RIP Bob Loomis, Quote of the Day, Arundel's Inspiring Mural, Stormsong by C.L. Polk, Mornings with Rosemary by Libby Page and Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Well, my bibliophile friends, I've been putting off writing this latest post out of ennui and anxiety over the eagerness of some people in society to put the economy ahead of the immune compromised, the elderly and the very young who don't have immune systems that can fight the coronavirus. There are too many selfish asshats out there who don't care who dies, as long as they can work and bring money to the greedy capitalist overlords of American society. So the government, lead by a greedy capitalist baboon, is urging everyone to open their businesses back up in early May, when doctors and scientists recommend not opening anything up until late May or early June, because that would save hundreds of thousands of lives. There are millions who haven't been tested for the virus who are asymptomatic, and are going to spread it to millions of others, who will eventually spread it to people like me, for whom it is fatal. Hence my anxiety and fear of dying on a ventilator before my 60th birthday in December. Anyway, I just have to press on, stay home and hope that my son and husband don't get it and bring it home anytime soon.

Once again, we've lost another legendary editor to the coronavirus. 

Obituary Note: Bob Loomis

Bob Loomis http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44006580, who spent most of his long career as an editor at Random House, died on Sunday, April 19. He was 93.

In a letter to staff, Gina Centrello, president & publisher of Random House, called Loomis "one of the greatest editors Random House, and our industry, has ever known." He had retired in 2011, at age 85, and began his career at Random House in 1957, "in the days of our founders, Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer," Centrello wrote. "Bob edited Maya Angelou (every one of her more than 30 books), William Styron, Edmund Morris, Robert Massie, Shelby Foote, Calvin Trillin, and hundreds of others whose literary careers he guided, assisting them in the creation of many works that have been and will be read for decades....

"I was just one of many who adored and learned from Bob, who inspired several generations of editors and publishers. His values and work ethic are permanently embedded in the Random House DNA."

The New York Times called Loomis "an editor who bloodlessly transformed embryonic manuscripts by a pantheon of 20th-century American authors into award-winning and best-selling books....

"He was so solicitous that, at first blush, an author might be lured into believing that his manuscript, gingerly sprinkled with rhetorical questions, was virtually complete--only to be invited to a rigorous line-by-line copy-editing tutorial at Mr. Loomis's desk, or a broader conversation over two double Jack Daniels's at lunch."

The Times quoted Loomis as likening editing to a quasi-religious function: "You have to turn your collar around like a priest," he said. "You offer a lot of praise, you have confession and you have faith, and pretty soon they might trust you enough to know that you're not trying to make the book in your own image. It's their book."

I totally agree with this quote, because bookstores and libraries are places of worship for me. I love them and miss them terribly. But many are now succeeding with online sales.

Quotation of the Day

'Everybody Wins When Bookstores Succeed'

"In honor of World Book Day this April 23, it seems the right time to say this: we believe in books. George R.R. Martin wrote it well in his novel A Dance with Dragons, 'A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies.... The man who never reads lives only one.' Great books can do this to a person. Essential to the human experience, books transport us, inform us, and have the power to lift our spirits when we need it most.

"But books don't sell themselves, which is why we also believe in bookstores--and the incredible, knowledgeable, and passionate people who run them. Sadly, after a decade of recovery and growth that affirmed the importance of reading, writing, and publishing, bookstores are suddenly facing a moment of monumental crisis at the hands of the Covid-19 pandemic. In some instances, these beloved institutions, which mean so much to so many communities, face the very real possibility that they will never open their doors again.

"We cannot let this happen because we need bookstores now more than ever. As award-winning poet and writer Jen Campbell wrote in her book The Bookshop Book, 'Bookshops are dreams built of wood and paper. They are time travel and escape and knowledge and power. They are, simply put, the best of places.'

"We are therefore asking for your help to save these best of places. Please visit your community bookstores online or find them at Indiebound.org. Your actions matter and they are waiting for you: a little shopping today will do so much to ensure their futures. You can also make a donation to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation here: Save Indie Bookstores http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44062607. Everybody wins when bookstores succeed. Thank you for your help and happy reading!"--A joint post yesterday from Maria Pallante, president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers; Mary Rasenberger, executive director of the Authors Guild; and Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association

 Arundels is a magical bookstore in Pioneer Square, one of the first places I visited when we moved to Seattle (from Florida, by way of Mass and Iowa before that) in 1991. At that time, there were 5 or 6 bookstores right in that area, and Arundel's was this wonderful Victorian-looking place that made you think the doors to Narnia and the Hobbit's shire were somewhere in the stacks. Bravo to Arundel for creating a mural that gives hope of brighter days ahead for book lovers and booksellers in Seattle.

Image of the Day: Arundel's Inspiring Mural

So many businesses are boarded up in Seattle's historic Pioneer Square neighborhood--not far from Shelf Awareness's office--that people are calling it "Plywood Square." When Arundel Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44062652 was forced to halt retail operations, the store wanted to convey a positive message. The result is this mural, based on text by Neil Gaiman and created by local artist Amanda Joyce Bishop and designer Ty Kreft. Gaiman has long been one of the favorite authors of many Arundel staffers, and one of the authors the store recommends most. 

Arundel Books founder Phil Bevis said, "The work was so inspiring we wanted to share it, as it truly represents our belief that books can raise your spirits during difficult times, and add enjoyment to your life when times are good."

The mural design is available as a poster http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44062653,created by Arundel's indie press affiliate Chatwin Books and printed in Seattle on heavy archival stock. It is available as a limited edition signed by the artist and as a regular unsigned edition.

 Stormsong by C.L Polk is the sequel to Polks well received Witchmark, which I reviewed a year or so ago quite favorably. (I just checked and it was June 20 of 2018, so nearly two years ago). Witchmark was the story of Miles Singer and his beloved Tristan, who want to find out why souls are disappearing and why witches are committed to insane asylums if they don't agree to be used as magical "batteries" for those in power. This novel takes up where the last left off, but it's Dame Grace Hensley's story of trying to rebuild a world without using witches and souls to power lights and healing and everything else. She's also walking a tightrope by not telling society about the reason behind her shutting down the use of witches to enslave souls for weather work and other things. Here's the blurb: C. L. Polk continues the Kingston Cycle in Stormsong. Magical cabals, otherworldly avengers, and impossible love affairs conspire to create a book that refuses to be put down.

Dame Grace Hensley helped her brother Miles undo the atrocity that stained her nation, but now she has to deal with the consequences. With the power out in the dead of winter and an uncontrollable sequence of winter storms on the horizon, Aeland faces disaster. Grace has the vision to guide her parents to safety, but a hostile queen and a ring of rogue mages stand in the way of her plans. There's revolution in the air, and any spark could light the powder. What's worse, upstart photojournalist Avia Jessup draws ever closer to secrets that could topple the nation, and closer to Grace's heart.
Can Aeland be saved without bloodshed? Or will Kingston die in flames, and Grace along with it?

While I understand why the author has to use the second novel to get further into the political situation in Aeland and its surrounding areas, I found the political turmoil and intrigue to be deadly dull after awhile, and I felt that it slowed the plot to a crawl in many places before the action picked up again. That said, Polk has a way with character that is amazing. She manages to keep the prose steady, though a bit stolid, on stormy seas of plot during the entire novel. Grace was a bit too self effacing and naive when it came to the female reporter she falls in love with, but I still enjoyed watching her fight for what is right against all odds and against the will of a greedy Queen. I'd give this sophomore effort by Polk a B, and recommend it to those who've read Witchmark. 

Mornings with Rosemary by Libby Page reminded me of  The Story of Arthur Truluv and a Man Called Ove, because it is a heartfelt book about the importance of community and friendship, whether it's within a group of people who swim at the community pool or a diverse group of people who live on the same street and help each other find their place in the world. Here's the blurb: We’re never too old to make new friends—or make a difference.

Rosemary Peterson has lived in Brixton, London, all her life, but everything is changing.
The library where she used to work has closed. The family grocery store has become a trendy bar. And now the lido, an outdoor pool where she’s swum daily since its opening, is threatened with closure by a local housing developer. It was at the lido that Rosemary escaped the devastation of World War II; here she fell in love with her husband, George; here she found community during her marriage and since George’s death.
Twentysomething Kate Matthews has moved to Brixton and feels desperately alone. A once-promising writer, she now covers forgettable stories for her local paper. That is, until she’s assigned to write about the lido’s closing. Soon Kate’s portrait of the pool focuses on a singular woman: Rosemary. And as Rosemary slowly opens up to Kate, both women are nourished and transformed in ways they never thought possible.
“Charming [and] an unusually poignant tale of married love” (The Washington Post), Mornings with Rosemary is a feel-good novel that captures the heart and spirit of a community across generations—an irresistible tale of love, loss, aging, and friendship.  

I must admit that I was also drawn to this book because my late best friend's first name was Rosemarie, and I think she would have loved this book, and would have written books like this for publication had she lived longer. Though there are some rather cheesy emotional moments that anyone who has ever read a "cozy" British mystery can tell you are standards of the genre, I found the light and bright prose and the elderly protagonist to be utterly charming. The plot flowed naturally and easily as a stream in summer, and if you aren't a bit misty-eyed by the end of the book, you have no heart. I'd give the book an A-, and recommend it to anyone who likes quirky, cozy and warm-hearted stories during this time of global health crisis. It will take your mind off your troubles for awhile.

Untamed by Glennon Doyle is a revolutionary memoir about feminism, growth, finding yourself and your family and becoming whole as a person. I was not expecting this book to be such a page-turner, but every paragraph is chock full of insights and wisdom and brutal, often sarcastic, honesty. Here's the blurb: In her most revealing and powerful memoir yet, the activist, speaker, bestselling author, and “patron saint of female empowerment” (People) explores the joy and peace we discover when we stop striving to meet others’ expectations and start trusting the voice deep within us.

This is how you find yourself.

There is a voice of longing inside each woman. We strive so mightily to be good: good partners, daughters, mothers, employees, and friends. We hope all this striving will make us feel alive. Instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, overwhelmed, and underwhelmed. We look at our lives and wonder: Wasn’t it all supposed to be more beautiful than this? We quickly silence that question, telling ourselves to be grateful, hiding our discontent—even from ourselves.

For many years, Glennon Doyle denied her own discontent. Then, while speaking at a conference, she looked at a woman across the room and fell instantly in love. Three words flooded her mind: There She Is. At first, Glennon assumed these words came to her from on high. But she soon realized they had come to her from within. This was her own voice—the one she had buried beneath decades of numbing addictions, cultural conditioning, and institutional allegiances. This was the voice of the girl she had been before the world told her who to be. Glennon decided to quit abandoning herself and to instead abandon the world’s expectations of her. She quit being good so she could be free. She quit pleasing and started living.

Soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, Untamed is both an intimate memoir and a galvanizing wake-up call. It is the story of how one woman learned that a responsible mother is not one who slowly dies for her children, but one who shows them how to fully live. It is the story of navigating divorce, forming a new blended family, and discovering that the brokenness or wholeness of a family depends not on its structure but on each member’s ability to bring her full self to the table. And it is the story of how each of us can begin to trust ourselves enough to set boundaries, make peace with our bodies, honor our anger and heartbreak, and unleash our truest, wildest instincts so that we become women who can finally look at ourselves and say: There She Is.

Untamed shows us how to be brave. As Glennon insists: The braver we are, the luckier we get. 

When I find a book that has something profound to say I put post it markers on the paragraphs that I want to transcribe to my journal, so as to hoard some of these precious insights for myself. Some books its one or two little flag post its, and some its a fringe of them. Untamed has an enormous fringe of post it flags that will take me the better part of a weekend to transcribe...it was that good. Though I am not gay, I found Glennon's insights into falling in love and upending a traditional marriage to live your truth to be profound and fascinating. Her insights into parenting, creativity, understanding the need for body autonomy when society tells you exactly what to do with your body, if you're female, practically from the cradle, are mind-blowing. the only part of this book that I didn't agree with was the premise that all white people are automatically racists at base. I don't agree with that premise at all, so that part of the book didn't speak to me, as it were. And while I understand Glennon's need to constantly fight against misogyny and societal injustice, I don't believe that because I don't spend my life doing the same that I am a bad person, or that I'm allowing these social evils to flourish. When I was younger and not disabled, I did sign petitions and go on hunger strike for Oxfam, or protest for good causes, but those things, while seemingly important, really didn't do much to alleviate suffering or change things for the better. Still, I laud Glennon and her family for striving to make the world a better place. I enjoyed this book and it's shining prose and insightful peek into the authors life. I think it takes guts and smarts to be willing to mine your soul for all these insights and lay them bare for the world to see. Brava, Glennon Doyle. I'd give your gutsy memoir an A, and recommend it to every woman in America, or the world, for that matter.

Next Page Books Posts Poems, Celebrity Love for Chaucer's Books. Island Books Chalkboard, The Birth of Sesame Street, The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict, The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates,and Mercy House by Alena Dillon

A bookstore in my home state of Iowa has improvised a quarantine version of National Poetry Month. In these uncertain times, I am grateful that so many people are ordering books and puzzles and food online, to be delivered to people's homes, so the stores themselves benefit by still having employees and money coming in, and people benefit by getting goods that they need to keep from going bananas during the Coronavirus crisis.

Although April is National Poetry Month, "due to circumstances beyond our control, we've had to change our plans for how best to celebrate," Next Page Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43884317, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, noted in a Facebook post. "So, beginning tomorrow and continuing every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday through April, we will post a different poem in our storefront window for folks to read while out for their daily dose of fresh air. We ask for your cooperation with observing appropriate social distancing so, please, no crowding in front of the store. Oh! And feel free to share a favorite poem with us, too!"

I love that these celebs are supportive of their local bookstore!

A Little Celebrity Love for Chaucer's Books in Calif.

Chaucer's Bookstore http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43944696, Santa Barbara, Calif., shared a little love it received from loyal customers http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43944697 actress/producer Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her writer/director/producer husband, Brad Hall, who wrote:

"It's easier to buy books than to read them. We look at all the unread volumes on our shelves: the thrilling thrillers, the thick biographies, the sentimental 19th century novels, the Mann Booker short-listers! Look them all! We ask ourselves if were we fools to purchase so blithely? We wonder when on earth will we have a chance to read all of these?

"And then comes the Corona. Gee whiz. We are blessed to be isolating here in Santa Barbara with the mountain paths calling, the beaches beckoning. We are grateful to our local health professionals and essential workers--and look who turns out to be really essential. Seeing the true worth of the labors of these wonderful people, perhaps we can now and forever pay them accordingly?

"And while counting our Santa Barbara blessings, we get back to those books on our shelves, bought on impulse, or for the jacket cover, or because Pico Iyer was going to interview the author at UCSB. What do they all have in common? Chaucer's! We bought nearly all of them at Chaucer's. That Chaucer's is essential is one thing upon which every Santa Barbarian can agree. Don't we all look forward to once again sitting on the floor over at the 'S' shelf of the fiction section re-reading a piece of an Elizabeth Strout book as a fellow customer reaches over us saying, 'Excuse me, just need to grab that Steinbeck...?' That day will come soon enough, and until then, we have those shelves.... Stay safe and cozy."

 Here's a tidbit from one of my favorite bookstores of all time, Island Books on Mercer Island. I miss it desperately!

Chalkboard: Island Books

"Thank you all for reading from afar... http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43975480" reads the chalkboard at Island Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43975481 Mercer Island, Wash. The bookstore noted: "This says it all. We are forever grateful for your ongoing support. We love our Island Books community, the MI community and bookstore friends far and wide."

I remember when Sesame Street debuted on TV, and though I was "too old" for such a babyish program, I came to love a lot of the shows that followed in its wake, like Schoolhouse Rock and Zoom. I will try to find a paperback copy of this book when it comes out, because I am sure it's fascinating reading. BTW, I did grow up watching Captain Kangaroo and the local equivalent, Duane Ellot and Floppy (a dog puppet).

Book Review

Review: Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution that Changed America

The scene was set: in the 1960s, it was recognized that young children of color weren't keeping up academically with their white peers, and new studies were showing that the preschool years were more developmentally critical than educators had previously realized. Meanwhile, with the right enticement, toddlers were proving themselves capable of seemingly effortless learning. As Children's Television Workshop (CTW) cofounder Joan Ganz Cooney puts it in David Kamp's enchanting Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution that Changed America, "Every child in America was singing beer commercials. Now, where had they learned beer commercials?"

In galloped Cooney and her team of visionaries to harness the power of television to address the learning gap between inner-city children and their white counterparts. Having secured both corporate and government funding and the services of a brilliant young puppeteer named Jim Henson, the CTW, working out of New York City, created Sesame Street, whose quick cuts and wowie-zowie vibe was filched from the popular sketch-comedy show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Cooney and her collaborators, who saw Sesame Street as experimental, weren't convinced that the show would last more than one season.

Not only was Sesame Street an out-of-the-gate hit that featured television's first truly multicultural cast, but research suggested that kids who watched the show were indeed learning their ABCs and 123s. Other programs, segments and specials seeking to teach children academic basics and self-esteem-building skills followed, on public and commercial television, with the CTW's imprimatur and without it. Kamp covers the better known among these efforts, including The Electric Company, Zoom and Schoolhouse Rock! (He also honors the ground-laying work of Bob "Captain Kangaroo" Keeshan and, of course, Fred Rogers, who, it must be said, was no fan of Sesame Street's pacing and pratfalls.) By the time Free to Be... You and Me aired in 1974, "the Sesame Street model was now the paradigm," writes Kamp, "and the media literacy of small children was a given."

For readers of a certain generation, Sunny Days will have a thrilling flashback effect, like a fizzy nostalgia drink, and the book's archival photos only enhance the time-tripping experience. For millennial readers, Sunny Days will be both a captivating glimpse at a revolutionary time and a blueprint for what's possible with a little seed money, civic-mindedness, feathers and glue. --Nell Beram, author and freelance writer

Here are my latest reviews (I have 20 new books that I will be reviewing in the coming months, so stay tuned!)

The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict is the story of Hedy Lamarr, an Austrian actress who escaped her Nazi munitions manufacturing husband and a guilded cage of wealth and abuse, to come to America and star in movies here, where she became famous for her beauty, but not for her brilliance. Here's the blurb:

She possessed a stunning beauty. She also possessed a stunning mind. Could the world handle both?
Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star.
But she kept a secret more shocking than her heritage or her marriage: she was a scientist. And she knew a few secrets about the enemy. She had an idea that might help the country fight the Nazis...if anyone would listen to her.
A powerful novel based on the incredible true story of the glamour icon and scientist whose groundbreaking invention revolutionized modern communication, The Only Woman in the Room is a masterpiece.

Though there is sexist nonsense even in the above blurb (why wouldn't a woman be "able to handle" how she looks, which is something she has little control over, and her sharp and inventive mind? Have men cornered the market on being handsome and also having a brain??) I was still expecting to find that Lamarr's genius ideas and intel on the Nazis would be used to help the war effort...so I was surprised that the idiot men in charge couldn't allow her ideas and inventions to be used merely because she was a woman, and they felt that male egos were more important than saving soldiers lives and shortening the war by helping allied forces win. Still, eventually Lamar's ideas were used in the development of cell phone towers and signals, and other aspects of modern life. I fully believe this is a story that needs to be told, and that kids should read in high school. The prose is muscular and the plot sleek and strong. I enjoyed this book, and feel it merits an A, while I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about the hidden history of WWII.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is an utterly delightful fantasy novel that reminded me of the early Harry Potter books and Gail Carriger's Finishing School series with a touch of Douglas Adams and The Orville (Seth McFarlane's awful SF TV show,but it had some magical characters that were similar to the ones in the book). I'd heard nothing but glowing praise of the novel, and I generally find that books that get a lot of good ink are disappointing. Not so with Klune's masterwork. It was funny, poignant and uplifting.  Here's the blurb:

Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world.
Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.
The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.
"1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." —Gail Carriger, New York Times bestselling author of Soulless

Klune's beautiful prose flows effortlessly through the elegant and engrossing plot. It was a page-turner that kept me reading from dawn til dusk.  I fell in love with each of the magical children, and with their guardian Arthur the Phoenix. Linus left me a bit cold, especially at first, but I warmed to him as the book went on, though I still felt that it took him too long to develop a backbone and stand up to the bullies at DICOMY, which is kind of like the Ministry of Magic from the Harry Potter books. The fact that the book is diverse and inclusive is just icing on the cake. This is one of those books that has me pleading with the author for more...and soon, please! I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy novels that are magical and supportive of the LBGTQ community.

Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates is the first in a mass market paperback series of "Magical Bakery Mysteries." It should be noted that this book was my "emergency purse paperback" that I keep with me in my handbag in case I'm caught somewhere without ready reading material. Since I was encouraged not to bring anything with me that I couldn't easily disinfect when I went in for my latest Remicade infusion, I was sitting with my IV, waiting for the antihistamine to kick in and take me to napland when I remembered that I had this book stashed deep in my purse, which hadn't been excavated for well over a year. It proved to be, like it's title, a sweet and easy-reading treat...just what the doctor ordered! Here's the blurb: Katie Lightfoot's tired of loafing around as the assistant manager of an Ohio bakery. So when her aunt Lucy and uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah's quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees.

While working at the Honeybee Bakery—named after Lucy's cat—Katie notices that her aunt is adding mysterious herbs to her recipes. Turns out these herbal enhancements aren't just tasty—Aunt Lucy is a witch and her recipes are actually spells!

When a curmudgeonly customer is murdered outside the Honeybee Bakery, Uncle Ben becomes the prime suspect. With the help of handsome journalist Steve Dawes, charming firefighter Declan McCarthy, and a few spells, Katie and Aunt Lucy stir up some toil and trouble to clear Ben's name and find the real killer.

While the main character, Katie, is one of those stubborn, fiesty but adorable dumb bunnies that are ubiquitous in cozy mysteries and romance novels, I still enjoyed her persistence in finding the killer and in learning to accept that she's a hedgewitch from a long line of witches. The prose is easy-breezy, and the plot light as a feather, but though I knew whodunit long before the end, I enjoyed the journey just the same. I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to anyone looking for a mental palate-cleanser after reading a more serious novel.

Mercy House by Alena Dillon is a brilliant, gritty and gutsy novel that I would put in the literary fiction/feminist fiction genres, and I'd hope that anyone over the age of 40 would read, especially those of the Catholic faith (this would be an excellent book to hand out at private/parochial schools to all the young girls attending). It's the story of Evelyn, a nun who was brutally raped when she was a novitiate, who has worked at Mercy House for the past 40 years of her life, ministering to the sexually abused/assaulted young women who show up at her door seeking help and healing.When the priest who raped her all those years ago comes swooping in to try and close down Mercy House, Sister Evelyn and her fellow sisters and abuse survivors must think of ways to keep this much needed facility open. Here's the blurb:

“Never underestimate the power of a group of women. Fierce, thoughtful and dramatic—this is a story of true courage." —Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author
She would stop at nothing to protect the women under her care.
Inside a century-old row house in Brooklyn, renegade Sister Evelyn and her fellow nuns preside over a safe haven for the abused and abandoned. Gruff and indomitable on the surface, warm and wry underneath, little daunts Evelyn, until she receives word that Mercy House will be investigated by Bishop Hawkins, a man with whom she shares a dark history. In order to protect everything they’ve built, the nuns must conceal many of their methods, which are forbidden by the Catholic Church.
Evelyn will go to great lengths to defend all that she loves. She confronts a gang member, defies the church, challenges her own beliefs, and faces her past. She is bolstered by the other nuns and the vibrant, diverse residents of the shelter—Lucia, Mei-Li, Desiree, Esther, and Katrina—whose differences are outweighed by what unites them: they’ve all been broken by men but are determined to rebuild.
Amidst her fight, Evelyn discovers the extraordinary power of mercy and the grace it grants, not just to those who receive it, but to those strong enough to bestow it.

This novel reminded me of the feminist literature I read in college, and of the prose of Icons like Margaret Atwood (the Handmaid's Tale), where we see the reality of how women are treated like sexual slaves and playthings for men, and then discarded or beaten and left to die (or outright murdered by controlling and abusive men). The fact that any women survive and go on to help others is a minor miracle, and speaks to the tough female spirit that thrives within us. The book highlights the intrinsic need for women to retain and have access to reproductive rights, so they can have necessary abortions after years of mistreatment, rape and incest. Dillon weaves in actual headlines and stories about nuns being repeatedly raped by priests and offered no care or assistance when they became pregnant. Sister Evelyn and the other nuns reminded me of the BVM sisters of charity who used to run Clarke College, now Clarke University. They were a radical bunch of talented and whip-smart women who often disagreed with the policies of the Vatican and the Pope. Now Clarke is under secular control of a man, and the nuns are almost all retired, and they've recently instituted sports programs for male students only, so Clarke is no longer a sanctuary for women's education, unfortunately. At any rate, though it was not an easy read, and the plot didn't move as fast as it could have, I'd still give this book a B+ and recommend it to anyone who is Catholic or has been a victim of abuse, sexual or otherwise, especially at the hands of clergy.

Pablo Neruda's Nobel Prize Speech, Edinburgh Book Fest Cancelled, Quote of the Day, RIP Patricia Bosworth, Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim, An Ember in Ashes by Sabaa Tahir and Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

The CORVID 19 Quarantine is still in place, as I face my 6th week of home isolation. I've been reading some of my TBR, and finding to my dismay that some of the books on my book cart were great in theory, but in reality they're dull and boring, poorly written or a combination of the three. Still, there have been exceptions, and I have three books to review today, my first post in April. 

Since April is National Poetry Month, I'll start today off with the words of one of my favorite poets, Pablo Neruda: 

Pablo Neruda’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech Excerpt from Brain Pickings: There is no insurmountable solitude. All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are. And we must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence in order to reach forth to the enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance and sing our sorrowful song — but in this dance or in this song there are fulfilled the most ancient rites of our conscience in the awareness of being human and of believing in a common destiny. Our original guiding stars are struggle and hope. But there is no such thing as a lone struggle, no such thing as a lone hope. In every human being are combined the most distant epochs, passivity, mistakes, sufferings, the pressing urgencies of our own time, the pace of history. Lastly, I wish to say to the people of good will, to the workers, to the poets, that the whole future has been expressed in this line by Rimbaud: only with a burning patience can we conquer the splendid City which will give light, justice and dignity to all mankind.

In this way the song will not have been sung in vain.

Visiting Edinburgh Scotland has been on my bucket list for a long time. Visiting the International Book Festival was also high on the list,and I was sad to read that it's been cancelled, like most other festivals and concerts and conventions this year due to the Coronavirus outbreak.  

The Edinburgh International Book Festival http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43821062,scheduled for August 15-31, has been canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Festival director Nick Barley wrote: "This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but it has been reached in unison with Edinburgh's other August festivals. Whether it's our authors, audiences, supporters, staff and suppliers, or citizens and visitors to our wonderful city, the health of the people we exist for is of paramount importance.

"I am aware that the Book Festival is an important supporter of literary activity not only in Scotland but in all four corners of the earth. My heart goes out to everyone who will miss out this year.... We will be working hard in the coming months to ensure the Book Festival Charity survives this unprecedented time and is able to continue to provide a place where writers and readers can converse and connect."

 This quote really hits the nail on the head. Books are essential during this pandemic. I would not have been able to keep sane without them.

Quotation of the Day

'Bookstores Are Essential Because Books Are Essential'

"Why should it be easier to buy marijuana than a good book at a store in Los Angeles during the coronavirus shutdown?... Books are essential goods and that ought to mean bookstores are exempt from shutting down during the coronavirus pandemic. As are bread and milk, gas and aspirin, alcohol and marijuana, books should be available, with safety precautions in place, at the usual places we buy them in our neighborhoods.... We readers can help. Until bookshops fully reopen, we can use our discretionary income to order books directly from ndependent booksellers. We can buy gift cards to help the bottom line too....

"Finally, we can also let our city, county and state leaders know how much we need bookshops and their staffs as the shutdown goes on, and once it's over. Books provide spiritual nourishment, education, enlightenment, role models, diversion. As Lori Gottlieb, therapist and author puts it, 'One way to feel understood and part of something bigger, less alone, is to immerse ourselves in stories. They help us see ourselves'.... Bookstores are essential because books are essential."--Author Wendy Paris in a Los Angeles Times op-ed headlined "If marijuana is essential during the coronavirus shutdown, why not books? http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43882512"

We've been losing many great authors, songwriters and musicians and others, such as Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to Coronavirus this month. Most were over the age of 65, (some were, like me, in their 50s) but it's still been horrifying to watch. I fear for the lives of some of my favorite authors who are seniors.

Obituary Note: Patricia Bosworth

Patricia Bosworth http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43882560, the actress, biographer, memoirist and journalist, died April 2 from the coronavirus. She was 86.

The New York Times wrote that while she had "some success as an actress"--learning method acting alongside Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe, appearing in some major roles onstage and with Audrey Hepburn on film--"she always wanted to write, and she found material in the many friendships she had cultivated with luminaries in Hollywood, the theater world and elsewhere--Brando, Montgomery Clift and the photographer Diane Arbus among them." And she was a successful journalist: she wrote for a variety of publications and was a longtime contributing editor at Vanity Fair.

Her memoirs included Anything Your Little Heart Desires: An American Family Story (1997), which "centers on her charismatic father, a lawyer who defended two of the Hollywood Ten in the postwar anti-Communist hysteria and saw his career destroyed by the blacklist," the Times wrote, as well as The Men in My Life: A Memoir of Love and Art in 1950s Manhattan (2017), about her coming-of-age and emergence as a writer.

Her biographies included Montgomery Clift: A Biography (1978), Diane Arbus: A Biography (1984), Marlon Brando (2001), and Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman (2011).

Next year, Farrar, Straus & Giroux is publishing her last book, Protest Song: Paul Robeson, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Equality.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim is a YA Asian fantasy novel that was fascinating in unexpected ways. While I realize that women/girls are treated like second class citizens in places like China and Japan, and historically were treated like slaves in their own households, I still wasn't fully willing to suspend disbelief when the protagonist, Maia, isn't allowed to fully inherit or represent her family's tailoring shop (though she is the only one of her siblings with any talent for sewing) merely because she's female. She has been carrying the family business on her shoulders for years, due to her father's infirmity and her brothers stupidity and complete lack of talent or inclination for the sewing trade. Yet she takes care of them all, (and adores them, despite their being arrogant asshats) and when her first two brothers are killed in the war, her youngest brother goes off and becomes disabled, so that he is unable to meet the demand of the emperor for their family entry into a sewing competition for the Emperors bride to be. So in true Mulan fashion, Maia dresses as a boy, takes her younger brothers identity and goes to the palace to try and win the competition, and support her family back home. Here's the blurb: Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars.

Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she'll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There's just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.
     Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia's task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.
     And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor's reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.
     Steeped in Chinese culture, sizzling with forbidden romance, and shimmering with magic, this young adult fantasy is pitch-perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas 

So while I realize that Chinese history is steeped in misogyny, I was still surprised at the way the author normalized the court magician, who is older, stalking young teenage Maia until she "falls in love" with him, mainly because he's the only male in the book who is nice to her and isn't trying to use her or kill her.I realize, too, that tales like this are based on legends and myths of the Chinese culture, and are colored by the inherent strictures of that time period, but I was hoping that the author could tailor the narrative to flip some of the prejudice on its ear by making Maia have a great life of her own, or be gay and not have to continue to be subservient to all the men in her life. Even at the end, SPOILER, Maia basically sells her soul so that Eden can be freed from servitude. She gives and gives, and all the men in her life take and take. At any rate, the story is still well told, with neat prose and a tidy plot. I'd give it a B+ and recommend it to those who like Chinese folklore.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir is another YA book that seems to run along the lines of folklore/mythology, and yet it was way too bloody and grim for me, perhaps because it lacked the hope of most YA novels that good will prevail. Here's the blurb: Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.  

First of all, this novel is overwritten. An editor was needed to cut out some redundant paragraphs and get rid of the persistent gratuitous violence that is highlighted in nearly every chapter. There are tortures, beatings, murders and bloodbaths aplenty in a book that isn't within the horror genre, but very well could be, just by volume of pain and death and torture alone. Second, I didn't find the romance between the two protagonists, Laia and Elias, terribly credible at first. It got better as the novel moved along, but even then, it seemed too convenient and fast to be real. By the cliffhanger ending, however, I was on board with their helping one another to survive, even if it's just surviving the sociopathic evil that is Elias's mother, who is terrifying. But the slog through all the depressing bloody death and beatings wasn't worth it, at least to me. The prose was, as I've said, overblown, and the plot slowed to a crawl more than a few times. In an over 450 page book, Tahir can't afford to wander off into all the gory details. Still, though I'm not compelled to read the sequel, I'd give this book a C+, and recommend it to those who like bloody tales of love and revenge.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen is yet another YA novel, this time about high school misfits and "popular" girls and the price one pays for having an in with the bullies at the top of the social pyramid. Having never been anywhere near the popular girls and the "in" crowd, I was somewhat interested in the dynamics of what it takes to survive the "Hunger Games" style brutality that I always suspected ruled these cliques. According to this novel, it's not only more cruel than I'd imagined, it's a haven for rape culture and boys who sexualy abuse young girls and then use their own fears to force them to keep silent about the crime. While the subject matter is nauseating to me, as a rape survivor, Dessens gleaming prose and engaging plot keep everything moving swiftly to a satisfying conclusion. Here's the blurb: Annabel Greene seemingly had everything: cool friends, close family, good grades, and a part-time modeling career in town. But it all came crashing down, and Annabel has spent the summer in shaky, self-imposed exile. She finds herself dreading the new school term and facing, well, everyone again. The last thing she wants to do is revisit old friendships while the losses are painful, the secrets behind the rifts are almost unbearable. Her solid family seems fragile, too. What happened to cause the stiff silences and palpable resentments between her two older sisters? Why is no one in her loving but determinedly cheerful family talking about her middle sister's eating disorder? Annabel's devastating secret is revealed in bits and snatches, as readers see her go to amazing lengths to avoid confrontation. Caught between wanting to protect her family and her own struggles to face a devastating experience, Annabel finds comfort in an unlikely friendship with the school's most notorious loner. Owen has his own issues with anger, but has learned to control it and helps her realize the dangers of holding in her emotions. Dessen explores the interior and exterior lives of her characters and shows their flaws, humanity, struggles, and incremental successes. This is young adult fiction at its best, delving into the minds of complex, believable teens, bringing them to life, and making readers want to know more about them with each turn of the page. Roxanne Myers Spencer, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green

 Though I found Annabel to be a serious wimp, I remember being a teenager and fearing what everyone else would think, and being ashamed of anything that wasn't deemed "normal" or that didn't fall in line with what my peers found acceptable, though that was a very narrow parameter. So though I get why she didn't tell anyone about being sexually molested by the skeevy boyfriend of her horrible bully of a best friend, I found myself wishing that she'd grow a spine a lot faster. And I didn't like her parents, either, or their "glass house" that afforded them very little privacy. That alone would have driven me nuts when I was growing up, to have everyone who drove or walked by able to stare at you while you are eating and sleeping and going about your daily business. I mean why couldn't they at least put up some curtains? The character I liked best was Owen,who reminded me of a friend that I had in high school, Rog, who loved music and often had me over to his house so we could listen to his curated selection of record albums. Rog used to lament my taste in music, too, just as Owen laments Annabel's taste in pop music (no guys appreciated bands like Journey or Heart back in the mid to late 70s...of course, I loved them).  I know that sexual abuse in my teenage years was swept under the rug, and no one talked about it, so I was surprised that 20 plus years later, there was still difficulty in prosecuting rapists and getting them out of circulation. Even today there are still roadblocks, but with the MeToo movement, it has become easier to hold men accountable for rape and sexual abuse and harassment. I'd give this book an A-, and recommend it to any teenage girl who has trouble speaking up for herself and who feels that she's all alone with her pain.