August Read/Otoor

A Bible Story: Miriam and Her Brother Moses
Author: Jean Marzollo

 This story relates to the Bible story about Moses. It shows how a brave little girl, her n name Miriam, helped to save her brother, Moses’s life. Moses led his people to freedom, after they were slaves during the Pharaoh’s time period. Pharaoh gave his soldiers a truly terrible order to throw all Hebrew baby boys into the Nile River, so they wouldn’t grow up to fight him. This happened the same year that Moses was born, so Miriam succeeded to convince the princess, daughter of Pharaoh, to save Moses’s life. Miriam also had special songs that she had taught Moses when he was a baby. When he became a prince, he wanted to help his family and all the Hebrew slaves so he led them out of Egypt.

August Read/Sherri 2

The Matzo Ball Heiress

Lauri Gwen Shapiro’s book, “The Matzo Ball Heiress,” is  light, humorous and an easy read. The story is centered around a dysfunctional family that long ago lost their Jewish identity due to the large expansion of the families prosperous business. The irony is the family money that supports their gregarious life style, is reaped from the Kosher Jewish community. The largest profit time is centered around the Jewish Holiday called Passover. The business is dwindling and so is the family. The family is given an opportunity to rebuild  their family relationships and busines but in order to accomplish this they must come together to present a Sedar on TV. The challenge is they are all estranged and have not had a Sedar in years. The story unfolds like an old vaudeville comedy of characters , from the Egyptian Consulate member, to the father’s flaming gay boyfriend, to the grandfather’s secretary/ ex-mistress, to the pothead assistant, to the three trust fund characters who want desperately to keep their inheritance a secret. A calamity of errors happens throughout the story keeping it funny yet edgy. 

August Read/Sherri

Fall of the Marigolds

“Fall of the Marigolds” is written by author Susan Meissner. Susan writes her books with an object that pulls two time period together. There are many correlations between both stories. In this book, the object is a scarf with a print of marigolds . The first time period takes place on Ellis Island in September 1911. The second time period is during the 9/11 fall of the Twin Towers. The two stories intertwine and eventually are pulled together by the story of the scarf. What I liked most was Susan’s storytelling techniques. I like reading a story, that leaves you wishing for the rest of the story and curious as to how it will unfold yet not wanting the story to end. The characters are revealed by their choices and actions. This book is about family, friendship, love, bravery, fear and humanities view of two difficult times in American history. The big lesson here is the beauty of perception and how we all have a choice in our perceptions in life.  Given we don’t always know all the information or sequences of events to know if our perception is correct. Knowing the other sides of the story can make all the difference in our truly understanding the challenges we all meet in life. Sometimes if we are lucky as our characters, we learn, with time, the whole story and  how our influences in helping others to meet their challenges, will be reviled to us.

August Read/2

Title: The Case of the Demure Defendant
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Genre: Mystery
Book Review by P. Mann VINE VOICE from amazon.com
"A young woman under the influence of the "truth" serum sodium pentathol confesses to her doctor that she poisoned the older man in whose house she had been living. After the man's death, she says, she threw the bottle containing the poison into a lake. The doctor, armed with this information and a recording of the session, consults Perry Mason, bringing the famous lawyer into the case.

The police have no knowledge that anyone has been murdered. The possible victim's cause of death was put down to natural causes years before when he died. Now, though, the police get wind of the confession, and Mason finds himself racing against time to determine whether a crime has been committed at all. He goes to the lake and succeeds in finding a bottle that, thankfully, does not contain poison. Apparently, the case is at an end. The "confession," he thinks, was just a product of the woman's imagination and guilty conscience. However, just when Mason thinks he can rest easy, the police recover a second bottle.

Now, not only is Mason's client back in hot water, but Mason himself is also facing legal trouble. The police, it seems, suspect Mason of having planted the first bottle."
My Read:
After I closed the book last night one word by Perry Mason was running in my head as I tried to close my eyes and sleep. The word is "Overlooked." It was repeated more than once by the famous lawyer at the very last chapter. Here is one quote from the lawyer: "There's one other alternative," Mason said," and I think you have all overlooked the significant thing in Newburn's testimony which was to the effect that when his wife slipped out toward the dining room, there was no one in sight, that she couldn't find Nadine or Cap'n Huge, that the double boiler containing the chocolate was on the stove, all melted, and-"..."He told us he was in the dining room all the time, washing windows." "Jackson Newburn didn't see him."-page 153-154
In real life, how many did we overlook things to miss important messages? At least, after reflection as I closed the book, I found myself victim of overlooking stuff. It's something to ponder over for me.
Good read.

August Read

Title: The Case of the Daring Divorcee
Author: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Genre: Mystery
Book description from amazon.com
     While Perry Mason and Della Street were away from the office a woman came in who feared for her life. But after giving her name, Adelle Hastings, she stepped out to the corridor and did not return. Then Perry received a phone call from Mr. Huntley L. Banner who is representing Garvin S. Hastings in the divorce. So Perry gets Paul Drake to investigate the individuals. Perry and Della follow the clues by flying to Las Vegas to investigate Adelle Hastings. Now the complications begin (Chapter Three). Adelle Hastings tells her story. Perry points out the inconsistencies, and says the police are too thorough and clever to be fooled by it. If Adelle was telling the truth she has an imposter pulling tricks on her. On the return charter flight Perry learns that a young woman had questioned the pilot about them (Chapter Four)! Adelle has realized that something is very wrong, and comes to see Perry at his office (Chapter Five). And yes, they learn that Garvin S. Hastings has been murdered. Then Huntley L. Banner calls with information he just got from Garvin Hastings! There is an educational part about people in a line-up who appear similar. Did Garvin fail to make a will to provide for Adelle, his third wife? Could his second wife have cooked up this scheme?

August Read/John

Title: HOME BEFORE MORNING
The True Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam
Published in 1983

Author:  Lynda Van Devanter
with Christopher Morgan

Graphic horror: were words numbers to be added, that might total the sum of them. If it were possible to actually do so. Her wartime experiences as a young and naive nurse in Vietnam full of hope and compassion, who was not long out of nursing school, came vividly alive in gory detail. The book is an odyssey of a girl growing up, gallow's humor, suffering and healing, despair and redemption. 

So too for the narratives that described her mental  anguish and emotional suffering of the tortured existence she and so many others laboriously endured while giving the best of themselves to patch and help heal the broken bodies, minds, hearts, and spirits - including their own -of the grievously injured and sick under terrible conditions. They even persevered many times while under attack. 

The PTSD she and others experienced from the uncaring hands of fate slowly built as she described PTSD's inextricable escalation. She then gave an account of what her life became during its harsh control, and the self medication by consuming copious amounts of alcohol, smoking grass, and failed relationships.  And finally, she laid out the long and anguished journey back to a plateau of normalization by many hours of therapy, working with other veterans, a trip back to Vietnam, and help from friends. 

August Read/Kirsten

Number the stars (Lois Lowry)

How begin a report about this poignant book?

It takes place in Copenhaguen, Denmark, in 1943, during the Second World War. Annemarie is 10 years old. She ‘s used to tell fairytales to her little sister Kirsti, with queens and kings. Her best friend is Ellen, a Jewish young girl.

During the 1943 fall, the German are beginning the “relocation” of all Danish Jews. But thanks to some Danish politics “leaks”, the Jew community is warned during the New Year that something was going to happen.

It’s the story about the Danish resistance, helping thousands of Danish Jews to escape to Sweden, which is not invaded by the Nazis. It’s this story told by a young girl, not naïve, but who has genuine thoughts about the adult world.

I’m half Danish. But from Denmark, I essentially know about culinary culture and Christmas. I didn’t know anything from the Second World War. My grandmother told us a very few, as we couldn’t speak Danish at that time. But I know about the rationing: rye-bread and some potatoes, and that was all. I had no idea about how the Danish people protected their friends. How the King Christian sank his float, so the German couldn’t use it…

Sometimes, I’m wondering if I would be as brave as Annemarie if I lived during the war. Anyway, I would advise you this book, very well written, in a simple English with just enough new words to enjoy the story AND learn English. The emotions are simple, but very poignant.

Thank you Sherri, for sharing this book with me.