Two Old Women, first published in 1993 and again in 2013, is a story first told to the author, Velma Walis, by her mother, while sleeping under the stars, collecting fire wood for the winter. The story is legend, handed down from generation to generation, person to person. This tale impressed on me that a person’s worth or abilities should not be set by age or gender. You may not know what you are capable of unless challenged and given the opportunity to let your talents and skills come forward and if given that opportunity, a person may have value in their community. Also, the art of storytelling is an important thing among us. It’s an expression of our dreams, our fears, our hopes and so much more, whether it’s spoken, written or delivered in some other medium. The author expresses what storytelling means to her and her people in this novella.
I’ve read several books over the years, beginning in middle school, about young people, that describe their early childhood, circumstances and surroundings, that led them some of them to tragedy or some to success. Here in this entry is one title that I read recently and because I now have this blog, I share with you. I have to say the one common factor in all the books I’ve read was poverty. Poverty deprives a person of opportunity, and what and who is available in your community really matters and could make the difference on how a young life turns out – tragically or successfully.
My nephew suggested I do an entry on the recently released movie, The Harder They Fall, since it did have somewhat of an historical foundation, using names of black people that actually lived. But since this blog is BG’s Reads, I thought I’d read a book on the subject, TheBlack Westby William L. Katz. I’ve always favored the work of historian and author, William L. Katz, who over the years has been a guest on WBAI and WNYC radio talking about his work on blacks of the old West. This is a 2019 new edition to Katz’s The BlackWest, originally published in 1971.
I became aware of this title during the October 5th episode of Star Talk Radio podcast, Space Volcanoes with the author as guest.  Now, I have read about volcanoes before, but only about their destruction in Indonesia and South America.  Fire & Ice by Natalie Starkey delves into volcanoes and volcanic activity on Earth and in outer space!  The author, Natalie Starkey, explains the science that links volcanoes and their activity to the picture of the inner workings of planets. The internal heat of a planet and its volcanism is the key to hosting life. The ways a volcano erupts and the composition of its erupting product, can help scientists determine the possibility of the presence of life.
Well, it’s the holiday season and I thought I’d select a read that gives you something to think about, a possible near future where spending money, leading to debt, could change your life in a bad way. The novel, Corporate Gunslinger by Doug Engstrom, is a dystopian science fiction, thriller that takes place 40 – 60 years from now. The author has taken Gladiator, Hunger Games, the pistol duel and the gunfight and rolled it into one. This story is the corporation run amok, where the cycle of business and profit overshadow and outweigh the individual, the human being. It makes you wonder, where are we headed?
My last installment featured cute, innocent baby animals, with some being endangered and in need of protection. This book, however, is about a little girl that isn’t innocent at all and may be a danger to others. So, I thought I’d review this one for Halloween month. Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage is a psychological thriller and horror. It is really chilling, dark and creepy to read mainly because it focuses on a young child’s disturbing, dark thoughts and behavior. This pick from BookBub is the author’s first novel.
Ok, so it starts off with 7-year old Hanna not speaking and her mother, Suzette, worrying what is wrong with her child. She takes her to several specialists, to find out that there is nothing physically wrong with Hanna. The doctor recommends seeing a psychologist. But, through Hanna’s narrative, it’s like, she enjoys tormenting her mother and doesn’t care to speak. The first time Hanna finally does says something, she freaks her mother out entirely. Question – does the child need a psychologist or an exorcist?
I subscribe to two magazines, Vanity Fair and Nature Magazine. I found this title in the June 2021’s issue of Nature Magazine’s article, “Cuteness: How Babies Getthe Attention andCare They Need to Survive.” In this book, New On Earth: Baby Animals In the Wild, the author, Suzi Eszterhas, shares with us photographs taken during her 20 years in the field. Part of the proceeds of this book, 30%, will go to the Wildlife Conservation Network, a good reason to purchase it. The pictures in the book are beautiful and breathtaking, with narratives that are informative, concerning and alarming, as well as delightful.
Suzi Eszterhas describes having an interest since her childhood spending time with animals and photographing them, especially baby animals. She also tells us of the amount of time it takes to gain an animal’s trust before photographing, spending weeks, months, sometimes years on location. Photographing is the easy part.
Most animals were photographed in protected parks, reserves, or sanctuaries, their habitats and ecosystems having been diminished or lost through human activity, like logging, farming, ranching, over-fishing, mining, etc. Through these human actions, many animal species are threatened. For example, the author relates that 60% of primate species are threatened with extinction.
The book is divided by terrain into four parts – jungle and rainforest, mountain and forest, polar and ocean, and savannah and grassland. These sections include really stunning photos, including rescued Orangutans from the island of Sumatra and Sloths from Costa Rica, both strange looking but interesting animals and both loosing their habitats to deforestation.
The author moved to Kenya and lived in a bush camp in Maasai Mara National Reserve for three years and spent weeks tracking a pregnant Cheetah to obtain her photos. The photos of mother and cubs are amazing. Eszterhas shows us three Cheetah families, as well, as other species, while in the reserve for three years.
In Alaska’s Prince William Sound, Orcas are photographed, while on a boat with an Orca researcher. Eszterhas relates that newborn Orca calves can hold their breaths just 30 seconds, while an adult can hold its breath for up to 15 minutes. Orcas don’t completely loose consciousness when they sleep. Half their brain goes to sleep while the other half is awake so the Orca can swim and breath. You know which side of the brain is awake because the eye on the opposite side will remain open – Whoa!
Sea Otters in Monterey Bay, California – photos were too adorable. They are born with a warm fluffy coat that’s buoyant. While mother dives for food, baby just floats on the surface – so cool and amazing! They survived near extinction from the fur trade in the early 10900’s. Humans again – Big surprise.
Wallaby babies photographed in Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania, are the size of a grape, pink, hairless and blind when they are born. They live exclusively in mother’s pouch for the first 4 months. For their protection, a mother can flex her sphincter muscle at the top of her pouch to keep her baby inside.
These are just a few interesting facts included in this book, New On Earth: Baby Animals In the Wild, along with many amazing photographs. This is a great buy. I go back to it again and again to look at the photos. It would also be could to share with family and friends, especially children. Again, 30% of the proceeds go to the Wildlife Conservation Network, helping protect wildlife. I hope you pick up a copy.
I enjoyed the last book by this author (The Wife Upstairs), so I decided to read another of her titles. This multi-layered psychological thriller by Freida McFadden, called Want To Know a Secret, is set in an upscale neighborhood on Long Island and turned out to have twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and gave me a jolt. This 399-page novel is a quick read because you won’t want to put it down! Nice casual read for the summer.
The protagonist, April Masterson, is a housewife who lives with her husband and 7-year-old son in a wealthy, close-knit neighborhood on Long Island. She has a popular YouTube baking show called April’s Sweet Secrets, that she records from the kitchen in her home. She can tell you the secret to making gooey brownies or melt-in your mouth cookies. She is described as young and attractive and seems very open and likeable as a character. The author relays the story via the narrative of different characters, April, her neighbors – Maria and Julie, and April’s mother – Janet.
The novel opens with April recording an episode of her show. While recording, she receives a text message telling her that her son is not where he is supposed to be. April is sent into a panic looking for her son in the back yard and then around the neighborhood before finding him at a new neighbor’s home, next door, at the Coopers. Her son insists that the neighbor, Maria Cooper, told him that April gave him permission to go to her house but April doesn’t believe him. Why would this neighbor lie?
April is relieved that her son is back safe, but the strange texts continue, along with negative posts on her YouTube show revealing things that April thought only she knew about herself. The texter also threatens to release a damaging photo of her if she tells anyone. She worries – who could be doing this and why? She becomes paranoid of everyone and her every move wondering who is doing this.
April is pleased she has a young, new neighbor next door, but as she gets close to her neighbor Maria, April sees a side of her that is concerning. Maria seems to be a very jealous wife and will go to extreme lengths to strike out at someone she does not like or is threatened by. April begins to suspect that Maria may be the one targeting her, however, she’s not sure exactly why.
At this point I was rooting for April, wanting her to find out who was this crazy person doing this to her. But then a twist. The narrative above is relayed via April’s point of view. But then the author switches to one of April’s close friends, who is also a neighbor. It is then that it is revealed to the reader that April is being watched and targeted for a reason. She has committed a crime in the past that her neighbor and friend doesn’t want her to get away with.
On the surface, it seems like the typical high-end neighborhood – mom’s getting kids to school and soccer games, the PTA meetings and fundraisers, husbands going to work. But looks are deceiving and money sure isn’t everything. This book moves quickly with twists and turns, scandals, threats, and a surprise ending. Psychological abuse, multiple realities, murder, deception, and betrayal are just a few things to deal with during this read.
Here are two short reads, good for the summer, especially if you are on route to somewhere or just lazing about. These two picks may be short, but they have twists and turns and are a bit mind-bending and mystifying.
The Invaderby Marjory Kaptanoglu is a sci-fi mystery. published in 2020, that focuses on two women, Rose and Kailey. These two women are thousands of miles apart, living completely different lives but they seem to be connected in some way. The author switches back and forth between the two women, bringing their stories and realities closer and closer.
Rose, a research scientist, working on Whitaker Island in the Pacific Ocean, washes up on shore after a boat wreck with her crew and has lost her memory. Thomas, the one researcher left on the island, helps her to a cabin and informs her that her crew was trying to leave the island because of news reports of a large space ship identified near Earth and all communication and electricity suddenly going offline.
While in the cabin, they hear and see a missile-shaped object flying through the sky and crashing on the island. Upon investigating, they see that it was a small ship, which ejected an organic pod that has opened and is empty. Something may be on the island with them. They rush back to the cabin, not knowing if this creature or alien is hostile.
Kailey, a young woman, describes her life being mistreated by her mother, who undermines her efforts and ambitions growing up. She eventually leaves home to live on the streets with her boyfriend, who convinces her to take her mother’s gun to commit a robbery. During the robbery, the boyfriend kills the homeowner – Kailey eventually ends up in prison for the murder.
While reading, I noticed that both women are similar in appearance, have the same tattoo on their neck and have the same habit of twirling their hair when nervous. So, I wondered if the were the same person in alter realities: one of the stories is sci-fi after all.
In prison, Kailey is being harassed by a new guard that is attracted to her. He has the advantage; reporting him will only make things worse for her.
While Rose hides in the cabin, she has nightmares of a man and woman in ski masks, robbing a home, and shooting the homeowner (Kailey?). She searches the cabin and finds that Thomas’ real name is Alex Wright. The creature tries to get into the cabin – lightning and heavy rain begins, as Thomas returns soaking wet. They agree to try to get to the dock and a boat the following morning.
Kailey’s sexually, abusive encounters with the guard continues until she is too ill, and she refuses him. He threatens to get back at her for refusing him.
Rose and Thomas head to the the beach to find the boat wreckage has disappeared – Rose worries something is amiss. When they get to the dock the boat is gone. As they start back to the cabin they are separated – the creature carries Thomas off into the jungle. Rose decides to follow the creature.
Kailey is constantly on edge, continually guarding her movements, searching her cell expecting the guard to frame her and have her sent to solitary, or have her beaten by guards or prisoners – she is also being stalked by a monster.
When Rose catches up to the creature, she sees how large, fierce and powerful it is . She has no way to overpower it, but she just can’t leave Thomas. She moves closer, kneels and tells the creature she means it no harm – the creature leaves.
Kailey reaches a turning point, rather than commit suicide, she informs another guard of what’s happening to her and is sent to the warden. The guard abusing her is terminated and arrested. Things get back to normal for her. Several years later, a man from Vytal Technologies comes to the prison and offers Kailey an opportunity, a chance to end her prison sentence – his name is Alex Wright. This opportunity introduces her and connects her to Rose.
The details regarding the link between the two characters is surprising and creative, making this an unconventional sci-fi with twists and turns and an ending you won’t see coming.
The Deep by River Solomon is well, a fantasy, sci-fi that depicts an underwater society created by the descendants of pregnant slaves thrown overboard from slave ships. The novella was developed from a song by the same name by a group called clipping.
The wajinru (means chorus of the deep) live in the deep ocean. The protagonist, a 35 year old female called Yetu, is the wajinru’s historian, and it is her duty to hold all memories, collect present wajinru memories, select the next historian and share memories with the wajinru once per year.
The sharing of memories is called the Remembering and takes place in a protected wall of mud, called the womb, the wijinru construct for this ceremony every year. They remember how they began – when pregnant women were thrown overboard from slave ships crossing the ocean, their children witnessing their floating bodies, the pain, the experience of living memories of generations.
The first historian, Zoti Aleyu (strange fish), knew it was different from other things in the ocean. It swam in search of others like itself and as their numbers grew, they went to the deep ocean for safety. Zoti also discovered that they came from pregnant women thrown off ships – when a pregnant woman died soon after being thrown overboard and then gave birth to a ‘strange fish’. Zoti then followed ships, remembering their routes and taking new-born wajinru to the deep. Through the years Zoti kept all these painful memories of her travels and efforts to herself and passed them on to the first wajinru she rescued. The tradition of transferring memories continued.
These memories consumed Yetu; she only lived to store and release memories of her people. She was not happy and believed if she took back these memories after this Remembrance, she would loose herself completely and possibly wouldn’t survive. She decided to leave and swam away, leaving her people.
Yetu frantically swims, climbing miles to the surface and becomes beached on an island. She is very weak and is helped by humans, one in particular, a fisherwoman name Oori. Yetu sees similarities in these people – skin color, markings on the skin. Yetu learns that Oori is the last of her people and she doesn’t understand why Yetu would leave her people. Oori would give anything, no matter how painful, to know the history of her people, their language, their stories. Oori believes that your whole history and ancestry IS who you are. Yetu, who is relishing her experience of independent thought and movement for the first time, does not agree.
Weeks pass and Yetu begins to feel loneliness; she misses the depth, pressure and darkness of the open ocean and the company of the wajinru. She worries that her people may be lost, still in the Remembering or, if they come out of it, they’d be ill prepared to keep these memories and perish. Her people may be suffering because she abandoned her duty.
Yetu decides to go back to her people and find a way to end the relationship between historian and the wajinru by searching through the history, but first she had to take the memories back, or did she. She decides to share these memories with her people, act as a guide and counselor, without taking them back.
I just thought this novella was so original, a bit dark and haunting dealing with the subject of the many Africans who were killed during the middle passage. It made me think, what if. Now that would be something if as a species, as a human collective, we had this ability to store our history and share it at specific intervals as a collective. Maybe then we would be a more compassionate, peaceful lot, and not repeat atrocities.
So, these two novellas, Invader by Marjory Kaptanoglu and The Deep by Rivers Solomon, are both worthy of a read. They are short, but mind-teasing, original and interesting. I hope you give them both a read!
I like reading light for the summer months, novels/novellas that are fun and fast paced or a perplexing, mysterious sci-fi. This eBook pick from BookBub, Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron, is the author’s debut novel. It’s a mix of relationship, cultural and generational drama along with wonderful descriptions of food and cooking. This romantic comedy was a delight that left me smiling.
The protagonist, Reena Manji, a young Asian woman working in finance, with a talent for bread baking, lives in Toronto, Canada. Her family, originally from India, settled in Tanzania and then moved to Canada. So, the foods described in the book is crazy – if you like ethnic foods, give this a read. The foods of India, East Africa and Canada come together to express this family’s roots.
Reena meets Nadim Remtulla, a good-looking Asian man with an English accent, who just moved in to the apartment across the hall – to find out that he’s working with her father at his company, their fathers are old friends and they are expected to marry. Reena’s parents are always trying to set her up with a potential husband. She’s not having that, despite her several past failed relationships.
Reena has friends and a cousin that live in her building and they hang out often – wonderful banter with these characters. She learns from her friends that the Food TV Network is set to launch the Home Cooking Showdown, a show looking for new talent in ethnic cooking with a prize of a scholarship to a leading culinary arts institute in Canada. Attending culinary school is something Reena always wanted to do – the catch- the competition is for couples only, married or engaged.
Meeting up at the local bar after Reena loses her job, and a night of drinking, a drunk Nadim and Reena end up jokingly video taping them both cooking potato bhajias, after he finds the ad for the cooking competition. He sends it in and it’s accepted. Reena agrees to go forward with the competition only if Nadim understands that they are just friends only posing as an engaged couple.
Nadim and Reena have become close friends, despite their interfering parents and the possibility that Nadim may have a questionable past. The exchange and developing relationship between them is charming, captivating and amusing. The reader also gets a few tips on baking and cooking along the way. Reena actually has names for various bread starters and informs us of the best way to develop a successful starter.
As the competition rolls along, the on-camera chemistry between Nadim and Reena seems so real. She wants to tell him how she feels, wanting to know if he feels the same way, but she is afraid to – she’s had too many failed relationships and their families expect them to marry. But then it all hits a wall as Reena’s family finds out about Nadim’s past and why Nadim’s father brought him to Toronto. Reena is devastated – is this another failed relationship or can she and Nadim move past their secrets and parent issues?
Ok, I didn’t want to put this eBook down. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending. All the family members of Reena’s and Nadim’s are shamelessly involved, either trying to keep them apart or support them. While reading, you may find yourself rooting for them, hoping they make it as a couple, battling with East Indian traditions of marriage and weddings from their parents; this in itself was entertaining and amusing to read. And, then the cooking competition. Ultimately food is the binding factor in this story. The love of cooking and food brought Reena and Nadim together and in the end, it also brought the families together.
I loved this romantic, cooking, baking story that centered on East Indian traditions and family of older and younger generations. So, if you are a fan of the Great British Baking Show and meddling families, Farah Heron’s Accidentally Engaged is for you!
