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32. Tricky Business, by Dave Barry
The Extravaganza of the Seas is a five-thousand-ton cash cow, a top-heavy tub whose sole function is to carry gamblers three miles from the Florida coast, take their money, then bring them back so they can find more money. In the middle of a tropical storm one night, these characters are among the passengers it carries: Fay Benton, a single mom and cocktail waitress desperate for something to go right for once; Johnny and the Contusions, a ship's band with so little talent they are ... well, the ship's band; Arnold and Phil, two refugees from the Beaux Arts Senior Center; Lou Tarant, a wide, bald man who has killed nine people, though none recently; and an assortment of uglies whose job it is to facilitate the ship's true business, which is money-laundering or drug-smuggling or ... something.
This book is funny, though not as funny as Barry's first novel, Big Trouble. It lampoons gambling, drug smuggling, grumpy old men (I envisioned Jack Lemmon and Walter Mathau while reading), the "F" word, and Titanic. (The captain of the casino ship is Edward "Eddie" Smith, the first mate is Henry "Hank" Wilde, and the leader of the band is Wallace "Wally" Hartley.) The ship goes out in a tropical storm (because it has to meet up with the smugglers). Various people are double-crossing various other people, romance is found (and lost, on occasion), seasickness happens hilariously (really), and plenty of weed is smoked.
33. Red Sky at Morning, by Richard Bradford
The classic coming-of-age story set during World War II about the enduring spirit of youth and the values in life that count.
Josh Arnold becomes the man of the house at age 17 when he and his mother move to Sagrado, New Mexico in 1944. (His father is in the Navy.) While Josh's mother finds the social differences difficult to deal with (they were originally from Mobile, Alabama), Josh himself makes friends and comes of age in the final year of World II. This book is considered a classic of 20th century literature, and rightly so. It has a good mix of humor, drama, and social commentary, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys coming of age stories or Westerns set during the 20th century.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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#28 Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Parisveryone knows a couple like Jack and Grace: he has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You'd like to get to know Grace better. But it's difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love.
Picture this: a dinner party at their perfect home, the conversation and wine flowing. They appear to be in their element while entertaining. And Grace's friends are eager to reciprocate with lunch the following week. Grace wants to go, but knows she never will. Her friends call—so why doesn't Grace ever answer the phone? And how can she cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim?
And why are there bars on one of the bedroom windows?
The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie? This was no "Gone Girl". Parts of the premise were difficult to accept. I wanted to see how it ended but I wouldn't read this book again.
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#29 The Family Next Door by Sally HepworthThe small suburb of Pleasant Court lives up to its name. It's the kind of place where everyone knows their neighbours, and children play in the street.
Isabelle Heatherington doesn't fit into this picture of family paradise. Husbandless and childless, she soon catches the attention of three Pleasant Court mothers.
But Ange, Fran and Essie have their own secrets to hide. Like the reason behind Ange's compulsion to control every aspect of her life. Or why Fran won't let her sweet, gentle husband near her new baby. Or why, three years ago, Essie took her daughter to the park - and returned home without her. Ok story - A little too soapy for my taste.
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#30 The Feed by Nick Clark WindoThe Feed is everywhere. It can be accessed by anyone, at any time. Every interaction, every emotion, every image can be shared through it.
Tom and Kate use The Feed, but they have resisted addiction to it. And this will serve them well when The Feed collapses.
Until their six-year-old daughter, Bea, goes missing. This book had a lot of potential. The concept of the Feed and society's addiction to it. The consequences once society collapses. Even such concepts as should we back up people on computers to make them immortal. The writing style was a bit confusing. The characters went back in forth - in the present and past. It was hard to distinguish sometimes what was happening. I didn't like the characters. It also felt with such big concepts that the author could've improved the story. Joan
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34. The Clearwater Union War, by Ron Carter
The folks of Clearwater, Idaho, had rarely come face to face with any city folk, so a group of Chicago gangsters driving through town in an old hearse drew a crowd right away. Later, when the gangsters' hearse pulled up to Abe and Beth's meatpacking company, the locals just assumed the circus was in town. And although they misjudged the purpose of their guests' visit, these small-town Idaho natives weren't far off.
Although this book was funny in parts, I disliked the strong anti-union stance. One would think, from reading this book, that all union officials are thugs and that the people they are trying to recruit are better off without a minimum wage, unemployment insurance, etc.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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#31 Bear Town by Fredrik BackmanThe #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove returns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream—and the price required to make it come true. Wow! What a great book!I was instantly engaged. It involves a hockey team (and I'm not a sports person) but the story is about so much more than that.
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#32 Educated by Tara WestoverAn unforgettable memoir in the tradition of The Glass Castle about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University What a story. Tara comes from a drastically different background. It's amazing she made it to college, given her circumstances.
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#33 Being Mortal by Atul GawandeIn Being Mortal, bestselling author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending Excellent book addressing some tough issues regarding quality of life and medical choices.
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Just got back from vacation: #34 An American Marriage by Tayari Jones Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together. I hoped this was going to go in a different direction. These were interesting characters but not especially likeable. #35 The Fever by Megan AbbottThe panic unleashed by a mysterious contagion threatens the bonds of family and community in a seemingly idyllic suburban community. I was impressed by another book by this author so I thought I'd try this one, hoping for a drama/thriller. It wasn't what I expected, it was more of a YA feel. #36 Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste NgIn Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the alluring mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community. Excellent book!!!
Last edited by scifiJoan; 07/04/18 04:22 PM.
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#38 The Great Alone by Kristen HannahAlaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier. Initially I was excited about this book. I enjoyed getting insight into daily life in the wilds of Alaska. Yet, I've read several other books by this author. They're usually an engaging story but more of what I'd call "chick-lit" - a little unrealistic and melodramatic. While this author has picked a more serious setting, there's still a lot of chick-lit going on here.
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#39 Never Fade by Alexandra BrackenSecond book in the Darkest Mind series Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster.
When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her. Okay storyline. I'll read the final book, just to finish it up. Joan
Last edited by scifiJoan; 07/14/18 11:57 PM.
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#40 Columbine by Dave CullenWhat really happened April 20, 1999? The horror left an indelible stamp on the American psyche, but most of what we "know" is wrong. It wasn't about jocks, Goths, or the Trench Coat Mafia. Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on scene, and spent ten years on this book-widely recognized as the definitive account. With a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen, he draws on mountains of evidence, insight from the world's leading forensic psychologists, and the killers' own words and drawings-several reproduced in a new appendix. Cullen paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers. They contrast starkly with the flashes of resilience and redemption among the survivors. I remember the misconceptions in the news at that time. This book does a nice job of addressing facts vs rumors. Joan
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#41 The Garner Files: A Memoir by James Garner and Jon Winokur
Entertaining biography about James Garner
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#42 Survival by Ben BovaA human team sent to scout a few hundred lightyears in front of the death wave encounters a civilization far in advance of our own, a civilization of machine intelligences.
These sentient, intelligent machines have existed for eons, and have survived earlier "death waves," gamma ray bursts from the core of the galaxy. They are totally self-sufficient, completely certain that the death wave cannot harm them, and utterly uninterested in helping to save other civilizations, organic or machine.
But now that the humans have discovered them, they refuse to allow them to leave their planet, reasoning that other humans will inevitably follow if they learn of their existence. Lackluster installment in the latest series.
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Just got back from a week in Colorado: #43 The Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsA tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that, despite its profound flaws, gave the author the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms I was surprised the author didn't seem more annoyed/angry with her parents for many of their actions, some of which verged on abuse in my eyes. #44 War Storm by Victoria AveyardLast book in the Red Dawn series Victory comes at a price.
Mare Barrow learned this all too well when Cal’s betrayal nearly destroyed her. Now determined to protect her heart—and secure freedom for Reds and newbloods like her—Mare resolves to overthrow the kingdom of Norta once and for all… starting with the crown on Maven’s head. I actually got caught up in this more than the previous books in the series. There were some interesting conflicts. I was a little annoyed by one of the conclusions (judging from Good Reads feedback - many were very upset by it) but overall it was a good read.
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#45 Hunger by Roxane GayFrom the bestselling author of Bad Feminist: a searingly honest memoir of food, weight, self-image, and learning how to feed your hunger while taking care of yourself It took a lot of guts for her to write this story, to expose her inner self to the world. The author went through a terribly traumatic experience at age 12 and still seems to be working things out. I was a little annoyed that the writer contradicted herself a lot. She'd comment on how she didn't like people judging her for being overweight yet in the next paragraph make snide comments about thin girls at the gym. She hated that her doctors wanted her to lose weight and then she'd devote an entire chapter to her physical problems caused by excess weight.
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#46 In the Afterlight by Alexandra BrackenRuby can't look back. Fractured by an unbearable loss, she and the kids who survived the government's attack on Los Angeles travel north to regroup. With them is a prisoner: Clancy Gray, son of the president, and one of the few people Ruby has encountered with abilities like hers. Only Ruby has any power over him, and just one slip could lead to Clancy wreaking havoc on their minds.
They are armed only with a volatile secret: proof of a government conspiracy to cover up the real cause of IAAN, the disease that has killed most of America's children and left Ruby and others like her with powers the government will kill to keep contained. But internal strife may destroy their only chance to free the "rehabilitation camps" housing thousands of other Psi kids. Decent ending to the trilogy.
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#47 Home-Alone America: The Hidden Toll of Day Care, Behavioral Drugs, and Other Parent Substitutes by Mary Eberstadt
Some of her points are valid while I disagreed with others.
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#48 Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill
This book gave lots of details (which got a bit dull) about this girl's upbringing in the Sea. Org - a special branch of Scientology. Frankly the only thing that kept me reading was to see this kid get out of this horrible environment.
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#49 The Identicals by Elin HilderbrandNantucket is only two and a half hours away from Martha's Vineyard by ferry. But the two islands might as well be worlds apart for a set of identical twin sisters who have been at odds for years. When a family crisis forces them to band together — or at least appear to — the twins slowly come to realize that the special bond that they share is more important than the sibling rivalry that's driven them apart for the better part of their lives. Definitely a light and fluffy beach read.
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