger to her, he knew all about her.  He had been hired to kidnap her and hand her off to a not very nice guy.  For reasons he doesn't really understand, Colin just keeps driving and takes her to a remote area (at least during the winter!) in Minnesota.

Mia's parents are not the most loving in the world - at least when it comes to Mia.  Her father is a prominent judge and her mother is a socialite.  At first the Judge thinks Mia is just being irresponsible.  Her mother, Eve, is quite upset and begins a close relationship with Detective Gabe Hoffman in an effort to find Mia.
The story is told from the point of view of Mia, Colin, Eve and Gabe.  I was surprised at the ending - and that is always a plus!

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Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz FIC Koo

   

I don't read all of Koontz's books.  I always know that they are going to be weird and sometimes the storyline just doesn't appeal to me.  This one interested me so I checked out the audio edition.  We are introduced to Bibi Blair a young, smart woman who is working at being an author.  She is close to her parents who were die-hard surfers and passed that onto Bibi.  Bibi's heart belongs to her fiancé who is serving in the Middle East.  Life is good - until Bibi becomes quite ill.  In the hospital, after extensive tests, Bibi is told that she has a very bad brain tumor and that maybe she will live a year.  Bibi refuses to believe that.  And miraculously she is right and the cancer goes away.  Why?  Well this weird woman tells her she was saved in order to save Ashley Bell. Bibi has no idea who that is but she is determined to find out.
     
I really can't go into much more of the plot.  I will tell you that part way through there is a big twist.  I don't want to read this kind of book every week but I did enjoy it.

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The Revolving Door of Life by Alexander McCall Smith FIC McC

McCall Smith has several different series and I follow a couple of them.  But the 44 Scotland Street Series is my absolute favorite.  I just love the quirky characters that live on that street.  And in this tenth book they are all back.  My favorite resident is 7 year-old Bertie.  In this book Bertie is having the time of his life (and it is about time!).  His mother is currently absent - having been detained in a Bedouin harem (that happened in the last book!).  His paternal grandmother comes to help out.  At last Bertie gets a break from all the things his mother makes him do - yoga, Italian lessons and psychotherapy just to name a few.  She even lets him buy some jeans!!  The other residents are also in the story with all sorts of problems and adventures.  If you want a light-hearted series go back to the beginning and meet all of these great characters!

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Last One Home by Debbie Macomber FIC Mac

I don't like pure romance books so I pick and choose when it comes to Macomber.  This one was a nice easy read with some meat in it!  Cassie Carter had a happy childhood with her older sister, Karen, and her younger sister Nichole.  Cassie was very bright and had earned a college scholarship.  But before she begin that part of her life she ran away to Florida with her boyfriend after learning that she was pregnant.  It was the worse mistake of her life - except for her daughter.  Her husband couldn't keep a job and was very physically abusive.  Now Cassie is back in her home state of Washington.  There has been very little contact with her sisters during all of these years.  Their parents have died but Cassie was not able to come back for the funerals.  Cassie is working hard to get a Habitat for Humanity home so that she can finally give her daughter a real home.  She gets a letter from Karen one day saying that she had some things for her.  And that is the beginning of the long process to heal the family.

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Alice & Oliver by Charles Bock FIC Boc

I began reading this book yesterday and finished today. Obviously I liked it. It begins in 1993. Alice, a fashion designer, and Oliver, who works on computer programming, are having a great life. They are new parents to Doe (a deer a female deer - I apologize but I couldn't help that).  They are leaving NYC to have Thanksgiving with Alice's mom in Vermont.  Alice has been fighting a cold.  A ten-minute walk to meet Oliver at the car rental place turns into 30 minutes because she has to stop and rest.  But nothing is going to stop this trip!  They make it but the next morning her mom insists that she go see the doctor.  And just like that their world begins spinning out of control.

Alice is rushed to the hospital where she finds out that she has leukemia and she almost died. It isn't just a matter of rigorous medical treatments for Alice.  Oliver has plenty of stress to deal with also - starting with insurance and how they are going to afford her care.

It felt like a very 'real' novel.  And that is no surprise because the author went through a cancer diagnosis with his wife.  He used his own experiences and parts of a journal that his wife kept.  It is an intense read.

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Clementine: the life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell BCD 941 Pur

 

This is an audiobook which I loved because I can listen to those accents for a long time!  I didn't even know the name of Churchill's wife before listening to this book.  I always knew that Eleanor Roosevelt had a large part during the war years but Clementine deserves to be right up there in history, also.  They were quite different in the way they influenced history.

Clementine came from aristocracy but there was no money anymore and it wasn't always easy for her growing up.  When she married Winston he became her number one priority.  And that didn't really change when the children came along.  Winston confided everything in "Clemmie" and he depended on her for many things - helping him with campaigning, revising his speeches and taking care of his health.

If you enjoy history, listen to this book.  I guarantee you will find alot you didn't know.  This woman's influence on the world is fascinating!

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The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson FIC Sim

    

This is a novel about a small town in England.  It is 1914 and the war has not yet begun.  The town may be small but all of the usual conventions are observed.  The town is a bit shaken when Agatha (whose husband works in the Foreign Office - so she has an important status) takes the bold move of inviting a young woman to fill an opening as a Latin teacher.  (The powers that be would really prefer a man of course).  It's bad enough that Beatrice Nash is female but she is also young, attractive and a bit independent.  Her father has died and she has plans to make her way in this world - and without a husband.

With a bit of (unknown) help from some mischievous young men, Beatrice gets the job and begins to settle in to her new community.  And did I mention that Agatha's nephew, Hugh (who has been studying medicine) is visiting and seems a bit interested in Beatrice even though he is unofficially engaged.  Things change quickly when Britain joins the war.

I loved the setting of the novel.  Reading about the culture of the time is always interesting.  War changes things quickly. - how can two cute dachshunds become hated just because of their ancestry??? !!

I listened to the audiobook and loved it.

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