Thoughts on Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong
When my hold for this audiobook (read by Angela Dawe) was ready through Libby, I was so excited. I had been waiting for months. It’s Kelley Armstrong‘s first full-fledged dive into the horror genre, even though many of her other books have elements of horror. And she is one of my current favorite authors.
Continue reading “Some Places Should Remain Wild”Does Casey Butler have ADHD?
I’ve been on a Kelley Armstrong kick lately – revisiting some favorite series. And it all started with this recent book. Murder at Haven’s Rock is the first in her new series of mysteries/ thrillers set in the Yukon Wilderness. It’s also a continuation of the Rockton series (at least with the main characters).
Kelley Armstrong is a prolific writer with books for adults, teens, and kids. The first book I read by her was Bitten in the Otherworld series. I was an immediate fan. (Bitten is about werewolves and is told from the perspective of Elena Michaels, the only female werewolf to have survived becoming a pack werewolf.)
Most of Kelley Armstrong’s work, I consider to be fantasy – either contemporary or historical (she has some time travel novels). Many of her characters are werewolves, witches, demons, necromancers, and other supernatural beings. But she also has some straight up mystery/ thriller series – Rockton & Nadia Stratford.)
Her main characters are always female and as I’ve been re-reading, I’ve noticed some traits that a couple of her main characters have in common. Both Casey Butler (from the Haven’s Rock and Rockton series) and Olivia Taylor-Jones (from the Cainsville series) have characteristics of women with ADHD.
As someone who received a diagnosis for this late in life, it seems quite evident to me as I re-read their stories now: moving helps them think (and they like to move fast), they’ve made impulsive decisions in their lives (with regret attached), they throw themselves into their work, and they struggle with both perfectionism and rejection. These traits are likely what make them some of my favorite characters in her stories.
And the fact that these characters (and those around them) are oblivious to their neurodivergence also appeals to me, because I find it very realistic. I was certainly oblivious to mine until I became a mother. ADHD displays very differently in girls and women than it does in boys and men. And many women reject the notion that it might even be possible, based upon what they think they know (which is usually based on boys and men). At least at first.
I am really looking forward to new books in the Haven’s Rock series and I’m especially interested in Casey Butler’s story arc. She now knows that her sister is on the spectrum. I’m curious what self-discoveries might be in store for her.
A review of the audiobook, The Black God’s Drums by P. Djeli Clark.
by P. Djeli Clark; narrated by Channie Waites
Confession time – I love this author’s stories.
They are fantastic creations filled with both terror and wonder set in places I never knew I wanted to travel to until they were described to me. Alas, I can only travel there in story.
I have only ever read the author’s stories in audiobook format (since that is how I do the majority of my reading these days) and they are phenomenal. The narrators have been excellent and add so much more detail and authenticity to the stories. (My favorite by far is A Master of Djinn. I wrote briefly about it here.) I use the Libby app and check out audiobooks from my library.
This story is set in New Orleans in an alternate history where a slave uprising changed the course of the Civil War and subsequent events. “The magic of the old African gods is a part of this city” (54:48 min).
It’s told in first person narration from the perspective of Creeper, an orphan who prides herself in her ability to care for herself on the streets. She also holds Oye, an African Orisha inside of her. While we don’t know Creeper’s exact age, she may be fourteen. When she comes across some information about The Black God’s Drums, she goes to the person who can do something with it – an airship captain of a smuggling ship.
Like Creeper, the captain, Ann-Marie, also holds an African Orisha – Oshun. Unlike Creeper, the captain is much less comfortable with this experience. This story reminds me of an adult Rick Riordan Presents. While the main character may be a child, she holds an African spirit that is ageless inside of her. One that is capable of displaying jealousy towards an equally ageless spirit. (Oye and Oshun are sisters and both lovers of Shango.) So while this is not a kid’s book, it does have plenty of magic and myth based on Yoruban culture.
This is a highly recommended read. It won an Alex Award and was a finalist for many other awards. It’s an amazing story.
A book review of Choosing Brave by Angela Joy
By Angela Joy; Illustrated by Janelle Washington
On the last day of Women’s History Month, I want to share this amazing picture book. While picture books are usually written for children, this book is definitely written for adults as well. The paper cut art that illustrates the story is magnificent (and the artist is self-taught).
The book begins with the hardest and bravest choice that Mamie Till- Mobley ever had to make, on August 31, 1955, when she choose to have her murdered son sent back home to her.
After this introductory page, we learn about Mamie’s life. Her parents had moved north during The Great Migration in search of a better life than what was offered in the South.
Mamie’s life was not easy and she gave birth to her son, Emmett Louis Till, at the age of nineteen. The birth was very difficult – to the point where Emmett entered the world so scarred that doctors wanted to institutionalize him. Mamie chose the harder thing and brought her child home.
While I had learned of Emmett Till at different points in my life and read other picture books about him, this book adds so much more detail, understanding, and love to his story that I had not encountered previously. It is very clear in this book that his story was a part of his mother’s story, who loved him very much.
It’s the love that really shines in this book. Mamie’s brave choices were rooted in love.
I highly recommend reading this book.
I really enjoyed listening to this book. It was like a breath of fresh air. I’m not sure how long I waited on hold for it through the library. It was many months and it was definitely worth the wait.
The author is an indigenous scientist of Binnizá and Maya Ch’orti’ descent working on Duwamish land at the University of Washington. Her perspectives on trauma, healing, environmentalism, academia and sciences, racism, and colonialism (and it’s lasting effects) all rang true to me.
Continue reading “Fresh Banana Leaves”Last week, I spent time working on one of the webpages on my new website. The site is still very much under construction, but I have been blogging from it, while I build it. It’s a big dream website, where I am trying to showcase various skills, abilities, and goals in one place, while preparing for my next endeavor.
The page I finished is called Information wants to be free! and it highlights my work with my most recent employer, Pima County Public Library. In 2022, I wrote three “Three Books on a Theme” blog postings for the library website. (Click through to my website to see all three listed).
The final blog post I wrote, is the one I want to highlight for Women’s History Month. It’s called “Enraged Mothers” and features two fiction and one non-fiction book that offer current perspectives on mothering in the United States.
While women’s history is made up of much more than just mothering, mothering is a huge part of history in general and is often overlooked or ignored by patriarchal historians. Without parents, families, and tribes (women included!), there would be no history. (Although, we really should call it ourstory).
I loved this book! I loved the main character and first person mental dialogue. It reminds me of Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire series. I also loved that I learned tidbits of information about various native cultures around the world.
Padoskoks is the second in the Jacob Neptune series and is set in both the Adirondacks (NY) and Puget Sound (WA).
Continue reading “Padoskoks”So I’ve been checking out a lot of cookbooks from the library lately. For inspiration, health, and information. I’ve had low back pain for weeks which has just recently relented. And my gut instinct is telling me that at least part of it is related to diet.
I liked this one so much that I purchased it:
The Wellness Mama Cookbook by Katie Wells
It’s got a lot of gluten free items as well as kid friendly meals. The coconut flour biscuits are some of the best gluten free biscuits I’ve ever made – and they are quick and easy to make.
Digestive Health With Real Food: A Practical Guide to An Anti-inflammatory, Low-irritant, Nutrient-dense Diet for IBS & Other Digestive Issues by Jacob Agalee
This book has a lot of good information but not as many inspiring recipes.
The Anti-inflammation Cookbook: The Delicious Way to Reduce Inflammation and Stay Healthy by Amanda Haas
This cookbook has lots of pretty pictures and some recipes I want to try.
The Food Lover’s Cleanse: 140 Delicious, Nourishing Recipes That Will Tempt You Back Into Healthful Eating by Sara Dickerman
And this book has even more recipes I’d like to try. I like how this book is arranged seasonally. It has recipes and menus for a two week cleanse that can be done at any time of the year – just flip to the right season. And the recipes just look like good yummy food, not things one might think of when one thinks of a cleanse (lots of raw vegetables, lemons, juices, algae, etc).
So I’ve been listening to an awesome book – You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero. I love this author and everything she has to say.
I’ve checked out the book from the library and have been listening to it as much as I can while in the car – commuting, running errands, etc… I’ve also ordered the print book from the library to start doing more of the exercises at home to raise my frequency with universal knowledge.
One of the things that resonates with me about this book is that the author has lived most of her life without having enough dough, dinero, moolah, currency to live her most badass version of her life. She became rich by changing her attitude and beliefs about money. (She also did a lot of scary uncomfortable things along the way to get her out of her comfort zone.)
I am a firm believer in beliefs and everything I’ve been hearing in this book resonates with me. So part of my journey is getting outside of my comfort zone in various ways, including posting more frequently to this poor neglected blog. I’m also doing this for the first time on a tablet- so that’s a bit uncomfortable as well… Here it goes….
So I finally got around to writing another blog posting for a book I read not too long ago. I wrote it originally for my library’s blog – because it’s a good book and it hasn’t been checked out very much. I’m posting the review here first – it won’t show up on Pima County Public Library’s blog until late September. Continue reading “Soon to be cross-posted – a review of Humboldt”
Dun and Red 