Dead Harvest: Chris F Holm

Excellent book, I usually don't get into Sci-Fri (well I guess it is classified as Urban Fantasy) books because they don't read smoothly, they bring up more questions for me on why, how, and now who is this person? The reading is more stumble than entertainment. This book was excellent. It was a dark adventure where the characters are angels, demons, and soul collectors. Their eyes are all on Sam Thornton, a soul collector, to see if he will collect an innocent soul. He has been set up to start the "end of days" sort of war between heaven and hell. Weaved into the present day story of saving this girl from hell is the background on how Sam became a collector. Both stories come together surprisingly. I eagerly await the next book.

One for the Money: Janet Evanovich

A very cute book that reminded me of J A Konrath's series. Protagonist Stephanie Plum finds herself in financial desperation and takes a job as a head hunter for her cousin. She meets some tough people and some crazy characters, but gets the job done almost getting herself killed. She is supposed to apprehend and bring in a cop they think murdered someone in cold blood. All the witnesses have turned up dead and Stephanie stumbles across the murderer and saves the day. All this after getting assaulted by a boxer and finding dead bodies in a freezer truck. This was a very quick read.

Proof: Jordyn Redwood

I tried really hard to finish this book, but by half way through the push on religion turned me off.I wanted to make sure I jotted it down so I wouldn't pick it up again. A rapist is keeping a schedule of raping women. This was a detective novel trying to catch the guy after he rapes a well known doctor in the community. There are heavenly visitors? and a push for the atheist to accept religion.

We Were Not Orphans; Stories from the Waco State Home:Sherry Matthews

An interesting look not only into a home I didn't know existed, but also into the past. I am flabbergasted why people had so many children when they couldn't feed the ones they had. Most of the writers in this book had 5- 11 siblings. Then when the parents got divorced, or decided they didn't want the kids anymore, they sent them off and had more kids, sometimes those kids wound up there too. It's heartbreaking to hear their stories and how many followed that cycle and got married (and divorced) early just to get away. Two children spoke about how their parents had come from the home and decided to put them there because it would be better...but for who? It seemed like this home was a dumping ground for bad parents, although not all of them had bad parents, some were just too poor to take care of them during the depression.
I was surprised how many people did not take advantage of the free college that was offered.
The ending of the book talks about the abuse and court trials that occurred because of the "discipline" that went on at the school. Terrible! It was also odd the different stories that came out of the book, some people talked about how it was the best thing that happened to them and others how it was the worst.

Infidel: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

What an amazing book, the whole time reading it I kept thinking how normal she is and what a nightmare of a life... and how tough she turned out. I liked how matter of fact Ayaan is, she does not feel bad for herself or what she was put through. She wants to find work and better herself and she sees her countrymen as outsiders would view them (which is pretty much like squatters). I liked that she mentioned the religious books (bible, Quran) are written by mortals, their ideas are going to come through since they are their interpretations of the events. I liked this from page 282 " Humans themselves are the source of good and evil, I thought. We must think for ourselves; we are responsible for our own mortality." I was fascinated by how many changes she made in Holland for the refugees and human rights movement. This book made me look for other books of hers and youtube debates. Very interesting, intelligent, and inspirational person. Of course now I feel like I have done NOTHING with my life!

The Middle Place: Kelly Corrigan

This book was odd to me, I missed the relationship between her childhood stories to her battle with cancer. I get that "The Middle Place" is the time when you are both a mother and someones child, but the connections back and forth didn't seem smooth to me. The story of when as a child she didn't get Guess jeans, but then did, is sandwiched between the "adult" chapter of a little kid telling her she looked like a monster and how much worse her friends and family's lives have been with them losing children.? The stories of her childhood really exposed how much she has grown as an individual. She led a life she makes out to be perfect, but was never happy with what she had, she compared that with how much she doesn't take for granted currently. Throughout the story I found myself thinking "geez, she's high maintenance and so mean to her mother" but yet she is exposing herself like that. She is picking out what she wants to share and how to portray herself. The book was great once you got into the rhythm and I loved her voice and humor, especially the rawness of the book. I also appreciated how the story was structured around her battle with cancer, yet was more about her family. The story was delivered as though she sat down and talked to you. It was original.

Lush Life: Richard Price

This was a very detailed book that weaves through several people's lives. I was impressed with how well each character is developed, yet the writing is concise. The story is about a murder in New York where a robbery by children ended in a shooting. The victim's father is lost, he wants to aid in the investigation, but doesn't know how and keeps getting on the cops' nerves.The story ends up being more about life and the living. How everyone seems connected through events and relationships. The two detectives on the case are so believable, as is Eric (one of the main characters and witness to the murder). The author really understands people and exposes their weaknesses and motivations so flawlessly. The murderer is found, but it's not a celebratory moment. I was more relieved because the boy needed helped, if he was left on the street he would have gone on to do worse things. The book took a while to read, but it was complex and took time to digest. I was still thinking about it days later. I enjoyed it and will look for more from this author.

Sh*t My Dad Says: Justin Halpern

Funny book about a guy moving back in with his parents as an adult and realizing how original and amusing his dad is and was throughout his childhood. The book is sort of a tribute to his dad once he realized behind the rough exterior and terrible language, his dad is ultimately motivated by love. My favorite story is when the dad coached his little league baseball team and was upset that the parents were unrealistic about their children's ability. He would play everyone for the same amount of time and watched after a child whose father was a drunk. One of the parents baited that boy and the author's dad called him out for being a jerk, a grown man picking on a child that already had enough problems. All of the stories and commentary were delightful and reminded me of my grandfather in a lot of the similarities. I am glad the author shared his father with his readers. It was an oddly uplifting book.