Synopsis: Story of the Buendia family in the mythical town of Macondo. It follows the lives of seven generations, their successes and failures, children and deaths. When Jose Arcadio Buendia and Ursula Iguaran his wife and cousin, leave Columbia and set out to find their utopia. After having a dream one night one their journey, Jose establishes the town of Macondo. Over the years, the town becomes exposed to the outside world and eventually is brought to ruin. The Buendia family may have been cursed after all, as predicted by Ursula in the very beginning.
My thoughts: I am sorry to say but I found this book to be boring. I struggled to follow along with so many people with the same names. I Googled a family tree for it so that I could have anything to help keep them straight but it was still difficult. Ultamately I struggle with books built upon symbolism. I read books for the enjoyment and not necessarily to promote deep thinking. I like deep feeling, ones that bring out emotions and make you analyze what you are feeling or cause unexpected feelings. I don’t want to have to interpret every little thing throughout to discover their true meaning. “The ghosts are symbols of the past and the haunting nature it has over Macondo.” However, I can see why this is a Classic for sure and why so many people love it. It has some great magical realism throughout. My favorite was Remedios the Beauty, said to be the most beautiful woman on Macondo. She is thought to be cursed, unintentionally causing the death of several men who lust after/love her. One man falling to his death after watching her bath. Instead of blood escaping his body it was an amber colored oil that smelled of Remedios the Beauty.
My Q stack is small but they are a couple great series books! Two of my favorites series actually.
Another little fun fact about me, I am a also a Quilter! I don’t have quite as much time as I would like to give to this hobby but it brings me so much joy when I can.
This is one of my favorite Crime Thriller series and I talk about it all the time! I can’t remember when I first started the series, it’s been over a decade, lefts start there. 🤔 I found The Killing Game (Book 2) and The Search (Book 3) at a garage sale. The books themselves do not call out that they are a series or what order they come in, so I assumed they were just stand alone books. After I started on the second one, I quickly realized these were related and looked up the rest to see where they fell in the series. I was very thankful that they were just # 2 and 3. I have to say that I absolutely hate starting a series unknowingly somewhere in the middle or god forbid the end. 😩 I will be honest, have a slight control problem 😏. I quickly figured out the series order and book 1 and got back on track, been reading them ever since and loving it! I will be reading Eve (Book 12) this year as part of my 50 Books 50 States Challenge.
I love everything forensics, and I am so intrigued by the forensic sculpting. To be able to reconstruct the face of the person just from the skull is amazing to me! Aside from the great plot and twists these books have, I think that it is the mix of science and art with forensic sculpting that has me captivated the most in these.
Book Blurb:
The number-one blockbuster bestselling author returns with a thriller that pits Eve Duncan against the one man who can put her darkest horror to rest – or make her relive it over and over again….
“Do you still miss your little Bonnie?”
This one sentence, spoken by a madman in an anonymous phone call, is all it takes to drag Eve Duncan right back to that horrifying day years ago when her only daughter vanished without a trace. Since that day, her life has become an obsession to find Bonnie’s remains and put the pain of her death to rest. However, one man wants nothing more than to prevent that from happening. He is every woman’s waking nightmare: a brilliant, ruthless killer whose hunting ground stretches from coast to coast. But taunting Eve Duncan might be his first and last mistake….
For Eve is armed with more than just her talent as a forensic sculptor and her fierce protective nature. She brings with her former Navy SEAL Joe Quinn, an Atlanta detective who will do whatever it takes to bring Eve some kind of peace, even if he has to lie to do it.
Eve’s only salvation may be through the mysterious skills of another woman whose chilling talent leaves her as tormented as Eve – and as driven to bring this monster to justice. But when lives are in danger, every step could be a trap, and every inch of solid ground seems to be shifting under their feet. And this killer wants nothing more than to lure Eve further and further into his swamp of madness….
With relentless pace and gut-wrenching intensity, Quicksandis Iris Johansen at her best.
I was introduced to this series just a few years ago by a great friend who also gave me all the books up to this one. 💕 As a huge fan of Private Investigator books, I love these! Even with only the first two books completed I can tell already why this series is so popular and loved around the world. I can’t believe that I had never heard about them before.
I love that this particular book in the series is based on a true crime and that the author is trying to help identify the victim and bring her peace.
Book Blurb:
She was a “Jane Doe,” an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California’s Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff’s Department, but the detectives had little to go on. The woman was young, her hands were bound with a length of wire, there were multiple stab wounds, and her throat had been slashed. After months of investigation, the murder remained unsolved.
That was eighteen years ago. Now the two men who found the body, both nearing the end of long careers in law enforcement, want one last shot at the case. Old and ill, they need someone to help with their legwork and they turn to Kinsey Millhone. They will, they tell her, find closure if they can just identify the victim. Kinsey is intrigued and agrees to the job.
But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what begins with the pursuit of Jane Doe’s real identity ends in a high-risk hunt for her killer.
“Q” is for Quarry is based on an unsolved homicide that occurred in 1969, and Grafton’s interest in the case has generated renewed police efforts. During the past year, the body was exhumed and a nationally known forensic artist did the facial reconstruction that appears in the closing pages of “Q” is for Quarry. Both Grafton and the dedicated members of the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department are hoping the photograph will trigger memories that may lead to a positive identification.
On the day Jane Doe was reburied, many officers were at the gravesite. “It’s eerie,” Grafton writes, “to think about the power this woman still has. Here we are, thirty-three years later, and she still wants to go home.”
Set in Italy during WWII, bombardier Yossarian is upset that his command keeps increasing the number of missions he must complete before being sent home.
“Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.”
This one was not for me. I understand that this is considered comedy to a lot however I did not find funny at all. It actually took me probably half the book before I realized that this was a comedy, I had been thinking that it was just a horrible plot until then. It made it a little easier to listen to after that but not much. Took me a very long time to finish with many stops and starts. It seems it is either a love it or hate kind of book.
“Chase down your passion like it’s the last bus of the night.” – Terri Guillemets
“It takes but one person, one moment, one conviction, to start a ripple of change.” – Donna Brazile
Josh is a college student at the University of Florida, as part of his American History class they are assigned to read Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King, learning of the gross injustice done to the Groveland Four. A year later, as he was driving, he passed a sign for Groveland. That moment sparked a conviction to do everything he could to right this wrong.
February Recap: 4 Books 724 pages Average Rating 4.0
Because of Jenny 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Three to Get Deadly 🌟🌟🌟🌟 To Be Young and In Love 🌟🌟🌟 Accidental Activist: Justice for the Groveland Four 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I can’t believe that February is over already! 😲 Although I am so ready for winter to be over. We haven’t even had that bad of a winter this year, but I am just so over it. The cold, staying inside all day, the dark and gloomy sky, so depressing. But we did have some great reads this month!! Winner for sure is Accidental Activist. I am still working on the review, so stay tuned for that. Because Of Jenny coming in a close second! Both were so good!
Accidental Activist- (Memoir) Young college student becomes committed to getting a posthumous pardon and exoneration for the Groveland Four 66 years after they were falsely accused. This is his story of the four years of dedication and hard work it took to right this aggregious wrong. So inspiring and infuriating at the same time.
Because Of Jenny – (Literary Fiction) Eric is an 18 year old with severe depression. After a failed suicide attempt, but before he tries again he meets Jenny. Jenny is a heroine addict, who is ready to become clean. She has friends in California, and a doctor has agreed to provide her with Suboxone, a drug that will help her fight her cravings so she can get finally get clean. Eric offers to drive her across the county to achieve this. Brutally honest book about societal views on suicide and addiction.
You were not Born for him You were born For the world.
She did not let Her past define her present Nor the future
A short book of poetry directed toward girls between ages of 16 and 25. Very simple haikus about broken hearts, moving on, and healing. For myself as an adult woman, they were just okay. The language is very basic and lacking substance. A few I really liked and connected with. For me, the ones about loving yourself were my favorite. As a whole though, I could see a younger girl really identifying with them and maybe even finding solace in them.
I chose this book for my next read in honor of Black History Month.
How a young college film student became an activist for the exoneration for The Groveland Four, 66 years after their miscarriage of justice.
“You still have innocent people, innocent black men, every day being rejected, being dejected and being put in prison for things they have not done. So we’ve got to find a way to correct the injustice that a group of people have been experiencing for years.” – Carol Greenlee
“It takes but one person, one moment, one conviction, to start a ripple of change.” – Donna Brazile
Blurb: This book will take you through my incredible four year quest for justice for The Groveland Four and teach you how to pursue your own causes, whatever they may be. It is a primer for positive action, a journey through Florida’s past as well as its future. Some of the things you will learn: everything takes more time than you think, nothing ever goes according to plan, help can come from unexpected places, time is on your side, everyone is connected to everyone else, you can reach your tipping point for success and not even realize it, your goals can change along the way, and flexibility is key. Let’s get started, shall we?
***Proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to establish “The Charles Greenlee Memorial Scholarship” to benefit a child with an incarcerated parent.
This is a book of poetry, 41 pages. Definitely my shortest book. I chose to read this one next as I am still in the Valentines weekend mood. Carying on the LOVE theme.
Blurb: Are you in a relationship and are struggling to make a decision? Read this now for some inspiration.
Very interesting…. I’m not struggling in my relationship but I’m intrigued as to what this poetry is all about as the description is pretty vague and reviews are all over the place.
January Wrap Up: 3 Books 1,292 pages Average Rating: 4.33
My Dark Vanessa 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Handle With Care 🌟🌟🌟🌟 The Upside of Falling Down 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Well I am a little behind in posting my wrap up but it’s been a little crazy here lately.
January was a pretty good month for me. I stayed home and avoided all the madness going on around me in the country. Having faith that somehow we as a society will work it all out.
I read some great books! I was hoping to complete 4 but I feel good about it taking into account how busy I was. We added 5 new reptiles 🐢🦎 to our collection. Penelope (Penny) a Cherry head Red foot Tortoise, Echo a Bearded Dragon, and Ragnar, Lagertha, and Freya are our Shinisaurus Crocodilurus (Chinese Crocodile Lizards). My husband does an amazing job on his enclosure builds. So much goes in to getting everything set up for them that it doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for anything else. 😄
My Dark Vanessa was definitely the stand out for the month for me and probably for the year. Devastatingly beautiful. Enthralled … how can something so horrible be written so beautifully. I was captivated from the start. You don’t want to put it down. Be aware that this contains very graphic instances of sexual abuse to a child, at times it is very difficult to read. The story goes back and forth between Vanessa as an adult and then as the 15 year girl reliving the juncture that changed her life forever. Definitely one of the best books I have read.
Handle with care is a heart jerker of a book for sure. Written in several points of view, directed toward the six year old daughter Willow who has Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a brittle bone disease. Her parents are suing the OB-GYN for wrongful birth. It’s definitely a conversation starter.
The Upside of Falling Down is a cute, easy, breezy New Age romance. Clementine wakes up in a hospital in Ireland with absolutely no memory; she was in a plane crash and she is the only survivor.
“Clementine Haas doesn’t exist. She died in a plane crash. I woke up in her body, and until I remember who she is, what she’s made of, I can’t claim her life.”
“No matter what people want to believe, life is locked in the past. It’s all we are—a timeline of events that make up a person.”
Clementine wakes up in a hospital in Ireland with absolutely no memory; nothing about how she ended up in the hospital, what she was doing in Ireland, or even her own name. She is told that she was in a plane crash and she is the only survivor. The hospital is surrounded by media waiting for the lone survivor to wake up. When the nurse tells Clementine that her father is on his way from America, she panics unable to deal with the pressure and expectations for getting her memory back. She meets a stranger in the hospital gardens and convinces him to take her away and let her stay with him for a week or so, confident her memory will be back in that time and she will go home.
