Inspector Lynley Series by Elizabeth George

I love a good mystery novel. A good one. And I love a good mystery series even better. And I really got into this series. I picked up my first Inspector Lynley novel several years ago at my Mom's urging. And I have to confess, although I thoroughly enjoyed the books from the start, the writing has improved as Elizabeth George has continued her story of Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sargent Barbara Havers. You may have seen this series televised (butchered, in my not so humble opinion) on PBS Mystery over the last few years. Some of the things I love best about these: they take me all over England, and I like the way she writes her mysteries. Much less contrived than some. The overarching storyline is as intriguing as each mystery. The last one, This Body Of Death, in my opinion is her best so far. It reminded me of Prime Suspect (I think maybe she based a character on Jane Tennyson). Anyway if you want some books to keep you hooked these are they. Not perfect, but enjoyable.

Left To Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza

Before I get going on my recommendation I have to let you know that I have a very hard time with memoirs. I always feel that I am getting a very slanted story. I simply have a hard time trusting the authors. I guess I am a pretty big skeptic. It seems the main characters are always the total victim or the total hero and I have a hard time buying their stories. But, with that said, this is a memoir I highly recommend. Imaculee's story, even if embellished, is one everyone should read. It will make you completely rethink your relationship with God, your faith, and most of all it will teach you how incredibly powerful the act of forgiveness can be. Immaculee is a woman who knows what it means to pray and to have perfect faith. She is a woman who truly has a personal relationship with God. I was afraid to read this book because it is about the Rwandan Genocide, but it was uplifting, not depressing and disturbing. Imaculee tells a powerful story and I think this is one of those books that leaves its mark. It is a must read.

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

"Lights shine in the city of Ember—but at the city limits the light ends, and darkness takes over. Out there in the Unknown Regions, the darkness goes on forever in all directions. Ember—so its people believe—is the only light in the dark world. And now the lights of the city are beginning to fail. Is there a way to save the people of Ember? No one knows. But Lina Mayfleet has found a puzzling document, and Doon Harrow has made discoveries down in the Pipeworks. With these clues, they start their search."

I enjoyed this book. It is a quick read and a fun read. I did find the darkness clausterphobic and it made me anxious,and made me crave the imagry of a tree and blue sky. But that is because the writing is well done. This is the first in a series of four. I am looking forward to the other three books.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

This is, in my opinion, a fascinating must-read. It is incredibly interesting. It talks about why people succeed: how they become outliers. Genius, apparently doesn't have a huge role to play in success. Opportunity, chance, and culture seem to be the key players in success. Mozart had to put in about 10,000 hours of time before he became a master of composition. Bill Gates was fortunate enough to go to a high school that happened to have a computer (in the sixties this was extremely unusual) and so he was able to put in about 10,000 hours of programming time, setting the stage for him to come into Silicon valley at just the perfect time. NHL players in Canada tend to have birthdays in the first three months of January. Why? What is it about being born early in the year that makes someone a better Hockey player? What is the significance of being born in a three year range in the early 1800's that enabled Rockerfeller and Carnegie to reach the pinnacles of success whereas those that came before or after by only a few years, didn't have the same advantages? Why did Korean Airlines have more airplane crashes than most airlines? Were their pilots inferior, or was there something else happening? Read it and find out. You will love this book. (This review makes me feel like I'm on Reading Rainbow...."but don't take my word for it" :-).

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This is one of the better books I've read in a while. It is about the "colored help" in Jackson Missisppi at the height of the civil rights movement. It spotlights, two maids and one white woman. They come together, at great risk to themselves to tell the story of what it is like to be a black servant in the Jim Crow South. It chronicles the very complicated relationship these maids have with the children they tend and the white women who rule over them. It was nuanced and insightful. Each characters voice was believable and well written. It was very gripping and made the time on my plane ride whiz by. I highly recommend this book.

A Guide To The Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Grayson

I personally love the books of Alexander McCall Smith, so when I picked up this book I was pleasantly surprised by the gentle humorous style which reminds me so much of Smith's writing. This is a book about Mr. Malik, a widower, who has a crush on the widow Rose Mbikwa, the woman who leads the weekly bird walk in Nairobi. Anyway as the book progresses Mr. Malik finds himself involved in a competition with an old school mate (his old nemesis) Mr. Kahn, to see who can spot the most species of birds in Kenya within a week. The winner of the competition gets the privilege of asking Rose to the premier social event in Nairobi, the Hunt Club Ball. There are adventures along the way, and Mr. Malik remains a true gentleman throughout the competition. It was a fun glimpse into Nairobi, and the birds of Kenya. If you are a birdwatcher don't miss this book, but certainly even non-birdwatchers will also enjoy it. I really loved this wonderful, light, entertaining book.

No Shame, No Fear and Forged In the Fire by Ann Turnbull

I've been debating posting these books, since I read them earlier this summer. The main plot is kind of predictable and although enjoyable not particularly noteworthy. But I am posting about them anyway because the subject and setting was fascinating. No Shame, No Fear is about a Quaker girl living in England in the seventeenth century and the persecution that came with being a Quaker at that time. I had no idea about the Quakers and I found reading about them fascinating. Their views were revolutionary. They believed in people being able to feel the Spirit without a paid clergy and that all people are equals despite social class, gender, or any other factor. Quite a radical concept for that time. The book sent me to Wikipedia and many other websites learning about them. The book Forged in the Fire is the sequel to No Shame No Fear and is about the same characters who move to London. The story itself wasn't as interesting to me as it was to read about the Plague and the Great Fire of London, that occured in the same year. I found both topics totally fascinating, learned a lot, and went online to read more.

Love Walked In by Maria De Los Santos

What a good read. I finished this today and I really enjoyed it. It starts out as a romance story, but quickly progresses in a direction you would not expect. A young terrified girl tries her best to cope on her own as her mother slides into mental illness. A woman living in Philadelphia, managing a cafe, is sure she has met the man of her dreams when Martin walks into the cafe. He looks like Cary Grant, acts like Cary Grant, and is her ideal of perfection. Meeting him begins a chain of events that lead to love. Real true love. But not the real true love you would expect.

I loved the characters, I loved the story. It was touching and soulful.

Dark Angel by Robert Kirby

A friend of mine loaned me this book when I had my last baby. I was highly skeptical for 2 reasons: the plot seemed hokey and it was a "mormon" novel. But I picked it up and couldn't put it down, which was good because I was constantly feeding my newborn. Kirby is a Mormon satirist who has a column that pokes fun of Mormon culture in the Salt Lake tribune. This book is not satire, however. I would put it in the same genre as These Is My Words. It is the story of a young girl growing up in Salt Lake Valley during the Brigham Young era. She is the daughter of the first wife of a polygamist bishop. (See, ick, right?) Robert Kirby handles the polygamy issue with humor and sympathy. Anyway, she is a tomboy and when a mysterious man saves her and her sister from a pretty bad situation the family takes this mysterious Dark Angel in. He sleeps in the barn and helps out around the farm. Rumors about this cold blooded stranger take the community by storm and the plot thickens. Anyway, it was a great read. I loved imagining the Salt Lake Valley back in the pre-overdeveloped era. I loved the portrayal of the family. I really loved this book. It was a very fun read. My mom read it and loved it too, and was also surprised she liked it so much. And it is hokey and silly at times. But still it is a fun read.

The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein

One of the most interesting parts of this book is the author wrote it when he was in his nineties.  It is the story of his childhood.  He grew up Jewish in a Northern England manufacturing town.  On one half of his street lived the Christians, and on the other half lived the Jews.  Harry was the son of an abusive alcoholic and a devoted mother who struggled to make ends meet and to provide for her children.  The invisible wall that divided his street came down when death came to the street in the form of World War One.  The book was slightly reminiscent of Angela's Ashes.  The main story of the book is his sister's love for the Christian neighbor boy across the street.  It was enjoyable and although not the finest literature I've read, a quick interesting book. (The sequel is sitting on my nightstand, The Dream, about his families struggles as immigrants in the USA).

Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Patillo Beals

Warriors Don't Cry is the story of the "Little Rock Nine" told by Melba. They were the nine students who volunteered to integrate Little Rock High School in the late 1950's. They are amazing and suffered extreme persecution and ugly racial hatred. It was a war zone and the students really did risk their lives and I'd even say sanity by attempting to defy the segregationists. But what they did was valuable and their sacrifice did eventually bring about positive change for a racist country. I read the abridged version, which wasn't great by literary standards (I read it for book club and my library only carried the abridged version). The courage and sense of purpose these teenagers had was overwhelming. It is a very powerful story.

The Lizard Cage by Karen Connelly

This novel takes place entirely within the confines of a Burmese Prison.  The main character, Teza, is a political prisoner.  He has been sentenced to 20 years of solitary confinement, but finds ways to free his mind and spirit through small and powerful means.  The writing is very well done and one gets such a good sense of the political situation in Burma.  The author does a wonderful job of pointing out beauty in what would seem to be a beauty-free environment.  It is a tribute to the human soul and all that is good about people.  The back cover says, "The Lizard Cage is an urgent, necessary addition to the canon of fiction about political oppression . . . the novel tells the story of the friendship between a Burmese political prisoner and a young orphan boy.  Set entirely in a prison called the Lizard Cage, it is a gripping exploration of how human connection can liberate one's spirit despite unimaginably, cruel circumstances, as seen through the eyes of an idealistic revolutionary who inspires in a child the bravery to escape a life of confinement."  It is a powerful story, and a book I think everyone should read.

(For those that may care, the prisoners speak like prisoners and behave like prisoners, so don't expect it to be a Pollyannaesque story).