A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was deeply moved by this story and am impressed by Mary Doria Russell's ability as an author. She has created characters that one can't help but love and care about. Favorite quote, and summation of the book's message ....“No matter how dark the tapestry God weaves for us, there's always a thread of grace.”
This is a beautiful but painful book that will stay with me for a long while.
more favorite quotes:
“God save us from idealists! They dream of a world without injustice, and what crime won't they commit to get it! I swear, Mirella, I'll settle for a world with good manners.”
“The world is filled with unreasonable hate. What's wrong with unreasonable love?”
“I suppose I should warn you, Padre. In the absence of male supervision, my mother has become a revolutionary." ~Renzo Leoni”

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Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't even like sci-fi dystopian novels, am not a gamer, geek, or techie. I was too busy being a mom to 5 kids in the 80's to be little more than worried about the influence of its pop culture. I was not only terrible at Mario but I could see no point in wasting my time as it made me tense and jittery. Now as a grandma I have even stronger feelings about online gaming and its violent, addictive qualities. All that being said, I REALLY liked this crazy book about an unattractive, overweight male teen who barely has a life outside of gaming. I don't think it is very well written, but due to the compulsive nature of my reading it, in the end I decided it doesn't matter, because I liked it.
I agree with another reviewer who pointed out that the book looks at how we deal with the online "friends" we've never actually met and how certain segments of society wall themselves off from the real world living almost exclusively in a virtual world.
It is a fun, escapist read, a blend of "tech version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," The Matrix, and The Hunger Games. I predict a sequel and a movie adaptation.
I listened to the audio version which is exceptionally well done. I don't think I would have enjoyed text version as well. I knocked off a point for crude language and mediocre writing.


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A Thousand Suns by Jim Haberkorn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh man, this was an excellent read and I can't believe I didn't rate and review it 8 months ago when I read it….undoubtedly because I was in the process of moving (twice) to new homes and a new town. One does not often read a second book by a new author that is as good as the first book, but that is certainly the case here.
In fact, this book was even better than Haberkorn's first book, which I also rated 5 stars. I'm hoping there will be a third novel! If you are looking for a fast-paced thriller that is hard to put down and which also has some truly wonderful humor, look no further. His characters are well drawn and believable, the settings varied and descriptive, the story exciting, and the writing is superb. I especially give it kudos for being a squeaky clean read, proof that such a thing is possible even in gritty modern spy novels. Yay!

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And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Almost 5 stars. This was difficult to follow at first, perhaps because I listened to audio version (?), and it was a few chapters before I really got into it but then I couldn't put it down and truly I didn't want it to end. It is a beautifully told tale with many people and their individual stories and how after 60 years they meld into a satisfying conclusion. The book really touched me. Did not feel it was quite as good as Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, but will likely appeal to readers who did not enjoy those books due to the darkness in both, but although much of the book deals with Afghanistan and its people the storyline and overall theme of this book is completely different, more positive and heart warming.

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The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

If you like nonlinear, disjointed, many layered, ambiguous sophisticated "modern" literature you will love this. I keep trying to love Erdrich's highly praised novels but with the conclusion of this book I am ceasing my efforts in this regard. I didn't care about the characters, felt the ending was unfinished, the entire work unpolished and found her prose was well, blahhhhh. It was a little edgy, but not entertaining, not evocative, lovely, nor inspiring, nonetheless it was a 2009 Pulitzer Nominee so perhaps the problem is with me, the unworthy reader, not the work. But to that argument My response is well stated in The Atlantic article An Attack on the Growing Pretentiousness of American literary prose.

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I'll Watch the Moon by Ann Tatlock
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a heart warming, beautifully written gem of a book with an uplifting and faith promoting message about the power of love and hope. The characters are varied, endearing, and unforgettable. I want to hug every one of them. The late 1940's story, told from a young girl's perspective, sometimes made me laugh out loud, at other times tugged at my heart strings, and constantly kept me wondering what would happen next. I will definitely be reading more of Tatlock's books. Audio version exceptionally well done. Highly recommend to all readers, all ages.
Favorite quotes:
“I decided that faith must be the strongest thing in the world, because an ounce of it can change the course of an entire life.” -Nova Tierney
“And if I curse God, Mrs. Tierney? What then? If I turn away from him, what do I turn toward? …No. Better to keep one’s face toward heaven, even if you are angry with God, than to turn away and find nothing at all.” -Josef Karski
“Funny how even a grain of hope can manage to eclipse a whole world of despair.” -Nova Tierney

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Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun, witty, light mystery with a little romance. Amelia Peabody is delightful, as are the other characters. Reminds me of Alexander McCall Smith's #1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

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The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Unimpressive, run-of-the-mill, mystery with a few red herrings and an over abundance of distracting, inflated descriptions and horrendous, foul language, the latter causing me to dock her 2 stars in this review. It was completely unnecessary profanity which contributed nothing. J.K. Rowling wrote this under a pseudonym and methinks she is tying too hard to prove she can entertain adult readers. One good thing: her characters are well developed, interesting, and have descriptive names, e.g. Cormoran Strike, a detective with a Hagrid type appearance and personality, Lula Landry, the shallow super model muder victim , her adaptive parents, Sir Alec and Lady Yvette Bristow, and Deebee Macc, an American rapper super star. Great names.

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Freeman by Leonard Pitts Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An engrossing, powerful read, to which I was riveted until its triumphant ending, this novel tells the stories of three individuals in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War.

Sam, a former runaway slave, now an educated successful man who is passionate about freedom, leaves his home & respectable position of employment in Philadelphia, on a desperate journey of 1,000 miles to find his wife whom he has not seen for 15 years.

Tilda, his wife, still considered as “property” by her brutal master who would kill her as he has his other slaves, has no concept of the word”freedom,” and cannot fathom where she would go or what she would do without her master.

Prudence, a wealthy white woman from Boston determined to start a school “for coloreds,” has newly arrived in Mississippi and faces obstacles never considered and an unrevealed past personal history that will shake her world

The realistic lives of these three are intertwined, along with lesser characters’ stories. Heartfelt, poignant, at times horrifying, the book clearly illustrates the inhumanity of antebellum slavery culture, along with an illustration of the most uplifting and praiseworthy nature of humans. Great character development, realistic, believable, some of the characters based on actual individuals and events. It is a book that will affect me for a long time.
Audio version. A masterful job done by Sean Crisden, the narrator.

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Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor by Jana Riess
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The author shares her "failed" experiment at challenging herself to focus on a specific religious practice e.g. fasting, centering prayer, Sabbath keeping, charity, and generosity each month of a year. In reality, her experience resulted in increased spirituality so she only "failed" at perfection. Her keen sense of humor made the reading not only enjoyable, but easy for the reader relate. All of us have at sometime vowed to be better and not met our goal completely.

Favorite quotes from the book:

"...those attempts at sainthood that seemed like dismal failures at the time, actually took hold somehow. They helped to form me into the kind of person who could go to the bedside of someone who had harmed me and be able to say, "I forgive you, Dad, Go in peace." Although I didn't see it while I was doing the practices themselves or even while I was writing the chapters in the book, the power of spiritual practice is that it forges you stealthily, as you entertain angles unawares."

“we need to take a long hard look at what we believe about God . God doesn't owe us anything, no matter how cheerful and uncomplaining we are. Period.”

“The less comfortable we are with ourselves, the more we will look to things around us for comfort. The more assured we are of ourselves, the less assurance we will need from things outside”

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