Review: Chasing My Cure: A Doctor's Race to Turn Hope Into Action; A Memoir

Chasing My Cure: A Doctor's Race to Turn Hope Into Action; A Memoir by David Fajgenbaum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a well written and relatable book for anyone either in the medical field or with a major medical condition. As a medical professional myself, I could completely relate to many of the situations that the author found himself in through the telling of his story, even the strange comfort in sitting down before a long study session in a library, at a long table with the supplies at hand. It brought back memories. The telling of his own story, how he came to work on Castleman Disease through having it and realizing that so little was known about it, from the pathophysiology to how to treat it, was truly remarkable. I know through family members or friends that have had serious medical conditions, the importance of seeking the second or third opinions and searching for the latest studies for new treatment options. His combination of expertise in medicine and then research (having completed a Masters degree) and then an MBA for the business model to gain the funding knowledge is unique as well. Most doctors are so busy becoming doctors as quickly as possible that they leave no time for the rest and really the business degree, or at least some knowledge in business would be tremendously helpful.
Clearly this will be a lifelong pursuit, which thankfully Dr. Fajgenbaum now has the time to do. I thought that when his liver tumor was found that he would surely have a paraneoplastic syndrome, and still could even with this removed. These tend to occur both before and after the associated tumors are found. The association between the cancer/tumor-causing mechanism (either genetic or otherwise) and the immune system is fascinating. This will be a career to follow and his approach is revolutionary in medicine, where so much in clinical medicine and research is siloed.
My only negative about the writing of this is in questioning who the audience is? If it is intended to be medically trained people, then well done. If it is intended to be for either medical or lay people, then I take issue with the very technical sections that I would imagine would be difficult to follow for those not scientifically trained or medically trained. I tried to read the immunologic and oncologic/hemotologic sections with the mindset of someone who I would be explaining those concepts to in a clinic setting and it would never happen in such technical terms.
For anyone interested in a true medical breakthrough story that reads mostly like a novel, with a small section of heavy science, this book is highly recommended. 4.5

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Review: Strange Planet

Strange Planet by Nathan W. Pyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nathan W. Pyle has assembled an amazing collection of hysterical takes on life on Earth as though you were a "being" from somewhere else trying to understand the crazy things that we humans do. When you look and read these through that lens, it is just the best. My son and I have been sending these back and forth daily through Instagram and they bring a smile or a LOL moment to me everyday. Some of my favorites are those between parental beings and kids and I think my all time favorite has been the being who gets sunburned and says I CRAVE STAR DAMAGE.
These are just a lighthearted take on the human condition.
A definite buy and well worth the time. You will come back to these repeatedly.
#StrangePlanet #NathanPyle

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Review: When I Was White: A Memoir

When I Was White: A Memoir by Sarah Valentine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This memoir is fascinating to me. I have not experienced this myself but certainly have friends with biracial children or who are biracial themselves and have seen how that has affected them. I've always been interested in the questions surrounding why race is even an issue in the world, children don't make it an issue. They simply use it to describe each other the way one would use height or hair length or glasses or not to identify a friend to another person. But it has no additional implication expect as we age because it is a learned concept within society. So I can completely understand how a girl, who is shown nothing but love and support from her two white parents would assume that she is also white. Why wouldn’t she? Would a child question why their parents have one color hair or eyes and they have another? No. They accept that they are loved and cared for. I definitely think that the harder aspect of this memoir is the author’s experience of feeling lied to throughout her young life because of the information withheld from her about her natural father. I can empathize with her but also with her mother in this because no one knows the "right" thing to do in that situation and so they hopefully do their best. People aren't perfect and this certainly would be a difficult situation. Its really a fascinating reality though to suddenly have a different ethnicity than you believed you had and it made you feel differently about yourself or your background at first. It would be a lot to wrap you head around but like living both sides of a coin, seeing the truth of racial injustice and the good and the bad in people. But already knowing both sides. What insight it would give you. This actually will likely turn out to be a tremendous gift. With her ability as a writer, I see this author going far in advancing the dialogue of race relations for the better. And more power to her.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a personal account of race in America. Well done.
#WhenIWasWhite #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #SarahValentine

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Review: In Her Eyes

In Her Eyes by Sarah Alderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sarah Alderson has created a true psychological thriller with twists and turns from start to finish. The story begins with our protagonist, Ava who is a wealthy wife of a IT developer, artist and mother of two of her own children and a step-son. She believes life is great when suddenly the rug is pulled out from under her and her world turns upside-down. There are so many twists and question marks throughout this book that the reader begins to wonder how reliable the narrator is and who is lying to whom. The story is fast paced and keeps you reading. It has some back and forth in the timeline, jumping from current to past events. This was to inform the reader of history but was well placed in my opinion and added to the story.
Definitely recommend - 4.5 stars
#InHerEyes #Netgalley #HodderandSloughton #MulhollandPress #SarahAlderson

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Review: Call Me by Your Name

Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had trouble deciding what to rate this. The writing is wonderful, with some absolutely brilliant sections. The last 25% was gorgeous and made up for some of the gratuitousness of the earlier sections of the book. I am not a romance reader, per se, but whether it is a straight romance or other, other the top sex scenes are sort of more than I am interested in when I read a book. This overall story could have had similar impact without the graphic nature of these scenes. I do see that they were perhaps a tool to express the depth of desire and yearning of the teenage boy who was struggling with his feelings and sexuality, but that wasn't especially my favorite aspect of this book. The ending definitely redeemed some of these aspects. So it was okay for me.
#CallMeByYourName

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Review: I Miss You When I Blink: Essays

I Miss You When I Blink: Essays by Mary Laura Philpott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book earlier this year and completely forgot to write a review or put it on my list. I had the pleasure of reading it in great anticipation of Mary Laura coming to our small town independent bookstore and being a part of a Reader's Retreat. Being local, I did not participate in all of the weekend's activities, however I was able to go to the live podcast recording. She is a gem. The terrific thing is that her writing matches her personality, in that you feel as though you know her, even though you don't.
This is a collection of essays about life in the South as a woman growing up and becoming an adult in this environment. She was born and lives in the South and this is reflected in the stories. For me as the reader and also a mother, professional woman living in the South, I found a lot of relatable situations. My favorite is her story about volunteering at her children's school and getting drawn into it with her overachiever personality. Not surprisingly she wound up as Chairperson for a big fundraiser. I myself have gotten into this type of situation and it becomes a lot of beneficial but time-consuming work. In looking back, it is a situation you can laugh at and learn something about yourself from having done, but also be happy to pass along to the next one up. Her stories are entertaining and readable in large or small bites.
Definitely a must read.
##IMissYouWhenIBlink #AtriaBooks

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Review: The Everything Healthy Mediterranean Cookbook: 300 fresh and simple recipes for better living

The Everything Healthy Mediterranean Cookbook: 300 fresh and simple recipes for better living by Peter Minaki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I literally...okay, not literally...devoured this book. I received an eARC of this lovely Mediterranean cookbook and sat right down after work and poured over the whole thing. It is terrific. I marked up recipe after recipe and bookmarked pages to go back and make my shopping list to get some of these ingredients to start cooking these wonderful recipes for myself and my family. So many things were appealing, its hard to even know where I want to begin.
The book is divided into an introduction section that gives an overview of what would be typically found in a Mediterranean kitchen as far as the staples, the equipment and the extras. There was also interesting information throughout the book about the Mediterranean diet and some of the history of the ingredients that are common in this style of cooking and their origins. This made the actual reading of the cookbook very enjoyable., aside from imagining each recipe as I read through it.
The other sections are the different types of foods: breakfast, appetizers, dips/sauces, Soups/Stews, Salads, Pastas, Meat/Poultry/Fish/Seafood and Desserts. There was something in every section that sounded great and doable to a family cook with no training other than my female relatives.
My only negative, that keeps me from rating this a 5 star is the limited pictures. For me, a great, over-the-top cookbook has as many photographs as possible. Those that are here are gorgeous and very well done.but also were not clearly labeled (this may have been an early edition problem).
Really well done and highly recommended. I will look for it when it comes out in physical copy.
Thanks for this edition to preview, this is a keeper!
#TheEverythingHealthyMediterraneanCookbook #Netgalley #AdamsMedia

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Review: Reading Backwards

Reading Backwards by John Crowley
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I tried to find something to appreciate about this collection. I guess, if I had to choose one, it would be the first autobiographical piece, although, even this was dry and did not draw me into it. There were several aspects of his experience as he told it through that piece that I could find common ground throughout my own experience and yet it did not elicit any emotion.
This is completely random work in my opinion. There are essays that are loosely tied together, the way a freshman English 101 coursework lesson plan would throw various topics together just to cover the basics. It was hard to find a theme, which I understand may have been the point but also feels somewhat unmotivated to really put together a true collection.
Overall, this did not work for me. I hope there are others that appreciate this more than I did.
Thanks for the opportunity to review it.
#ReadingBackwards #Netgalley #SubterraneanPress

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Review: Yale Needs Women

Yale Needs Women by Anne Gardiner Perkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this highly readable nonfiction account of the first class of women who were accepted to attend Yale University. This had been a long-standing, male only institution of higher education, only allowing the women on campus to work menial jobs or for short parties in order to try to arrange proper couples. This was part of what drove the push for inclusion of women, in that the "sister" institution was not convenient and therefore Yale was losing attendees to other schools who already had a more enticing co-ed policy.
It was an interesting account of the lack of insight the men in charge had into even the basics that the women would need, requiring them to put a woman in place as Dean of Women's Education. And given that so much of the push to involve these highly qualified young women was about marriage to the men, the men were expecting the women to "be available" to them. Whereas, the women were looking for a great chance at the educational opportunity that was now offered. This book gives a great collection of insights into what that culture must have been like for both the women and the men. These are the growing pains faced at many universities around the same time when inclusion, be it gender or ethnic or racial, etc. was relatively new to shake up the status quo. And this was not that long ago. We have made a lot of progress but still have a long way to go and this book helps to show the hurdles that Yale faced at the time.
Really well done. Highly recommend.
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Review: What Rose Forgot

What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book. I work in the medical field and have seen people with cognitive problems. This character is interesting in that she is presented as suddenly awakening in a dementia unit, where she has just tried to escape after being on a lockdown ward. She doesn’t recall much of the prior month’s events. She has been bed bound and lost muscle mass but somehow within days is able to perform physical moves most people half her age couldn’t do when healthy. I adored her relationship with her granddaughter but much of the story just seemed to struggle to get to the point. I wasn’t enjoying how convoluted the other family character relationships were and the need for this.
I also agree completely with a comment another reviewer had pointed out about the body shaming that seems to be a repetitive feature from Barr. I would say that she is negative about both super slim and heavy body types but then by attributing the super powers to the protagonist, she basically gives the power to the “scrawny” and “emaciated”. As a medical person, I would argue that it isn’t even likely that an athlete at this age who was bed bound for a month would be capable of the things she was able to do. But the degrading comments about the diet soda drinking nurse being heavy were not necessary for any character point or atmosphere.
Overall, I thought this was an okay read and might try the author again.
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Review: Kill Creek

Kill Creek by Scott Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have seen this book on various sites as a spooky, creepy, October read. Totally, 100% true. It was a little gory at times for my taste but with that said, the overall plot and flow of the story was intriguing and well-paced. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style and would certainly read this author again. I hope that he leans towards more thrills and creepy without the yuck factor of B movies in the future though.
The premise of the book is fantastic, with a social media guru, who wants to set up a viral feed for his website, inviting four of the biggest names in horror writing together for a night (Halloween of course) in a notorious haunted house. The idea is pitched as a night together being interviewed. Initially they do not know there will be more than one of them there but they have to decide if they will participate in this adventure, or misadventure. For this type of story, I think stating too much gives the plot away so I will leave it at that.
Let's just say that the characters are unique and the house is unique and the story is entertaining and well written.
I would recommend this for fans of Stephen King.
#KillCreek #ScottThomas

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Review: The Tenant

The Tenant by Katrine Engberg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was just okay for me. I have grown to love a great Scandinavian thriller, but this one lacked enough thrill to be the push to really absorb me as a reader. I really enjoyed the "book within in book" aspect of this novel. I think this was one of the best features of this novel. The relationship between the two main detective duo wasn't as compelling as I would like in a police procedural.
A decent debut but I think this author has a lot more great writing ahead.
#TheTenant #NetGalley #GalleryPocketBooks #GalleryScoutPress

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Review: Black Light

Black Light by Kimberly King Parsons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Black Light is a collection of short stories that is raw and deep. The author dives into difficult subjects that are tough to face head on but Parsons doesn't shy away form them. I wasn't in love with every story but overall, I thought this collection worked well together.
Recommend for those who enjoy collections of short stories.

#BlackLight #NetGalley #KnopfDoubledayPublishingGroup #Vintage

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Review: The Topeka School

The Topeka School by Ben Lerner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I first picked up this book, I was not interested in the story and had a difficult time becoming intrigued by the story. But, then the audiobook came out and it was terrific. This story is an semi-autobiographical book based on Lerner's life story from high school to university and forward.
I really was surprised at how compelling each section of the story was. The characters were rich and well developed and interesting. I enjoyed the variety in the different aspects of the stories. The storyline was compelling with a well written commentary on the social situation that young people are facing today. The insights into the origins of today's toxic masculinity and "haters" who are an accepted part of the online world are thought-provoking.
I also enjoyed the way language is used in so many different ways, including as a manipulation tool during debate competitions. These are insights that are not well known to non-debaters so it is interesting in the way language is used for and against an argument.
For those who had difficulty with the written version, I would highly recommend the audio version! This is a possible reread at some point.

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Review: Twice in a Blue Moon

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Christina Lauren are a wonderful combo of authors that really do work so well together. Their work is so well intertwined. This is another terrific release from this duo. A quick and sweet romantic read that was a pleasurable change from some of the darker reads of this time of year. The story is a sweet romance of love at first sight with a wonderful setting, making the atmosphere part of the story.
Their work is always great fun and with a great tone.
Definitely recommend.
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Review: Where the Crawdads Sing

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the atmosphere of this story more than anything else. Delia Owens is a product of my small, rural Southern town and we had the pleasure of hosting her back home in September for a town "OneBook Book Club". This is something that we do annually and this year had the pleasure of bringing back a hometown author. There were so many aspects of the setting that came through and were instantly recognizable to anyone who lives here. She visited the schools while she was here, who each did their own book clubs as well and welcomed her with open arms. She also gave a talk for the community and was so at home as could be speaking with her lifelong friends in the audience. It was a wonderful thing to see.
The story has something for everyone, with setting, a mystery, legal thriller, romance and literary narrative about nature. For me, I adore thrillers but I also loved the immediate way I was transported back into the setting of my childhood, in northwest Florida, where the "fish camps" where very similar in feel to the descriptions of the marshland or swamps of the coasts in this novel.
I also loved the relationships, few as they really were. The surprise in where the strongest relationships came from for the protagonist. Much of this was born of Delia Owens' experience of isolation in Africa while doing research there.
Highly recommended.
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