A Painted House by John Grisham

 

A Painted House by John Grisham-388 pages

Early September, 1952, Arkansas cotton country.  Seven year old Luke is off school like all the other children so they could help their families pick cotton.  Luke lives with his grandparents and parents, who rent their 80 acre farm, in a little house that's never been painted.  Mysteriously while Luke and his mom are in the garden he looks up and notices that someone has begun painting their house white!  Who could be doing this, since they are all in the field except the little crippled boy from the Ozarks?  They hire Mexicans and hill people from the Ozarks to help them with the harvest.  For six weeks they all toil together bringing in the crop.  Among the way, Luke sees and hears way more than any boy his age is ready for.  He is keeping many secrets especially one big one.  For relaxation they would listen to Harry Carey announce the Cardinal baseball team starring Luke's favorite player, Stan Musial. Luke wants to be a Cardinal when he grows up. John Grisham  penned this story based on his own childhood growing up in rural Arkansas.  I enjoyed it very much, especially the Cardinal connection!

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Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

355 pages

"Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go-Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it's the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she's twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things. Another band getting noticed is The Six, led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she's pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road. Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend. The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice"-- Provided by publisher.

I enjoyed the book very much. I'm also currently watching the series on Amazon Prime.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

 Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly-346 pages

This is the previously untold story of the women, specifically African-American women, who were computers for NACA (later NASA) at Langley in Hampton, Virginia. Dorothy Vaughan was one of the first to be offered and accept a position as a computer. Later, Mary Jackson and Katherine Goble (later Johnson) accepted a computer position at Langley. The women were part of West Computing which was the wing for the African-American women. They had to endure segregation and racism, especially in the early years of their employment. Mary Jackson would later become an engineer at Langley, leaving computing behind. All 3 of these women and many others would help send John Glenn into space in 1962. Katherine Goble Johnson also had a big hand in sending Apollo 11 to the moon and some of her calculations helped John Lovell and the other astronauts of Apollo 13 return home safely. This book is the inspiration for the 2017 film of the same name. I enjoyed reading this book, although it does lack a bit in the narrative department and gets bogged down in details occasionally. The epilogue is the best chapter, as far as narrative. It's almost as if she wrote it for those familiar with many of the people and the organizations and mathematics involved in these stories. I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars because of the importance of its story. It is an important history of many important, previously unseen contributions by African-American women at a time when segregation was the norm. This book does reinforce and extend my previous knowledge and studies of the Jim Crow era. The fact that African-Americans (and women) were not afforded the same rights and luxuries as their white (male, especially) counterparts time and time again until quite recently in the big picture is appalling. The fact that hotels and restaurants could and did deny service to someone based solely on their skin color is abhorrent. Separate but equal was never equal. It was really separate and unequal. The 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision set a horrible precedent for the following several decades of segregation. The women in this story overcame that segregation and constant reminders of its existence to make important contributions to United States history. 

Where are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark

 

Where are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark-290 pages

I wanted to reread this since I knew the sequel was being released.  It was as well written and creepy as I remember it.  What this poor mother goes through is every moms nightmare.  I enjoyed the twists and turns very much and I look forward to reading all about Nancy Harmon and how she moved forward with her life.  Would highly recommend reading this before the sequel.

Appointment for Murder : the story of the killing dentist by Susan Crain Bakos

          Appointment with Murder : the story of the killing dentist by Susan Crain Bakos-384 pages

I was very interested in reading this book because my parents actually took me when I was 11; to have this dentist; Dr Glennon Engleman, pull two of my teeth.  He was cheap!  We were poor!  Little did we know he had a very lucrative side gig!  He was available to blow up anyone that you wanted to knock off for their insurance money. Or if he held a grudge against you..kaboom!  There were parts of the book that I had to skip over since it is also very sexually explicit.  He even performed back room abortions to achieve his goals.  One very sick man. Thankfully with the help of his third wife they finally caught him.  And did I mention this all took place here in St. louis from the 1950's - 1980's?!  I did not like the book, but since he was a part of my history I found it interesting.     

A Dog's Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron

 

A Dog's Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron-327 pages

Others have already reviewed this since it was our Book to Movie club.  It's a very sweet story as told from the dogs perspective.  After reading this I actually looked at my own dog differently!  They are the most loving, loyal creatures on the planet.  I enjoyed the book very much..though at times it seemed far fetched!

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

 

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton-448 pages

We all know what the book is about so there is no reason to summarize it.  I will say it took about 120 pages before it grabbed me and then I couldn't put it down.  There are many differences between the book and movie and I can honestly say that I enjoyed the book much more than the movie.  Since I had seen the movie It helped me picture the characters in the book.  I highly recommend it.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett-266 pages

This is the story of Mary Lennox, who as a young girl lives in India with her neglectful, selfish parents. An Ayah (Indian servant) attends to Mary's every need and Mary is kept out of sight of her parents and their friends. When tragedy strikes and her parents and Ayah all die of Cholera, Mary is sent to England to live at her reclusive uncle's (Mr. Archibald Craven) estate, Misslethwaite Manor. It is here that Mary finds a secret locked garden and slowly transforms from a bratty, selfish child to a mature young woman. She befriends Martha (her maid, sort of), Dickon, Ben Weatherstaff, a robin, and Colin Craven (her cousin). Colin also makes a miraculous change from a spoiled hypochondriac who lays in bed all day feeling sorry for himself to someone who is full of energy and runs around the secret garden. One thing in the book that I enjoyed that wasn't in any movie adaptation that I've seen is Dickon's and Martha's mom, Susan Sowerby. She plays a big role in helping Colin and Mary get well in the book and I enjoyed her character. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would rate it 4 out of 5 stars. I have enjoyed 2 out of the 3 movie adaptations that I've seen, also.

Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume

Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume-176 pages

I wanted to read this with the movie coming out soon. Also, I wanted to read it for myself since it's been challenged a lot over the years. It's a coming-of-age story about Margaret Simon, a pre-teen who moves from New York to New Jersey. She has a good relationship with her grandmother on her father's side. They hang out a lot together and her grandmother makes her special sweaters. Margaret makes friends and joins a secret club with her new friends, Nancy, Janie, and Gretchen. They all want to increase their bust and get their period. Normal things for growing young women to think about. Margaret talks to God often, even though she doesn't practice any religion. She does, however, experiment with different religions during the school year for a personal school project. She goes to a Methodist church service and Jewish Synagogue/Temple service with her grandmother. Also, she goes to a Catholic confession but doesn't know what to say. I enjoyed reading this book and didn't find anything objectionable in it. 

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

 Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen-368 pages

Jacob Jankowski falls on hard times after his parents unexpectedly die in a car accident in the 1930s. He joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show by accident after jumping their train. This is a story about Jacob and his time with the Benzini Brothers circus where he meets Marlena and works as a veterinarian for Uncle Al and August. Marlena is married to August who is the leader of the animal Menagerie. Jacob and Marlena quickly become star-crossed lovers, but can't act on it for fear of August and Uncle Al. Events unfold somewhat slowly early but very quickly near the end and this has a fairly surprising ending. I liked this book, although some of the things that happen are pretty sad. I would rate this 4 out 5 stars, though.

A Dog's Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron

 A Dog's Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron-327 pages

Bella is a loving stray dog found living in a den with cats under a condemned house by Lucas. He lives in an apartment across the street from the condemned house and feeds the cats frequently. Bella immediately takes to Lucas and he takes her in even though it's against his lease agreement. Lucas lives with his mom, who is an Army veteran who struggles with depression and seizures. Bella twice recognizes oncoming seizures from Mom and saves her. Bella and Lucas build a strong bond and Bella views him as her person. However, Lucas runs afoul of the mean man building new housing across the street by continuing to feed and advocate for the cats still living in the den under the house. This man, Gunter, recruits an Animal Control Officer (ACO) to certify Bella as a pit bull. Pit bulls are banned in Denver, where Lucas lives. Soon, Bella is captured by the ACO and separated from Lucas. They're reunited only to be separated again. Bella is determined to get home to Lucas. Will she be able to survive the nearly 400 mile trek back to Lucas? I would rate this one 3 out of 5 stars.

Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1) by Michael Crichton

 Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1) by Michael Crichton-448 pages (mass market paperback)

Hammond and InGen, Inc. have secretly created a theme park/zoo full of dinosaurs. Strange animal attacks are happening all across Costa Rica by what are suspected to be lizards, but actually might be small predatorial dinosaurs that have escaped from Jurassic Park. An EPA agent shows up at a dig site where Dr. Alan Grant and Ph.D. student Ellie Sattler are uncovering a juvenile velociraptor fossil. He says he's investigating Hammond and his island off the coast of Costa Rica. Hammond and InGen plan to open Jurassic Park to the public in a year, but the EPA agent (and investors who send Gennaro) believe that there could be inherent danger lurking. Grant, Sattler, Malcolm (a mathematician who subscribes to chaos theory and is extremely arrogant), and Gennaro travel to Isla Nublar to investigate Jurassic Park. Hammond and his employees, especially Wu (the geneticist responsible for creating the dinosaurs) and Arnold (the chief engineer) believe the island and park to be totally under control. However, they turn out to be very, very wrong after another employee, Dennis Nedry, intentionally shuts down the security systems and power during a storm. Nedry created the computer systems for Jurassic Park and is disgruntled over his compensation, so he conspires with Dodgson (an exec at a competitor who wants to make their own dinosaurs) to steal some dinosaur DNA samples and smuggle them off the island. The dinosaurs break loose from their paddocks when the electric fences are no longer electrified and wreak havoc, especially the predators (velociraptors, tyrannosaurs, dilophosaurs, etc.). Things go very awry and Hammond and his employees are far from in control. Can they get the island back under control before it's too late? How many will die and/or get eaten by the dinosaurs? I really liked the book and I'm leaning towards liking it more than the movie based on it. I really like the movie, though, also.