Book Reviews

Here are a few more book reviews, and it looks like once again, I have more children's books than adult ones. I swear that I do read adult books, but I keep getting recommendations for children's, so that's what I've mostly been reading. 

 Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson, adult fiction, 2025

Apparently, I put this book on hold a while back, but I didn't remember it when it showed up in Libby. Somebody, somewhere, must have recommended it, so I checked it out. I read this as an e-book. Not my preferred way, but that was what was available. 

The book is about a group of 4 half-siblings who take a road trip across the country to find their father. Their father, Charles, was a good father until he disappeared and never made contact with them again. Each time he left, he reinvented himself and started a new family elsewhere. They would all be happy until his child was around 10 years old, and then he left. He was a different person each time. First, he was a mystery writer; next, a farmer; then a basketball coach; and finally, a filmmaker. 

The oldest sibling, Ruben, who was in his 40s, hired a private detective to find out what happened to his father. Through this, he learned that he had half-siblings. He started in Boston and went to Tennessee, where he met Mad, his sister, and convinced her to go to California to find their father. Along the way, they met and their other two siblings, and they all ended up doing the road trip together. None of them knew about the others, so there was a lot of shock and disbelief when they were approached. The group eventually finds their father and confronts him with all the questions they've had over the years.

Most of the book revolves around the four strangers getting to know each other as they drive across the country. They are bonded by the fact that they had the same father who left each of them. I enjoyed that part of the book.

The premise of the story was intriguing, and I was compelled to read to find out what the father's story was. Personally, I found the reasons given for the father's behavior at the end to be weak. But you can give it a read and see what you think.

Enola Holmes Mystery Series by Nancy Springer, children's mystery (middle grades)

Enola Holmes Mystery Series is a six-book set of stories about Enola Holmes, Sherlock Holmes's fourteen-year-old sister. There is a recurring theme throughout the books. Enola's father died when she was four, and her mother disappeared on her fourteenth birthday. With no proper guardians, her brothers want to send her to boarding school to become a proper lady. Enola does not want to go, so she runs away to London and is in hiding. She is also hoping to find her mother, and along the way, she finds mysteries to solve. Enola is very clever and outsmarts her famous detective brother again and again.  I reviewed the first book in my last Book Review post. Below are the next two in the series.

The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer, 2007

This is the second book in the series, and it picks up where the first one left off.  This one finds Enola posing as a secretary for a perditorian (finder of lost people). She is working for an imaginary male boss because women are considered too brainless to do serious work. Lady Cecily disappears, and Enola eventually finds and saves her. 

The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets by Nancy Springer, children's mystery, 2008

In book #3, Dr. Watson goes missing, and Enola sets out to find out what happened to him. She has to reinvent herself to remain in hiding, so now she is disguised as a beautiful, cultured woman. She solves the mystery of Watson's whereabouts and leads Sherlock to him without revealing her own location.

I am enjoying this series. The language is rich, the descriptions are vivid, and the mysteries are interesting. Enola is a clever, spunky, very likable heroine.  Although they are marketed for children, I think adults would enjoy them as well. Because they are written for children, there is no sex and no foul language. But there is violence and detailed descriptions of the poor in London in the late 1800s. That was not a pretty picture. 

Ward has read all six now and said there is a satisfying ending to the story arc throughout the books. While each could be read as a standalone, they are better read in order. I have ordered the next two from the library.

Note: Eleven years after the original six books were published, the series was revived with at least three more books. Also, Netflix has made two movies based on the books, with a third one in production. 

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling, children's fiction (elementary and middle grades), 2017

Kris recommended this book in the comment section of the last Book Review post. So, I promptly put it on hold and recently read it. 

The book is about Aven and her friend, Conner, both of whom suffer from disabilities. Aven was born with no arms, and Conner has Tourette's Syndrome. Barking is his main tic. They meet when Aven's family moves to Arizona to manage a dying western-themed park and become good friends as they bond over not fitting in and feeling like freaks at times. 

As they navigate school, Aven also decides that they need to solve the mystery of who actually owns the ranch on which the theme park is located. While Conner does not have strong support from his parents, Aven does and is a positive and resilient girl.

While the book deals with some difficult issues, it is a feel-good story with a surprise ending. It also does a good job of presenting the ups and downs of the disabilities and the feelings that come with those.  

The book was critically acclaimed and was on many "Best of" lists. In addition, it is part of some school curricula. While this book is written more on an elementary/middle school level (certainly more than Enola Holmes), I thought it was an enjoyable read. Ward also read the book and liked it.  

Until next time...

Speed Blogging Grumble

 Time for another addition of speed blogging, where I just write and see where my mind takes me. Hold on. Here we go. 😀

The older I get, the less willing I am to be uncomfortable. Aging brings with it everyday aches and pains, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about being uncomfortable when there is an easy way to fix it. I don't like being too hot (or too cold, for that matter). For example, I was helping Miss Landers move a woodpile yesterday, and I was hot and sweaty, and annoyed by clouds of gnats. I didn't like it, and all I could think about was getting home to my cool house. And it wasn't that hot out, not like the 90s-100°F we had most of the summer.

And speaking of annoying gnats, that brings me to annoying mosquitoes. We are having more problems with mosquitoes than ever before. They aren't the big mosquitoes that only come out at dusk, like the ones of my youth. They are tiny ones that are out all day. Just about every time I go into the backyard, I get bitten. A little while ago, I was outside for about 10 minutes, and I got four bites. 

I am starting to suit up from head to toe to help against the mosquitoes, with long sleeves and pants, but they become hot quickly. One day, I was out with long sleeves, jeans, garden gloves, and a hat. Those pesky little mosquitoes found the slit in one of the knees of my jeans and bit me there. Ward is also getting bitten a lot, although the bites don't bother him as much as they do me.

We have had mosquito dunks out for over a month, and they don't seem to be helping. :(  I guess I could start using insect repellent, but I really don't want to do that. Especially if I just want to go out for a short time. I'd rather just complain. 

The timer is beeping, so let me finish with thanks for listening to me grumble. 

Until next time... 

Note: I have started using Afterbite as soon as I feel the itch from a bite, and if I have gotten a lot of bites, I also add an antihistamine. Those treatments seem to be helping to reduce the itching and swelling.

--After the timer beeped, I went back and added pictures of pollinators, which just go about doing good without bothering me.

Gift Redeemed

 Last weekend, Ward and I cashed in on a gift that our sons got us for Christmas at McFadden Art Works. McFadden is a glass art studio that offers classes for the general public. I have seen glass making several times before, but it was fun to be involved in the process this time. Glassmaking is very dangerous due to the extreme heat involved, so we were highly guided and coached during the procedure.

(Note: We weren't actually making the glass. We were sculpting the glass, but I will be using the two interchangeably.)

Below are photos of our afternoon.

It was not surprising that there were glass sculptures all around outside of the buildings.

There were three main parts to the buildings: two working studios and
a gallery of pieces for sale.

We were in the smaller studio where the public gets to try their hand at glassmaking. 

We could choose to make anything on this shelf. Ward chose a wine glass, and I chose a spoon rest because we need one.

Our helper of the day was Jordan. This oven held a big batch of molten glass. Jordan got a glob of glass that was just the right amount for the item I was making. 

Next, we added color. These were dishes of colored glass sand. I was doing the turning, but I had to keep my hands behind hers. They don't trust the inexperienced public to not go too far down the pontil where it is over 1000°F.

Then the glass was reheated. I had to turn it continuously while it was in this oven. The pontil was supported, so I got to do this one all by myself. :)  It was uncomfortably hot standing there, even with the shield in place to block most of the oven's heat.

I then had to roll the molten glass as it cooled. 

After the rolling, Jordan blew one little puff at the end of the pontil and plugged it with her thumb. As the air heated up, it was amazing to watch the glass expand.

My little glob of glass went back into the furnace
 with Jordan blowing into the molten glass.

We're almost there. We've started on the final shaping. First with a flat paddle.

Next, I pressed a heavy round weight into the piece to form the spoon rest shape.
It was starting to look like glass, but was still very malleable.

Jordon did one last bit of heating to smooth out the broken edge
 from the pontil separation.

The last step was to put the spoon rest into an oven to cool slowly over the next 3 days.

Ta-Da! The finished product.

And here is Ward's glass. His process was basically the same, with a few different shaping steps. We didn't coordinate colors; we just happened to pick the same ones.

Well, that's probably more than you wanted to know. 

Until next time...

Book Reviews

The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery, adult fiction, 2022

Although I'm not going to the beach this summer, I thought I would try a beach read. 

The Summer Getaway is a relationship-driven story about Robyn and the family that revolves around her. They all have their issues and decisions to make about what's next for their lives. Eventually, everyone ends up in a mansion on the California coast to work things out.

This is an easy read, and perfect if you don't want to read about anything serious. Nothing horrible happens, but there are definitely problems. 

While the book was very readable, I grew tired of the constant yearning Robyn and her new friend, Mason, had for each other. The story would have been just as compelling without focusing so much on that. 

Also, there is explicit sex in the book--a little more than I think was necessary. However, I recall a talk by a romance author where she said that her editors always told her to add more sex. I guess they knew what sells.

Even though Susan Mallery has written well over 100 books, this is the first one of hers I've read. I will probably read another one, but not anytime soon. 

The Superteacher Project by Gordon Korman, children's fiction (ages 9-12), 2023

Gordon Korman is one of my favorite children's authors, so when I was looking for some not-too-serious reading at bedtime, I picked up this book. 

The Superteacher Project follows the same formula as many of his other books. It takes place in middle school, with the story told from the different perspectives of the various characters, including an oddball teacher. Sometimes when chapters alternate among characters, they can be hard to follow, but not this time.

The story begins with a new 7th-grade teacher at Brightling Middle School, Mr. Aidact, who happens to be a robot. He is part of an experiment from the Department of Education. The other teachers know about "him", but the students and parents do not. Mr. Aidact is very realistic, and no one suspects that he's different for a while. Eventually, the secret is out, and things don't go well.

The book starts out slowly, but it is building the foundation for the later parts of the book. I didn't like some of the characters, but they were important to the story. (And let's face it. Middle school is not the most likable age, in general.) I found it very interesting to see how Mr. Aidact was learning and adapting from the circumstances around him. The last third of the book is a compelling read as the story culminates in a very satisfying ending.

The book raises some important questions about how fine the line between humans and robots can be.

I recommend this book. It was the perfect bedtime reading for me.

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer, children's mystery (middle grades), 2006

During our vacation, we watched two Netflix movies about Enola Holmes with one of our hosts. When we got home, I picked up the book they were based on since I'm always curious about how the two compare. 

The Case of the Missing Marquess is the first in a nine-book series about Enola Holmes, the much younger sister of Sherlock Holmes. In this first book, Enola's mother goes missing, and she contacts her older brothers, Mycroft and Sherlock, for help. They are much older, and she has not seen them for 10 years. The last time was when she was four years old, after their father died. 

When it becomes evident that Enola has been raised without the proper graces of the upper class, her brothers decide that she will be sent to boarding school. Enola does not want to go, so she runs away to look for her mother. Along the way, she encounters a marquess who is assumed to be kidnapped. 

The book takes place in London during Victorian times and fully describes the deplorable conditions that existed in the East End at the time. These might be too much to read about for a sensitive, younger reader. It also points out the difficulties that women had then, which Enola and her mother are rebelling against.

It turns out that Enola has excellent deduction skills like her brother, Sherlock, and uses them to look for her mother and maneuver her way through the various situations she finds herself in. There are ciphers to solve, flower meanings, and logical lists that the reader is a part of.

In both the movie and the book, Enola is a clever, independent, sensible girl and a very likable character. The book got very good reviews and won several awards. Ward, who wanted a break from the grittier adult mysteries he was reading, liked the book and has read four in the series so far. We both recommend this book.

BTW, the movies deviate from the book about 1/3 of the time, but the essence of the characters remains the same. I also recommend the movies.

The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan, adult nonfiction, autobiography, 2024

Tan did all the illustrations for
the book, including the cover art.

A friend got me this book for my birthday, coincidentally just after someone told me that their book club was reading it. The Backyard Bird Chronicles was a New York Times #1 bestseller with rave reviews. However, it was somehow not on my radar. I'm so glad that I received it as a gift and got to read it.

Amy Tan is a very successful fiction writer, most notably for The Joy Luck Club. However, this book was a departure from her usual fiction fare. In 2016, Tan was upset with the direction of things in our country and turned to her backyard for solace. She has always liked nature from early on, so this seemed like a natural thing to do. She became obsessed (her words) with the birds there and started nature journaling. The book is based on entries from her journals. As part of her nature journaling, she drew pencil sketches of what she was seeing and also became an accomplished bird artist.

Her observations are detailed, curious, and at times sad. As she puzzles out what she is seeing, her storytelling gifts come out. I learned alongside her as she discovered new things about the birds and found this excellent book fascinating, funny, and moving. I highly recommend it even if you are not a bird or nature lover.

Until next time...

Backyard Look, Part 2

This is Part 2 of some things I saw in our backyard. Part 1 was about plants, and Part 2 is about things with multiple legs.

Every few years, after spending years underground, a major emergence of cicadas occurs somewhere. I have experienced these hordes of cicadas, and they are deafening, among other things. These cicada appearances get a lot of publicity.

However, there never seems to be a mention of the yearly cicadas like we have. And, quite frankly, I'm getting irritated with them. Their song is loud and annoying. I know the birds are still around, but I can't hear them over the cicadas. 

Complaining is done, so here is the rest of the story. Cicadas don't cause major plant damage and serve as food for many birds I struggle to hear. (I admit all of this grudgingly, because I'm still annoyed, so maybe I'm not done complaining. 😀)

Anyway, now for a few pictures of some more things in my backyard. 

A cicada hole that was made so it could emerge from the ground. It's about the diameter of a pencil.

Molted cicada exoskeletons. This happens as the nymphs change into adults.

Adult Linne's cicada. These are native to the eastern US and emerge every year.

Moving on to other insects, this caterpillar was still wiggling, but the ants were able to drag it across the driveway.

We've seen a few swallowtails on the butterfly bush, and yesterday I saw a monarch. However, not as many butterflies visit as I had hoped. This volunteer plant came from Aunt Martha's yard. I was excited to plant it because her bush was usually covered with butterflies. Ours has never looked like that.

A yellow garden spider has taken up residence in one of our bushes. They are quite common, although I don't remember seeing one before. This is a female, and she is still constructing her web in this picture. Notice the characteristic zig-zag in the web.

Now see how much better the zig-zag has developed. If you look very carefully, you will see little dots on the web. Those are egg sacks. The male spider builds a small web in the area of the female's and, after fertilizing her eggs, he dies. The yellow garden spider usually stays in place for the entire summer. This one has been here for about a week and a half. I hope it stays for the rest of the summer.

Transverse banded drone fly. These flies like nectar, much like the bees they are mimicking.

These surprise lilies don't have a bug on them for you to see. I forgot to include them in Part 1, so I'm including them here because they will be gone before I do my next backyard post. 

Until next time...

A Backyard Walk, Part 1

 These days, my vegetables don't look great, but there are some flowers in the yard that are thriving. Here are a few of them. 

Wild snapdragon

I picked pears yesterday and found a few that weren't rotten or eaten by the deer.

Lantana

Tea Rose

Vinca

There are only a few hydrangea blooms left.

Black-eyed Susans, Maryland's State Flower

Behind the black-eyed susans are conflowers. Something eats the petals consistently. I never see anything that would explain it, but apparently, there's a beetle that comes out at night and eats petals.

Balloon flowers. These originally came from Ward's grandmother's yard.

Tune in next time for Part 2 of a Backyard Walk when I show you a few creepy-crawlies.

Walking Is the New Running

 Saturday, Ward, Wally, Theo, and I had an enjoyable morning at a local fun run. The event was sponsored by the Rotary Club to raise money for the community food bank. Wally has participated in the race for a few years now, but this is the first time I haven't had to work on the day of the race. (Yay retirement!) Here are a few pictures from our morning. 

People gathering for the race. It was a very friendly atmosphere, and
there were people of all ages and several dogs.

Many local businesses were represented.

Boy Scouts were getting ready for an opening flag ceremony. We said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the Star Spangled Banner before the race. It's been a while since I have done that, and I found it moving.

Lining up for the start. Since we planned on walking the entire way,
we all went to the back of the crowd, so as not to be in the way of the runners.
Wally changed his mind as soon as the race started and ran the whole way.

The chase truck. The Rotary Club also sponsors a community duck race in September. The duck has become a mascot of sorts.

The race went along Main Street past big trees and Victorian houses. It was quite a pleasant walk. At the end of the race, we enjoyed watermelon and sandwiches. It was a fun event for a good cause, and I plan to do it again next year.

The course was only a mile with some long but gentle hills. It was really a two-mile walk by the time we got back to the cars. We walked at a good pace, but it was not speed walking. But here's the thing. The next day, the muscles in my shins were sore. I was surprised and a little disappointed with that. But it was what it was.

And speaking of exercise, I haven't posted about it in a month, although I recorded one week that I didn't publish. I am successfully continuing with my commitment to regular exercise, so I don't feel the need to do a detailed accounting at this point. Occasionally, I will do some summary updates for motivation, because, to be honest, about half the time, I don't want to go to class. But I go.

At the gym, I am slowly increasing my weights and trying some more challenging classes. It's been 6 months since I started this effort, and I know I've improved in most areas, but I still find the classes hard. So, I try to remember what Theo said to me while we were walking during the race. He said, "Exercise is never easy. You just get so you can do more of it." 

Until next time...