Tattoos on the Heart: the Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle

 Tattoos on the Heart: the Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle - 217 pages

Father Gregory Boyle’s sparkling parables about kinship and the sacredness of life are drawn from twenty years working with gangs in LA.

How do you fight despair and learn to meet the world with a loving heart? How do you overcome shame? Stay faithful in spite of failure? No matter where people live or what their circumstances may be, everyone needs boundless, restorative love. Gorgeous and uplifting, Tattoos on the Heart amply demonstrates the impact unconditional love can have on your life.

As a pastor working in a neighborhood with the highest concentration of murderous gang activity in Los Angeles, Gregory Boyle created an organization to provide jobs, job training, and encouragement so that young people could work together and learn the mutual respect that comes from collaboration. Tattoos on the Heart is a breathtaking series of parables distilled from his twenty years in the barrio. Arranged by theme and filled with sparkling humor and glowing generosity, these essays offer a stirring look at how full our lives could be if we could find the joy in loving others and in being loved unconditionally. From giant, tattooed Cesar, shopping at JCPenney fresh out of prison, we learn how to feel worthy of God’s love. From ten-year-old Lula we learn the importance of being known and acknowledged. From Pedro we understand the kind of patience necessary to rescue someone from the darkness. In each chapter we benefit from Boyle’s wonderful, hard-earned wisdom. Inspired by faith but applicable to anyone trying to be good, these personal, unflinching stories are full of surprising revelations and observations of the community in which Boyle works and of the many lives he has helped save.

Erudite, down-to-earth, and utterly heartening, these essays about universal kinship and redemption are moving examples of the power of unconditional love in difficult times and the importance of fighting despair. With Gregory Boyle’s guidance, we can recognize our own wounds in the broken lives and daunting struggles of the men and women in these parables and learn to find joy in all of the people around us. Tattoos on the Heart reminds us that no life is less valuable than another.

Blue Moon by Lee Child

Blue Moon by Lee Child - 368 pages

A Jack Reacher Novel - Release Date 10/29/19

I was fortunate enough to get an advance reader copy of this book through NetGalley.  This book finds Reacher still on his travels across America with just a toothbrush in his pocket and the clothes on his back.  A random encounter on a bus causes Reacher to stay in a town rife with gang violence where of course he can't help but get involved to help protect the innocent.  If you've been reading Reacher novels this long you know what to expect and Blue Moon doesn't disappoint with lots of action and trademark fight scenes.  It's one of the better Reacher books in a while.  

Connections in Death by J.D. Robb

Connections in Death by J.D. Robb - 371 pages

It seems that Lyle Pickering has relapsed back into the drug and gang life and overdosed . . . or has he?  Eve Dallas must determine why someone has staged it to look like Lyle has overdosed when really he's been murdered.  The investigation will take her into the gang neighborhoods and seedy underbelly of New York.

This is the latest Eve Dallas mystery by J.D. Robb (aka - Nora Roberts).  It was an enjoyable read.  Definitely a great addition to the series.

All American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez by James Patterson & Alec Abramovich

All American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez by James Patterson & Alec Abramovich, 388 pages

I don't think James Patterson has written many nonfiction books, but this is one of his latest true crime thrillers.  I must say I found this book very haunting and made me almost sick to my stomach to read.  Because it was a true story, it was very hard to take it all in that this really happened.  I had heard the Aaron Hernandez story before and remembered some of the vague details.  But, this book contained so many details, it is hard to believe what Aaron Hernandez was capable of and what crimes he committed and what he got away with.  I knew he had murdered Odin Lloyd, his girlfriend's sister's boyfriend in Boston, but I had not known of the other two murders he committed.  Aaron Hernandez hung himself in his jail cell, which has made everyone wonder if all his years of playing football had really done all that damage to his brain.  This book contains color pictures and even a cross section of his brain.  A fascinating read indeed!!

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri-94 pages

I did a search for good graphic biographies and this was on a list and we have it here in the library. I enjoy reading a graphic novel (fiction and non-fiction) periodically. This book is a sad read because Yummy (real name Robert) is a "shorty" in a Chicago gang who kills a 14-year-old neighborhood girl on accident in an attempt to kill rival gang members to impress his gang leaders. His "brothers" in the gang decide after some time (and a massive "man" hunt for Yummy) that he is a liability and they shoot him and kill him. Also, Yummy's parents are in and out of jail, so he is raised by his grandma, but spends more time on the streets than with her. Yummy ends up on the cover of Time Magazine as an example of the ongoing violence in Chicago and the U.S. Violence, especially gang-related violence, is still a hot issue today. It is sobering that kids this young (Yummy was 11) are joining gangs and being recruited for child armies across the world and something needs to be done, although I don't profess to know the answer. 

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo  480 pages

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price - and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy, Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone.

A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction - if they don't kill each other first.