OCTOBER 2019 WRAP-UP

Wow, this is my THIRD monthly wrap-up for my blog, Books by Dorothea. 

However, the last two weeks of the month had a huge distraction:

Please meet Penny! She is our almost 10-week-old rescue puppy. Keeping her occupied, entertained, and somewhat potty-trained is taking up almost ALL of my time.

Unfortunately, I have only read THREE books this month. October should be MUCH better, hopefully!

Here are my THREE September reads:

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

10/25/19 MY NEXT BOOK TO READ IS ...

House on Endless Waters: A Novel by Emuna Elon. This is another ARC by NetGalley

Of course, I am back to reading WWII books which is my go-to genre lately so I am eager to read this novel!!

If you want to know more about House on Endless Waters: A Novel, go to Goodreads to learn more!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - HILL WOMEN: FINDING FAMILY AND A WAY FORWARD IN THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS

4.5 stars

I received a complimentary e-book copy of this book from Ballantine Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Cassie Chambers, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This non-fiction book excited me from the minute that I read the synopsis. I felt like I knew or was related to many of the people in the book - they could be MY people too. Although the book is primarily set in Appalachia, my paternal side comes from the Ozarks with the same issues facing the author's friends and family. The BIG difference is that my ENTIRE family left the Ozarks and moved to California during the Dust Bowl. Without that impetus, I might be living in Arkansas in the Ozarks today.

Anyway, back to THIS book. Cassie Chambers has a REAL way of writing. It is raw and elegant but still inviting. Her style greatly reminds me of Michelle Obama's style in her book BECOMING. Personally, I would love to share a cup of coffee or a glass of wine with this author. She sounds interesting, fun, and true.

Please read this book. These women of the hills are the foundation that our country was built upon. They are the United States. 

Highly recommend!!

Happy reading,


Dorothea 💜

10/18/19 MY NEXT BOOK TO READ IS ...

Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains by Cassie Chambers. This is another ARC by NetGalley

I am very excited to read this book as it just reminds me of my great-grandmother, Granny. She wasn't from Appalachia, but she was "dirt poor" and lived a subsistence life. Granny sacrificed so much to move her family from Arkansas to Oklahoma and then California during the Dust Bowl and Depression. 

If you want to know more about Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains, go to Goodreads to learn more!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - THE BOOK OF GUTSY WOMEN: FAVORITE STORIES OF COURAGE AND RESILIENCE

4 stars

This is a very difficult review because I appreciate and admire Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton both so very much.

But, this book was difficult to get through at times. I loved reading about these amazing women! I would like to read more about some of them, but I knew much about many of them. So a history nut like me may not appreciate this book as much as someone who isn't.

The other thing about the book was its flow. Going back and forth from Hillary to Chelsea and vice versa was choppy and the different "voices" didn't work for me.

In some ways, I would have preferred a longer chapter about each of the women that went into much more detail about them. This book was much more high-level than I had expected.

I would love to see this book in a version for younger girls so they could learn about those who came before them.

RECOMMEND!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

10/05/19 MY NEXT BOOK TO READ IS ...

The Book of Gutsy Women - Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton.

I must say that is probably the book that I have been MOST excited to read all year long. Those that know me well understand that I adore Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. I look forward to reading this book that I borrowed from the library and possibly ordering it for my 18-year-old daughter! I am SO excited!!

If you want to know more about The Book of Gutsy Women - Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience, go to Goodreads to learn more!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - JUST MERCY: A STORY OF JUSTICE AND RECEMPTION

5 STARS

This book can be summed in this quote: “The power of just mercy is that it belongs to the undeserving.” JUST MERCY by Bryan Stevenson.

I am very thankful to my dear friend, Kerri, for encouraging me to read this book and even going so far as to buy it for me via Amazon when the wait at the library was so long.

The book at times is VERY difficult to read - it is not a happy, fun, and exciting read. It is an educational and important read for those of us blessed to live in more liberal, socially conscious, and safe parts of the country. It talks about many controversial topics in an open and frank manner including race, socio-economic class, police/prosecutorial misconduct, inadequate or lacking public defense, remnants of slavery, terror times after Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and mass incarceration. These are topics that we MUST discuss and correct in our individual states and our country or we will never grow!

Finally, as someone who has MANY family lines descending from the South including the biggest offenders of true mercy and justice, I think that many of these incarcerated men and women could have been my family - my extended cousins. By grace, my family made the journey to California where most of these horror has not occurred. However, it behooves us who are educated, white, and do-gooders to learn more and understand what we need to do to correct these wrongs. First and foremost VOTE! The only way to stop these unjust laws is to let our local, State, and Federal elected officials KNOW our feelings on these laws!!

PLEASE read this book - it is so powerful, important, convicting, and life-changing. Thank you again, Kerri!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

SEPTEMBER 2019 WRAP-UP

My book blog, Books by Dorothea, has been such a labor of love and joy!! I hope that it helps you navigate the amazing world of books!!

During the month of September 2019, I have read FIVE books!! It has been a challenging few months with a high school senior applying for college, taking the ACT, SAT single-subject tests, and everything that it entails. Thankfully, I now have some down-time to READ!!

So here are my September reads:

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

09/29/19 - MY NEXT BOOK TO READ IS ...

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. This is a gifted Kindle book from my dear friend, Kerri, who is VERY passionate about this book! Thank you, Kerri!!

This book's premise is interesting and I look forward to reading it. Kerri says that it will be a quick read for me. We will see!!

If you want to know more about Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, go to Goodreads to learn more!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - WHY WE CAN'T SLEEP: WOMEN"S NEW MIDLIFE CRISIS

4.0 stars

I received a complimentary e-book copy of this book from Grove Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Ada Calhoun, Grove Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a really hard book to review. It was very funny, very sobering, very educational, very empowering, and very scholastic at times. To me, this book was the VERY best when it was funny AND educational!! The author is REALLY FUNNY at times. However, I felt that it was a little heavy with the educational and scholastic at times with a paragraph filled with multiple quotations and/or citations. It was a little tedious at times.

But, the information was very good about a multitude of issues that are affecting Late Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Early Millenials. I was born in the Baby Boomer generation, but connect with Generation X so much more. So there is good stuff for all three generations. The most interesting to me was the complete lack of discussion and available literature for and among women about perimenopause and menopause. This is an important area of women's health where we must and can do better!!

This is a great book for women 3o years of age+!!! Definite recommend!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

9/15/19 - MY NEXT BOOK TO READ IS ...

Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis by Ada Calhoun. This is an ARC from NetGalley.

This book's title describes my life and I am SO excited to read it!! Hopefully, it will help with the soon-to-be an empty-nester life as my daughter is a Senior in high school applying to colleges!!

If you want to know more about Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis, go to Goodreads to learn more!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜