“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…” Inspired by true events, this part adventure, part historical saga and part coming-of-age love story follows Woodrow Wilson Nickel as he recalls his journey in 1938 to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he recalls the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave. It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is […]
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Out of the Cave – Book Review
I’ve shared little of my journey with depression on my blog or social media, and I won’t get into in depth now, other than to say that it has sometimes been crushing. That’s one reason I enjoy reading so much—a good novel can whisk me away to another place, another time. It’s time to get your life back. It’s time to stop pretending that Christians don’t get depressed. It’s time to get real with God about where you are and who’s in charge. It’s time to step forward into his light and enjoy the life he has for you. It’s time to come out of your cave. — Chris […]
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God’s Smuggler – Book Review
Would I have the faith to trust God to provide for ALL my needs? If I’m being honest, I doubt I could do it. Yet in God’s Smuggler, God repeatedly answered Brother Andrew’s faithful prayers as the missionary smuggled Bibles to believers behind the Iron Curtain and throughout the Middle East, China, and Korea. God’s guidance was miraculous. “Suppose on the other hand that I were to discover God to be a Person, in the sense that He communicated and cared and loved and led. That was something quite different. That was the kind of King I would follow into any battle.”—Brother Andrew, God’s Smuggler. Millions around the world have […]
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The Maid – Book Review
Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Then Gran dies, and twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. She throws herself into her gratifying work as a maid at a posh hotel. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms to a state of perfection. But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the Black suite and finds Charles Black dead. Before long, she […]
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The Saints of Swallow Hill – Book Review
So here’s why I read so much historical fiction… I learn stuff! How else would a woman from the plains of Minnesota find out about the turpentine camps of the American South during the Great Depression? Before I read The Saints of Swallow Hill, I didn’t know how turpentine was made or why North Carolina is called the Tar Heel State. Now I do, and I had the pleasure of following some fascinating characters along the way. Rae Lynn Cobb and her husband, Warren, run a small turpentine farm together during the Great Depression. Though the work is hard and often dangerous, Rae Lynn, who spent her childhood in an […]
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The Magnolia Palace – Book Review
Lillian “Angelica” Carter was one of the most sought-after artists’ models in New York City, with hundreds of statues based on her figure gracing landmarks all over the city. But when her mother dies in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, Lillian is rudderless and desperate—the work has dried up and she is suspected of murder. So when she is hired to be the personal secretary to Helen Frick, the imperious and demanding daughter of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family. Nearly fifty years later, English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career—and […]
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Made in China – Book Review
Like many of you, the last few years I’ve tried extra hard to avoid buying products made in China. It’s quite a challenge. Most websites hide the country of origin and the only way to get that information is to dig through consumer questions or call the company. After reading Made in China: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Cost of America’s Cheap Goods, I’ve become even more zealous in doing my due diligence before handing over my greenbacks. In 2012, a woman in Oregon purchased a package of cheap foam headstones at Kmart. When she opened the box, an SOS note written in broken English fell out: […]
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Hostage – Book Review
First off, let’s be clear about one thing. I’m no fan of flying–-the smell, the noise, the claustrophobia of being locked in a sardine can with strangers. I do, however, love the Biscoff cookies Delta Airlines hands out by the millions on their flights. Since I can buy those, it’s not much of a draw. But I digress… As someone who suffers from aerophobia, I was a wee bit concerned about reading a novel set over twenty hours on an airplane. Here’s what Hostage is about. Flight attendant Mina Holbrook trades shifts to join the crew of World Airways inaugural 20-hour flight from London to Sydney to escape the tension […]
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The Caretakers – Book Review
When our kids were small, I had a demanding corporate career, and my husband worked all hours starting his own company. Getting them to and from daycare was stressful, and we couldn’t stay home with them when they were sick. Like most young parents, we couldn’t afford a nanny, so we got the next best thing, an au pair. We had five different au pairs from five different countries: Denmark, Norway, England, Germany, and Slovakia. The experiences were overwhelming positive, although our first one should have been sent packing after wrecking our car twice and several of her friends expelled licorice-flavored liqueur on our family room rug. Oh, and then […]
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Amy’s February 2022 Book Reviews
I love it when literary luck has me reading several genres in any given month. In February, I enjoyed historical fiction, contemporary fiction, memoir. My absolute favorite was The World Played Chess. Read on to see my reviews: The World Played Chess By Robert Dugoni In 1979, Vincent Bianco has just graduated from high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his last summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime. Now forty years later, with his own son leaving for college, the […]
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