I Know This Much Is True

The acclaimed author Wally Lamb is the author of I Know This Much Is True. In this story an unmarried woman with a cleft lip has a pair of identical twins after her father has died. One of the twins grows up to have paranoid schizophrenia. His brother tries to help him. His mother marries a man who abuses all three of them. In 1990 the brother with mental illness takes a military knife to the library and cuts off one hand. He gets sent to a forensic hospital for a year. Eventually he gets released and goes to a group home. This was a long book. I spent over 13 hours reading it on my phone. Excellent story though.

 

  

Definitely Better Now

 In this book about a young woman named Emma becomes sober for a year, the author Ava Robinson, conveys the story in her book Definitely Better Now. Emma works in advertising. Now that her first year of sobriety is over she is ready to start dating again. There is a cute guy in IT named Ben. Both Emma and Ben are assigned to work on the companies holiday party which is a lavish and expensive dinner at a local hotel. This is a darkly funny novel about working life in New York City.

 

 

The Girls Of Good Fortune

Kristina McMorris is the author of The Girls Of Good Fortune. The story is set in Portland, Oregon in 1885 through 1888. Celia awakens to find her self in a locked box wearing men's clothing. She was working for the mayor as a cleaning lady. Her father, a Chinese man, went to Hells Canyon to work in a mine. Some white miners killed 30 Chinese miners. This evil act went to trial but the white men were found innocent. Celia looses her job when the mayor finds out she is pregnant. The mayor's son is the father but the family won't believe that. She is taken to a brothel where she works as a cook and a maid. This is a fascinating historical fiction book about racism in America. 

 

 

The Winds From Further West

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the Number One Detectives Agency series. He also wrote The Winds From Further West. In this story Dr. Neil Anderson had just started a new position at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He meets Chrissie. Chrissie is intelligent and ambitious. They move into a flat together. Soon he gets into trouble. A students accuses him of making a statement that he did not say. His supervisor wants him to apologize for saying something he did not say. Neil refuses to apologize. Then the student claims Neil assaulted him on the sidewalk. That is a false accusation. Neil resigns from his position. He goes home early to find Chrissie having an affair with another man. Neil packs up his stuff and stays at a friend's house. His friend has a house on the island of Mull. This is a remote area where he can relax and figure out his future. One day, on the island, a boat is abandoned. The boat came from Russia. The captain of the boat left his boat and took off in the island ferry. As they explore the old boat they hear sounds coming from below. In a tiny box under the floor they find two wolf/dogs. They bring the animals to the local veterinarian.  The local vet happens to be a pretty young woman. This gives Neil a chance to figure out his new beginning and a budding romance. 

 

 

Prairie Island

 Yesterday I drove to Prairie Island Park which is past the Prairie Island Campground. Prairie Island is not an island. The far side of the island is attached to the town, so it is more of a peninsula. I went to see birds but hardly saw any. I parked and walked for an hour and a half. I did see more lotus plants and that was cool.

Happy Autumn

 

Old School Indian

Aaron John Curtis is the author of Old School Indian, a novel about a 43-year-old man named Abe Jacobs. Abe has been told he is dying and has a year to live. The doctors in Miami can't help him so he goes north to the reservation to seek healing from his uncle Budge Billings. Abe lays on his uncle's bed with only his boxers on while his uncle massages his body and applies a healing ointment. This book is a striking exploration of love and family, culture and history. 

The Party Line

Carolyn Brown is the author of The Party Line, a novel about what life is like in the small town called Ditto, Texas.  Lila is an accountant in a larger city. When her great aunt Grace died, she left her house and belongings to Lila. Lila comes back to Ditto to live because she can be an accountant and work from home. Her aunt Grace was feisty and kept a secret. Lila wants to find out the secret. Behind the house is a huge field of strawberries. Lila does find out what the secret was, and she will tell no one. I enjoyed this story about Lila and her family.

The American Melody Returns

 

My Name Is Emilia Del Valle

 The book My Name Is Emilia Del Valle was published in 2025 by the great writer Isabelle Allende. Allende was born in Chile but now resides in California and she became a U.S. citizen in 2003. The story starts out in 1866. A young Irish woman is about to become a nun when she is taken advantage of by a Chilean aristocrat. Emilia is raised by her mother and her beloved stepfather. She helped her stepfather teach in their school. In her teen years she starts publishing novel under a male pen name. Later she gets a job with the local newspaper and she does quite well. When civil war breaks out in Chile, she and another reporter travel to Chile.  Her mother wants her to connect with her father so she can be claimed as his heir. She does connect with her father, and he does claim her as his own. Theys two reporters send back frequent columns about the war and human-interest stories. Eventually Emilia gets caught up in the battlefield. She is injured and jailed. The other reporter uses the U.S. embassy to have her released. The war is over and surely it is time to return to California. The male reporter heads back. Emillia stays on to find the plot of land in a remote area that her father left her. This was a great story about love and travel.

The Four Engagement Rings Of Sybil Rain

 This afternoon, after I walked around Lake Winona and saw a record breaking 39 turtles basking in the sun on logs, I read The Four Engagement Rings Of Sybil Rain. The author is Hannah Brown. This silly chick-lit book is about a woman named Sybil who has no luck in getting married. She has a close knit group of four women friends. Since her wedding was called off a year ago, they suggest she use the tickets for her honeymoon before they expire. So off she goes from Los Angeles to Mauri to an expensive resort. She plans to swim, snorkel and relax on the beach. As soon as she checks in she runs into her most recent ex who is there on business for his family's winery. After touching base with her four friends, she decides to be honest with her ex about why they broke up at the altar.

The Senator's Wife

 The Senator's Wife is a psychological thriller written by Liv Constantine. Liv Constantine is actually a pen name for sisters Lynne and Valerie Constantine. In this story Sloane is a philanthropist in Washington, D.C.. She runs an agency that provides shelter for victims of domestic violence. She recently married Senator Whit Montgomery. Her husband and his wife were murdered several years ago so they drew together for comfort. Sloane is used to going to the White House for dinner and to gala events. Due to her diagnosis of lupus she is going to have a hip replaced. To help in her recovery Whit hires Athena, a home health aid experienced in helping people with lupus. After the surgery her health starts spiraling downward. I never saw the ending coming and it was a very satisfying ending to read.

Chana Masala and Naan

 Yesterday Offspring #2 did the cooking and, man oh man, was it delicious. They made home made garlic/cilantro naan from scratch. I have never seen such a thing. Each mouth watering bite was delicious. The chana masala was excellent.

Lilac Lane

Sheryl Woods is the author of the family novel called Lilac Lane. Nearly all of the story takes place in current time in Maryland and on the beach. A smaller amount of the story takes place in Ireland. Nearly all of the characters are Irish or Irish/American. The main character is Keira Malone. She single handedly raised two sons and a daughter after her alcoholic husband abandoned the family. After her father and daughter moved to the Chesapeake Bay area they worry about her because Keira's fiancé died of a massive heart attack on the same day she agreed to take his hand in marriage. Keira decides to join her family. She still has two sons living in Ireland but they took after their Dad and are in and out of jail. Once in Maryland she meets her granddaughter who is 4 months old. She also meets her father's second wife (her mother died 5 years earlier). Will she fit in once she moves to Maryland? Will she win the cooking contest for the best Irish stew at the upcoming town festival? I enjoyed this family drama book.

Kindee Thai

Today, after completing some errands downtown Minneapolis, Offspring #2 and I had lunch at Kindee Thai restaurant. The pineapple fried rice with fried tofu was delicious but too much for me to eat in one setting.

 

Black Woods Blue Sky

If you are interested in what life is like in rural Alaska you should read Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey. This story is about a young single mother named Birdie. She never knew her father. Her mother abandoned her and her sister with her grandparents. Her grandmother, fearful she will take off and abandon her daughter like her mother did, is very critical of Birdie to the point she can't take it anymore. She gets a job at a local bar/restaurant that comes with a free cabin. She tried to be a good mother to Emaleen but sometimes she gives into temptation. She meets a guy named Arthur who is anti-social and not mentally well. She is drawn to him because he is different from the other folk in the town. She decides to join Arthur in the wilderness despite the advice of everyone else and town. Birdie, Emaleen, and Arthur take off in a plane piloted by Arthur's adoptive father. Arthur's father tries to keep an eye on them. He flies back with supplies every couple of weeks and checks in to see how they are doing. This was a good story with just a touch of magic. 

Intervention

 The famous doctor/author of Intervention is Robin Cook.  Jack Stapleton graduated from college 31 years ago. One of his roommates is an archeologist. The other is the Bishop of New York City. Jack is a medical examiner. One day he determines the cause of death for a lovely young woman was caused by a chiropractor. When he cracked her neck he tore the arteries in her neck causing bleeding. Jack unwisely confronts the chiropractor who sues him for coming over. His archeologist friend went to Rome where he stole a box probably containing the bones of Mary, Mother of God. He has the box shipped to his Bishop's house who is now going to get into big trouble because of this. This was a strange story about the friendship of three men.

Where The Rivers Merge

 Mary Alice Munroe is the author of the historical fiction novel entitled Where The Rivers Merge. The author lives in South Carolina and is a conservationist. Her facts about the birds, the plants, and the animals make her conservation work very apparent. The Mayfair estate grows rice and horses. The mother and father have three children. The middle child is a girl named Eliza and she is a tomboy. She would rather be outside riding horses than do any of the womanly work inside. She is a disappointment to her mother but a big help to her father. She pushes back against societal norms. The book starts out in 1908 and ends in 1998 when Eliza is 80 years old. I really enjoyed this book.

American Melody

After lunch I walked through Levee Park on my way to the public library. I saw the American Melody parked and passengers were getting on and off. This ship took off from St. Louis, Missouri and was on it's way to Saint Paul. Just as I walked to the end of the ship I saw an elderly couple. The man used a walker. Just then the American Cruise bus went by and KERPLOW!!!! blew a tire right next to me. The noise was so loud. I could see a 3 inch gash in the sidewall of the tire. I jumped. The man with the walker starting tipping over. I thought he was going to fall but he didn't. My adrenaline was through the roof. Yikes. The ship was still there on my way back from the library a few hours later but it eventually pulled away and headed up river again.

Bird Club

 Tonight I went to my first meeting of the Winona bird club. Our speaker was a woman who is an expert on Prairie Island. She told us where to find which birds. She has seen 67 species of warblers. She told us about the nature trail. Now I want to go down there and walk that trail. There is a lake called Hunter Lake.  There, in the spring, the lake thaws before the river and you can find a large variety of green winged teal, canvas backs, and ruddy ducks. She told us which birds nest on the island. The city of Winona has partnered with the Minnesota Land Trust and will develop a plan to restore the island and remove the invasive species. I look forward to the next meeting. This is a fun group.

The Book Of Lost Sould

 In this delightful historical fiction story we switch the story between 1875 and 1988. Lisa Wingate is the author of The Book of Lost Souls. In 1875 little Hannie watched from the plantation in Mississippi as her mother and siblings are sold away. Lavinia Gossett is the daughter of the plantation owner. Juneau Jane is the plantation owner's daughter with a Creole woman in New Orleans. Together the three girls take off looking for the plantation owner in Texas. While recovering from illness they hide out in a church for a week. On the walls of the church are newspaper articles of former slaves looking for their relatives. Juneau Jane knows how to read and write so she starts collecting information from other people missing relatives and writes the book of lost soles. Juneau Jane teaches Hannie how to read and write. On the other end of the timeline first year teacher Benny Silva comes to Livingston, Alabama. She needs to work off her student loans. The school is shockingly empty of books and teaching materials. She finds a huge library of books in an empty farmhouse behind the one she is renting. She gets permission from the owner to bring the books to school. With her students they begin to do research on the people who lived in this area. Eventually they come to find out that this is where Hannie, Lavinia, and Juneau Jane once lived.

The Female Persuasion

Meg Wolitzer is the author of The Female Persuasion. This novel follows the life of Greer and Cody. Greer met Cody when she was 8 years old. He moved to her neighborhood and now they are in the same grade in school. Both Greer and Cody are the smartest kids in their class. After graduation they were meant to go to Yale together. Greer's parents are not the best. They don't seem to care about her. They both smoke weed in the basement. Greer's father said he would fill out the financial questions on her application for scholarships but he didn't. Now Greer is angry because she has to go to Ryland college. Cody will go to Princeton. In college a friend named Zee convinces Greer to hear Faith Frank, a famous feminist, speak. Greer is so impressed by Faith that they follow her into the bathroom. Faith gives Greer her card and asks her to keep in touch. After graduating from Ryland Greer gets a job with Faith's company. Cody ends up working in the Philippines. He gets a call one day that rocks his world. His mother was backing out the car and accidentally runs over his little brother, Alby, who was lying in the driveway studying his turtle. Cody goes home. After the funeral his father returns to his native Portugal, never to return. Cody's mother is rightfully depressed. Cody stays home to care for her. This delightful book is about wanting to be seen.