The Swamps of Jersey by Michael Stephen Daigle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My thanks to Net Galley for providing me a copy of this book to read.

The Swamps of Jersey is an excellent first novel of a writer I hope to see more. He got it right when writing about a decaying city with mysteries - but with hope for a brighter future.

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Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I found Department of Speculation to be a mesmerizing book. I was hesitant at first to read it as it was in diary form but proceeded anyway and was sucked into it. One of the best things in it was the author's use of pronouns and point of view. The story changed every time she shifted the pronouns to point of view.

It was an excellent book on happiness and forgiveness.

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Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and The Greatest Show On Earth by Laura A. Woollett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"The fire broke out at 2:40 p.m. Thousands of men, women, and children were crowded under Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s big top watching the Flying Wallendas begin their death-defying high-wire act. Suddenly someone screamed “Fire!” and the panic began. By 2:50 the tent had burned to the ground. Not everyone had made it out alive."

I will try not to compare this book to Stewart O’Nan’s book about the 1944 Hartford circus fire. While not as detailed as O’Nan’s book, it stands very well on its own. Particularly interesting, this book went into great detail of the identification of Little Miss 1565, the beautiful little girl found among the burned ruins with hardly a mark on her.

I have been to canvas tent circuses and can imagine the frightening aspect of the Big Top burning all around you with no place to go.

I recommend this book.


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Out of Such Darkness by Robert Ronsson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Who would think 9/11, the Holocaust, and the musical Cabaret would have a connection, but it does it does in this finely written book by Robert Ronsson. It has a complicated plot but all comes together in a shocking ending.

Cameron Mortimer follows fellow-writer Christopher Isherwood to 1930s Berlin. In a separate narrative, Jay Halprin, an Englishman working in Manhattan, survives 9/11. When Jay's second-chance life collides with the repercussions of Cameron's travels, the outcome, though always inevitable, is both surprising and shocking.

My thanks to Net Galley for letting me read this book.


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The Martian by Andy Weir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book from the very beginning and could not put it down even with all the technical jargon. If there had been a flaw in the jargon, I would not have known and would not have cared because I was so much into the story.

But -- why did they have to put Matt Damon as star in the movie. I cannot stand him! He is the WRONG PERSON FOR THE ROLE!.

SO BE IT.

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Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



So here is the review for this book -- ahem -- after reading The Road, I found this book to be a much lighter read and I didn't feel like shooting myself in the head after reading it. It left me with the hope that was a future for mankind after the Apocalypse.

I also like the way the author alternated between the "before" and the "after" of the world and how it affected the individual characters in the book.

I would recommend this book to any who liked dystopian novels.

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The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick


Many layers and facets to this book. I must ask the Oracle what they are.

Historicity. I am glad we have our history as it is today, albeit - it could be better.

View all my reviews 4 stars out of 5.

Blue Ribbon Canning 
Award-Winning Recipes
Linda J. Amendt
The Taunton Press, Inc.
Taunton Press

I wish I had this back back in the 1990s when year after year I entered my "prize" jellies and pickles at the Texas State Fair. Yes, I finally did win a blue ribbon for blueberry jam but if I had had Ms. Amendt's book, I am sure I would have done it earlier. I thoroughly recommend this book to all those canners out there, - you know who you are.

  Blue Ribbon Canning takes readers on a canning journey and celebrates two American traditions--preserved food and state fairs--with more than 140 prize-winning recipes for jams, preserves, pickles, vegetables, fruit, and more, plus tips and methods for making delicious--and safe--blue ribbon recipes at home.

My thanks to Netgalley.com for letting me read the ARC of this book.

4 stars out of 5