Smell The Plumerias: Lilith and the Faeries Series #2 by Cathy A. Corn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Smell the Plumerias: Lilith and the Faeries Series #2 is a book I looked forward to reading because the author has always invites the reader to play along on an adventure. This time the adventure takes the reader swimming with dolphins and helping faeries protect a site sacred to Pele. Lilith and Adam encounter faeries, sylphs, and menehunes.
I recommend this to readers who will let their own imagination take wing.

View all my reviews

The Northwest Coast by Richard L. Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Northwest Coast is another book from Time-Life's The American Wilderness series from my home library. I have not yet been to this part of the country, and now I would like to visit it. I enjoy the descriptions of the shoreline, the coastal cliffs, the interior forests, and the mountains. Each area has its own flora and fauna. A favorite passage of mine is "--the trek along the Life-Saving Trail is a wilderness experience that is not simply handed to you but pounded into you at every step, to stay in your bones, your muscles and your memories forever."

View all my reviews

Sagebrush Country by Donald Dale Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sagebrush Country is another book from the Time-Life American Wilderness series that has been on my home library shelf. I enjoyed the pictures before, and now, I take the time to read the text to learn more about an area of nearly all of Nevada and fragments of four bordering states: Oregon, Idaho, California, and Utah. The extremes of Death Valley and the Great Salt Lake are included. I have walked for day-hikes in some parts of this country and did not stay long. I observed parts of the Great Basin from scenic outlooks along interstate highways. So Jackson's description of today's travelers in sagebrush country is spot on, "Seldom leaving their cars, they admire the distant views, complain about the heat and press down on the accelerator."
I recommend this book for all readers.

View all my reviews

 A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I eagerly anticipated the eleventh book of the Maisie Dobbs series, and I was not disappointed.
The book opens in Spring 1937. A lot of life happened to Maisie since the last book, Leaving Everything Most Loved. She is on her way home to England when she decides to stop in Gibralter. "It was a certain resolve, a knowledge that the only way out of the abyss was to prove something to herself--that she could be brave, that she could be survive and be strong." And by the time I finished this book, I eagerly anticipate Maisie may live a lot more life before she is in England when she tells everyone to expect her, and I eagerly anticipate that next book.
I recommend this book; but I recommend new readers go start back earlier in the series so that they can appreciate the character growth that Winspear has allowed all of her characters and the fascinating way Winspear weaves mysteries within the social history of previous generations.


View all my reviews

How to Argue: Powerfully, Persuasively, Positively by Jonathan Herring
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This ebook was free from Barnes and Noble when I downloaded it to my Nook library. It is another book from Pearson Education, and I have found the ones I read to be useful.
The 10 Golden Rules of Argument are: 1.Be prepared. 2. When to argue, when to walk away. 3.What you say and how you say it. 4. Listen and listen again. 5. Excel at responding to arguments. 6. Watch out for crafty tricks. 7. Develop the skills for arguing in public. 8. Be able to argue in writing. 9. Be great at resolving deadlock. 10. Maintain relationships.
The best advice for myself from this book is "Only argue if you can change something or influence someone."
I recommend this book for all readers for this book is about improving our communication skills.

View all my reviews

Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Bring on the Blessings was free when I downloaded it from Barnes and Noble to my Nook library. This download introduced me to a new-to-me author.
The story was entertaining and the characters were distinct, and those factors were often enough to get the fourth star. I lowered the rating to three stars for the number of times I rolled my eyes and thought, "Yeah, that is going to happen." I had difficulty believing the foster children would be easily removed from the many different states' protective services to be fostered in Kansas.
I recommend this book to readers who might enjoy an entertaining wishful thought about rescuing a historic African-American/Black Seminole community and foster children with the money of a woman of vision.

View all my reviews

The Ancient Adirondacks by Lincoln Kinnear Barnett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Ancient Adironacks has been in my home library since we subscribed to this Time-Life American Wilderness series.
I enjoyed the pictures before, and I had not read the text written by Lincoln Barnett. I enjoyed his descriptions of hiking trails through mountainsides and gorges, and the white-water rafting trips. Reading the descriptions may be better than the actual experience because the reader does not have to contend with black flies and deer flies.
I recommend this book to arm-chair travelers. The information is likely to be out of date for current travelers.


View all my reviews

Bringing Your Family History to Life Through Social History by Katherine Scott Sturdevant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was recommended by Lisa Alzo during a webinar about crafting ancestor profiles. This book was an answer to a question from the audience.
One of the messages I took from this book is "No one can contribute your part of the family history better than you can....Your personal memories will be lost unless you record them." As you expand your scope, "You are writing history into your family and your family into history." Sturdevant has eleven points for cemetery care guidelines and how to do citations for photographs. I never considered documenting family artifacts before if you are "...the family historian, the Keeper of Everything." She provides guidelines for writing your family history such as don't fictionalize and do write in past tense.
My only objection to this book was the number of imperative sentences that come after the imperative topic sentences in her lists, such as the list "Writing Family History Technically." Remembering the 18-item list is difficult enough, let alone even more points. I resisted when I felt micro-managed.
Bringing Your Family History to Life Through Social History is worth being a well-used reference and resource on the shelf of every family historian and genealogist.


View all my reviews

Black Out by John Lawton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Black Out was free from Barnes and Noble when I downloaded it to my Nook library in 2012. I liked how the author used the setting of war-time London for its mood when Inspector Troy is frustrated in his investigation by need-to-know, by rationed items, and by often questioned why he was not in the military. I did not like the uneven pacing enough that I will not seek out any additional books in this series.


View all my reviews

The Heist: A Novel by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This audiobook was free when I downloaded the Nook audiobook app. I felt disappointed by the derivative nature of the characters and then the plot. Kate O'Hare could just as easily be Karen Cisco as played by Carla Gugino and you could easily cast Kate's father by the same actor who played Karen's father Marshall Cisco, Robert Forester. Nickolas Fox could easily be Neil Caffery as played by Matt Bomer. The plot is it takes a con artist to con an embezzler.
This book is just OK. It is good to read for a long wait at an airport or for a series of 20-minute rides on a recumbent bike.

View all my reviews

Evernote: 50 Evernote Secrets That Will Advance Your Life by Tomas Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was recommended by Thomas MacEntee to me and other members of the Evernote Genealogists Facebook group when it was free for 24-hours to download to my Kindle app. I read lots of books recommended to this group, and I still learned some information new-to-me I had not tried before. I now put the @ in front of my default notebook so that notebook is always on top. I learned to build a table of contents or project summary from a series of coppy note links. I learned to check this notebook daily for my tasks to do or notes to file in elsewhere. I may not have learned 50 NEW things; but there are enough lots more than the three things I want to learn with each new book.
I recommend it to all readers who use Evernote.

View all my reviews

The Badlands by Champ Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Badlands has been in my home library since we subscribed to the series, "The American Wilderness" by Time-Life books. I always enjoyed the pictures. This time I took the time to enjoy the text by Champ Clark. His text made me feel as if I were hiking with him and he was pointing out what I need to know about this part of the country.
I recommend this book for every one.

View all my reviews

Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Part of the fun of Barnes and Noble's Free Fridays for Nook books happens when I am introduced to a new-to-me author and a genre I would not usually select. This book was free when I downloaded it to my Nook library in 2012. Yes, I had low expectations for the story of BFFs, one of whom was human and one who would be the first female vampire born in 900 years if she survived the change on her 16th birthday. The author surprised me with enjoyable characters and good pacing for the storyline.
I recommend it for YA readers who still enjoy the vampire-friendship genre.

View all my reviews

Pension Games: Bad Decisions and Backroom Deals in Illinois' Public Pension System by Chicago Tribune
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was free when I downloaded it from Barnes and Noble to my Nook library.
Its stated purpose is"...establishing how lawmakers rigged the Illinois pension code to benefit a chosen few, then demonstrating how the system as a whole was abused time and again for short-term political gains, leaving the state's pension fund in the worst shape by far in the country."
This book can be a bit boring for an outsider as repetitive phrases are used throught the book, "...to receive nearly $XX million dollars during their expected lifetimes..." and "...the required contributions did not keep pace with higher payouts."
This book ends in 2012 and the pensions may not be fixed yet. It is enough to make taxpayers cynical.


View all my reviews