Week in Review - What I've Been Reading

Another crazy week here with unexpected stressors.  I was having some leg swelling for past 6 months - just (1) leg usually and at the end of the day so my doctor set me up for a venous ultrasound which was on Tuesday.  They found a blood clot in my leg and ended up wheeling me over to the ER where I spent 6+ hours - they wanted to admit me as they found 2 smaller clots on lungs as well but, I ended up going home with blood thinners.  I'm so grateful my doctor had the insight to order that ultrasound.  It was scary but, I feel good though.  Then the following day my husband took a fall (no serious injuries - just sore.  When it rains it pours.  Life has to get better!

The temps have been in the low 90s all week so that made for more time indoors relaxing.  I posted reviews for Reputation; Vaughn and Tracy Flick Can't Win; Perrotta.  I was able to relax and enjoy the 600 page Shell Seekers; Rosamunde Piclher (review this week). It's a book I wanted to read --in summer -- for nearly 20 years. and it's of my 20 Books of Summer list as well. So happy I read it - very satisfying.

READING - I have a couple other really good books going right now that I hope to finish up this week.

            The Measure; Nikki Erlick 

I came by this book by chance on my library website and it had a unique premise which has appealed to me. I'm at he 70% mark and enjoying it.

(Description)

Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.

It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out.

But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live.

From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise?

As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?

The Measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one another: best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn’t have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything.

Enchanting and deeply uplifting, The Measure is a sweeping, ambitious, and invigorating story about family, friendship, hope, and destiny that encourages us to live life to the fullest.

             

            Trailed; Kathryn Miles

               True Crime)

I'm about (3) chapters into this book and it's good but I'm also reading a couple other books at the same time.

(Description) 

A riveting deep dive into the unsolved murder of two free-spirited young women in the wilderness, a journalist's obsession—and a new theory of who might have done it.

They must have been followed. That’s the thought I return to after all these years . . .

 

In May 1996, two skilled backcountry leaders, Lollie Winans and Julie Williams, entered Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park for a week-long backcountry camping trip. The free-spirited and remarkable young couple had met and fallen in love the previous summer while working at a world-renowned outdoor program for women. During their final days in the park, they descended the narrow remnants of a trail and pitched their tent in a hidden spot. After the pair didn’t return home as planned, park rangers found a scene of horror at their campsite, their tent slashed open, their beloved dog missing, and both women dead in their sleeping bags. The unsolved murders of Winans and Williams continue to haunt all who had encountered them or knew their story.

When award-winning journalist and outdoors expert Kathryn Miles begins looking into the case, she discovers conflicting evidence, mismatched timelines, and details that just don’t add up. With unprecedented access to crucial crime-scene forensics and key witnesses—and with a growing sense of both mission and obsession—she begins to uncover the truth. An innocent man, Miles is convinced, has been under suspicion for decades, while the true culprit is a known serial killer, if only authorities would take a closer look.

Intimate, page-turning, and brilliantly reported, Trailed is a love story and a call to justice—and a searching and urgent plea to make wilderness a safe space for women—destined to become a true crime classic.

                                                            

         Take My Hand; Dolen Perkins-Valdez

I read a review on Helen's Book Blog and added this one to my TBR list. The library hold became available and OMG what a wonderful (and sad) kind of story. It's so well written and I'm at about 55% point right now. 

(Descriotion)

Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a searing and compassionate new novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible injustice done to her patients, from the New York Times bestselling author of Wench

Montgomery, Alabama, 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend intends to make a difference, especially in her African American community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she hopes to help women shape their destinies, to make their own choices for their lives and bodies.

But when her first week on the job takes her along a dusty country road to a worn-down one-room cabin, Civil is shocked to learn that her new patients, Erica and India, are children—just eleven and thirteen years old. Neither of the Williams sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black, and for those handling the family’s welfare benefits, that’s reason enough to have the girls on birth control. As Civil grapples with her role, she takes India, Erica, and their family into her heart. Until one day she arrives at their door to learn the unthinkable has happened, and nothing will ever be the same for any of them.

Decades later, with her daughter grown and a long career in her wake, Dr. Civil Townsend is ready to retire, to find peace, and to leave the past behind. But there are people and stories that refuse to be forgotten. That must not be forgotten.

Because history repeats what we don’t remember.

Inspired by true events and brimming with hope, Take My Hand is a stirring exploration of accountability and redemption.

Book Club - Hoping to make our meeting this week - The Only Woman in the Room; Marie Benedict. Everyone has seemed to enjoy this one so I'm looking forward to our discussion.

Hope Everyone Has a Good Week!