Shell Game, by Sara Paretsky

Shell Game by Sara Paretsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Every time I think that Sara Paretsky can't outdo herself with her next V.I. Warshawski novel, she proves me wrong.

In Shell Game, V.I. Warshawski's mentor Lotty Herschel's nephew is a murder suspect. When Vic sets out to save Felix Herschel, she suddenly finds herself in the middle of an international ring of thieves trying to steal Mid Eastern artifacts.

On top of this, Vic's niece (by way of ex-husband Dick Yarborough), Reno, goes missing, presumably because of problems with the higher-ups at Rest EZ, where she works. Now Vic has to prove Felix is innocent, while trying to find Reno, protect Harmony (Reno's younger sister), tangle with her ex-husband, outrun international thugs, find missing artifacts, keeping her neighbor Mr. Contreras up to speed (and letting him "help" by keeping an eye out for Harmony), all while trying to stay alive. In other words, another exciting V.I. Warshawski novel set in Chicago.

In the end, Vic finds Reno (barely alive), fights her way out of the shack where Reno was placed by thugs, proves Felix is, indeed, innocent, and protects both nieces, while showing up her ex- and sending thugs packing. (Oh, and she also finds a new love interest, because, of course, even a strong feminist P.I. needs someone to occasionally lean on, right?)

If you haven't read Shell Game by Sara Paretsky, it's high time that you do. Definitely a great read.

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To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many books are destined to be forgotten shortly after being read, while others become classics. The reasons for a book being a classic are many: it may be an enjoyable read; it might have truths that need to be explored; no matter when it is read, it has the ability to inspire, teach, while getting under one's skin. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is such a classic.

Jean Louise (Scout) Finch lives with her older brother Jeremy (Jem) and father Atticus in Georgia during the Great Depression. They are helped by their housekeeper, Calpurnia, as their mother died with Scout was two.

Part One of the book sets the stage for the story. Scout and Jem spend summers playing with Dill, a boy who is shuttled between relatives, and who spends summers with his Aunt Rachael. Their first summer after meeting Dill, the three decide to see if they can lure reclusive Boo Radley from his house. This lands them in trouble with both Atticus, along with being shot at.

During the school year, the reader learns how racist many of the minor characters are. This is the southern U.S. during the 1930s, so many of the characters use the "n" word when referring to African-Americans. However, when Scout uses the word, Atticus tells her not to use it, as it is derogatory.

We learn early on that Atticus is an attorney, and a highly respected man by most of his neighbors. At one point, he is been appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. The job of defending Tom should have gone to another lawyer, but Atticus was chosen (we learn in Part Two) as he was the best attorney to defend Tom.

At the end of Part One, Jem and Scout get involved with Mrs. Dubose, a racist woman who screams at the two about their "n...-loving" father. This causes Jem to get into trouble. His punishment is to read to Mrs. Dubose every afternoon for more than a month.

After the month is over, Atticus is called to Mrs. Dubose's house; when he gets back home, he announces that she has died, and that, despite her disapproval of Atticus defending Tom Robinson in Tom's upcoming trial, she was the bravest person he knew. The reason he gives is that she had to fight a battle at the end of her life where the chances of winning were almost non-existant. However, to her way of thinking, she had to fight this fight, knowing that she probably wouldn't win. This exemplifies a big part of why Atticus defends Tom in Part Two: even though he knew that they would probably lose the trial, defending Tom was the right and honorable thing to do, as Tom was innocent.

Harper Lee's writing in To Kill a Mockingbird is wonderful; there is nothing in the book that doesn't move the story forward. While Ms. Lee considered this to be a love story, it goes beyond that. It is a story of right verses wrong, about people having to sort out their feelings and prejudices, and challenges the reader to consider his or her prejudices and how best to confront them. (Not bad for a book published more than 60 years ago.)

If you haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird, I highly recommend it.

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Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

During the early 1970s, it seemed everyone read Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. I had read it several times, and had fond memories of it.

Several years ago, I received a copy of this slim book from two different people and decided to reread it to see how it stood up over the intervening years. Since then, I've reread it several times.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull tells of a seagull who doesn't quit fit in and is banned from his flock as a misfit. Jonathan's misdeed? He loves to fly, loves learning how to improve on flight, how to fly faster, and knows that such learning is, itself, what makes life worth living. The flock, however, has come to the understanding that flight should be merely to be used for food-gathering. Thus, since Jonathan can't comply with living beneath what he is capable of, he is labeled a misfit and cast out of the flock.

It doesn't take long for him to reach a higher consciousness, learning from those who have gone on before him. However, those gulls who teach him soon admit that Jonathan is higher than they are, and that the student has become a teacher.

It isn't long before Jonathan realizes that he must go back to his previous flock and start teaching the newer out-casts, several of whom call him the Son of the Great Gull.

This novella, with its photos of seagulls, can be considered spiritual in nature without being preachy. It shows the reader that we all need to be the best we can be, that we should be our truest self, and while we are learning from those more knowledgeable than we are, we are also to teach those coming up after us.

This is one book that I feel has held up well over the years.

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Fallout, by Sara Paretsky

Fallout by Sara Paretsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For years, my favorite V.I. Warshawski mystery was Hardball. However, Fallout, by Sara Paretsky is right up there, either a close second, or even my favorite V.I. Warshawski mystery.

(Full disclosure: I have yet to find any part of Sara Paretsky's series that I didn't like.)

V.I. is at loose ends: her neighbor, Mr. Contreras, is in the Caribbean with family, her lover is out of town for a month. But those loose ends don't last long: Enter Bernadine Fouchard. The daughter of Vic's one of late-cousin Boom Boom's Blackhawk teammates, Bernadine and a co-worker ask Vic to try finding an African-American coworker/film student, who has gone missing.

Vic's search leads her from Chicago to Lawrence, Kansas, way out of her comfort zone. Accompanied with her dog, Peppy, V.I. searches through a university town, decommissioned missile-silos, fields, all while uncovering long-standing racial tensions.

During V.I.'s search, the body-count starts adding up, which leads the local police department to question Vic's reason for being in Lawrence. Every time Vic gets close, another mystery sneaks in.

How does Fallout end? Will Vic solve all the mysteries involved with the case? (Of course she does, but not without putting herself in jeopardy.) How does she solve it? Will her lover be back in Chicago when she gets back? Will Mr. C. help out, even from a distance? Read this absolutely fantastic addition to Sara Paretsky's series.

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On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are many books about writing, some describing "how to" (with step-by-step rules), others more along the line of "how I did it," and some that fall somewhere in-between. If one were to choose which of these books to buy, whether for inspiration, as a guide, or simply to enjoy, which would be the best to buy?

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King is one of the two best books about writing that I have found. (The other is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.) On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is part memoir (obviously), part guide to writing, and fully enjoyable, with useful information.

The first section deals with Stephen King's journey into writing. It is interesting reading, especially for anyone who wants to delve into this master story-teller's background. At one point, he mentions being totally frustrated with writing, throwing out what he had written for his first book. Thank goodness, his wife found the pages, read them, and encouraged King to continue writing. (Thanks, Tabitha!) He goes on to tell selling Carrie, including the advance for the paperback sale, which allowed him to leave his job (teaching), and writing full-time.

The second part of the book is a guide to writing. Whether one is planning to write full-time or not, it is definitely worth reading. There is no frilliness, nothing to distract, just simply great advice, skillfully written.

For anyone looking for a book about writing, or simply looking for the next good read, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King is well worth the time.

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First, You Cry, by Betty Rollin

First, You Cry by Betty Rollin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many of us start off by reading a book, followed by watching any movies based on that book. But there are times when we might see a movie, then, years later, read the book that the movie was based on.

In 1978, First, You Cry, by Betty Rollin came out as a made-for-T.V. movie, starring Mary Tyler Moore and Anthony Perkins. Decent movie, decent acting, as I remember. So, when I ran across the twenty-fifth anniversary copy of the book, I picked it up. It took me a while to read it.

The book deals with Betty Rollin's breast cancer diagnosis, surgery, and subsequent learning to get on with life. As anyone dealing with a cancer diagnosis, or, at least, a cancer scare knows, this is no easy feat: not the diagnosis, the surgery, nor the learning to get on with life. But Ms. Rollins lets the reader know that it is doable, that one can get on with life. Of course, First, You Cry.

The twenty-fifth anniversary copy relays that after the initial publication of the book, she endured a second mastectomy. (At this writing, she is still alive.)

While the paperback is 222 pages long, First, You Cry, by Betty Rollin is a quick read, and one that I definitely recommend.

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A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Several years ago, I had read several books about hiking the Appalachian Trail. It was then that I decided to read A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson.

Fast forward several years; I finally got around to reading it, and am glad that I did.

Shortly after moving to New Hampshire, Bill Bryson "happened upon a path that vanished into the woods on the edge of town." This path, of course, turned out to be part of the Appalachian Trail.

As many people do, he kicked the idea of hiking the Appalachian Trail (A.T.). After researching it, trying to ignore the "scare stories" he'd heard about it, and debating it, he finally set off to walk the A.T. as a northbound hiker. (Northbound hikers start at the southern-most end of the trail and head north; southbound hikers, naturally, head north to south.)

He found himself in the company of an old friend, Katz, who managed to convince Bill that he needed someone to hike with. There are times throughout the book when Bill wondered if that had been a mistake, while other times, realizing that having Katz along was, by far, a blessing.

There were several places along the trail that the pair skipped over for various reasons. At one point, they even left the trail to go back to their "real lives" for a while. However, they did meet up to hike more of the trail.

Spoiler alert: they did not complete the north end of the trail, though one gets the impression that the pair has a certain amount of regret on this fact. But having hiked the majority of the Appalachian Trail is no small feat.

At times, the book drags a little in its descriptions and history of the trail (there are these kinds of trees along the path, with a list of the trees; there are these animals to watch out for; there are these horror stories of hikers lost and/or hurt), which left me almost thinking, "C'mon, Bill, what happened next on your hike?" But, the descriptions and history does help move the story along.

There are also portions of the book when I wish I hadn't been reading in waiting rooms, as I had to stifle a laugh or two, as there are absolutely hilarious parts of the book.

One last note: Bryson gave a nod to Grandma Gatewood, who was memorialized in Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail, by Ben Montgomery, another book worth reading.

All in all, Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail is worth the read.

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