Review My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende

 

Anything by Isabel Allende is sure to be beautiful and this book was no exception. This historical novel seemed to have a bit of everything: adventure, violence, romance, you name it. It's told as an autobiogrpahy from Emilia's vantagepoint and takes place at the end of the 1800's, post civil war. Emilia travels to Chile during their civil war as a war journalist to cover the war during a time when women had very few if any rights and where their natural roles were seen to be as mothers and wives. 

This novel also tells the story of the Chilean civil war, making it as much a main character as Emilia herself. This was clearly  a fight for power between the President of Chile, José Manuel Balmaceda and the country’s legislative congress. Wealthy European settlers generally support Balmaceda while impoverished and indigenous people side with Congress. Like the American Civil War, this was a savage conflict. 

Allende's language is so beautiful. It always is. All of the passages are so vivid that it's like you are in the scene and experiencing it all - the love, the pain, the violence.  SO GOOD. A must r ead. 

Links I love

 

I hope that everyone had a good week!  It was a long week for me.  I don't do well with extra darkness either so there's that as well!

• Margaret Atwood has a memoir.
• Eight everyday phrases with bizarre origins.
• Where to donate food during the government shutdown in NH.
• Nonfiction November book ideas. 
• Secret Santa gifts under $25.00
• Gift guide for the readers in your life.
• 7 US parks that look straight out of a fairytale.
• 36 new movies and shows streaming on Disney Plus
• Some new books are out this week, including one by John Irving.
• 9 early signs of dementia that are overlooked. 
• Women's soccer coach let ChatGPT run her defense.
• Best novels of 2025.
• 15 family drama recs. 
• A Disney Christmas store is up on Amazon.
• In praise of librarians in trying times. 
• Non fiction ideas for my book club. Also, these books look fascinating. 
• Thanksgiving sides here.
• I'll try to make this I think.
• Four coping mechanisms for intrusive thoughts.
• 7 of the biggest art heists in history.
• Gen X and the menopause conversation.
• Ten songs based on historical events.

Please don't forget that I have a store on Pangobooks. Go here for a code  to get $5.00 off your first order. I also love Book of the Month Club. Please consider joining by going here. 

REVIEW True Crime Addict by James Renner

 

So, it's not a secret that I live in New Hampshire. I moved  to the area that Maura disappeared in within a few months of her disappearance - she disappeared in February of 2004 and I was living  in nearby Littleton in August of 2004. We would have been peers - I am about three years older than her, tops. I work in criminal justice and know the people that are involved in investigating this case.  I'm legit obsessed with this case because of the plethora of personal connections that I have to the case and lately I have been consuming all that I can on this case. 

This book is  the very personal memoir of James Renner as he gets involved in the unsolved case of Maura Murray, a college student who went missing in February of 2004 in the White Mountains of NH.  This was the first real true crime case of the internet era, occurring in the same month that Facebook went live. It's fair to say that James had an obsession with true crime and missing persons cases specifically when a neighborhood girl, Amy, went missing. James is open not only about his obsession with true crime but about his struggles with PTSD and the behavioral struggles that his child has in this memoir. He begins, however, to investigate Maura's disappearance. Renner's book reveals not only his own personal struggles during the time that he was investigating, but also that Maura had a lot going on in her own life at the time of h er disappearance. 

I may not agree with Mr. Renner on everything that he espouses, but his book is amazing nonetheless. The books is compulsively readable and quick. I couldn't put it down and I could hear Renner talking to me as I was reading.  He made himself particularly vulnerable by airing his own personal demons and telling us about the stuggles his family was experiencing while he was writing about this case.  Definitely recommend reading this book. 

On a serious note, if you have any information about Maura's disappearance, please contact NH's cold case unit at (603) 271-2663 or by email at coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov. Maura is still missing. Her family misses her tremendously.  

Links I love

 

We were rowing at Head of  the Fish last weekend - I cannot take credit for the above. One of the sibs of one of the rowers in this boat took this picture - isn't it gorgeous? i visited my orthopedist about my ankle woes and I apparently have arthritis all in my ankle. I received a cortisone shot and I'm hoping that does the trick. No more running for me, but low impact like rowing and walking and swimming and biking may work.

I owe you a few reviews and will get it done soon! I hope that everyone had a great Halloween!

1. Cozy mysteries to read for Halloween.
2. John Grisham has a new mystery out.
3. I had never heard of dry begging before.
4. Stephen King quiz - how did you do?
5. 7 Famous 18th century authors that aren't Jane Austen.
6. Having fewer children and the impact on the world's economy.
7. Guess the Halloween candy by its tagline.
8. Netflix's creepiest gems.
9. An exploration of why we're attracted to gore.
10. 15 Appalachian dishes everyone should try at least once. 
11. Behind the masks of Ed Gein.
12. What does 67 even mean?
13. Ten best parks to visit in the fall.

Links I love

 

Happy Halloween week!  This week has been an interesting one! We began the week at Head of the Charles in Boston - my son was rowing!  Then I had two MRI's on Wednesday - one on my head because of ENT issues and one on my ankle! This weekend we're in Saratoga for Head of the Fish!

I loved the above picture and thought it so good for Halloween - just the right amount of spooky.  I'm considering opening an Etsy shop for photos - has anyone done this? I'd love to he ar from you if you do have an Etsy shop!

1. Why are so many rich Americans investing in British soccer teams?
2. Five Gothic Horror Novels.
3. Are plant based alternatives really healthy?
4. A must read speculative fiction collection.
5. Myster, thriller and true crime books for book clubs this year.
6. Gift ideas under $25.00 for teen girls.
7. Shortlist announced for the An Post Irish book awards.
8. Stephen King on the adaptations of his work to film.
9. I may need to start trying to do this.
10. Barnes and Noble nominations for 2025 Book of the Year. 
11. Books about the history of libraries.

I hope all have a good weekend.

REVIEW The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline

 

In this biography, Miss Marsha's trauma and her joy provide the basis for a life well lived and for revolution. Activist Tourmaline writes a wonderful and accessible biography based upon massive amounts of research:  interviews, other research (media) and personal narrative. Johnson was born in 1954 in New Jersey to a working class family. She was assigned the male sex at birth. While her neighborhood was diverse and accepting, the city of Elizabeth itself was not. It was segregated. In 1963 Miss Marsha moved to New York City where she was constantly evolving. She was an unhoused sex worker for most of her life but she cultivated deep and rewarding relationships with other  LGBTQ+ activists like Sylvia Rivera. Her life was a series of big events - she was one of the first to resist police at Stonewall in 1969 and she created STAR in the 1970's to help Trans people in NYC. In the 1980's, she became a caretaker during the AIDS epidemic, even though she had HIV herself and had been shot by a john. 

I am embarrassed to say that I did not know who Miss Marsha was before I picked up this book and so I didn't realize how much she had actually done in the short period that she was alive - she was found in the Hudson River dead in 1992. I loved this book because the whole book taught me an enormous amount about a person that had an impact on so many people as a whole but also to individual people.  She literally changed lives all the while remaining true to herself and who she was. She never lost sight of who she was and what was important to her and it seemed that everything that she did was guided by that. Even though Marsha's life was hard and her death is considered to be a cold case, this biography is a joyful and vibrant celebration of her life. It is a must read. Tourmaline's writing is lyrical and simple - it is clear that Miss Marsha has had a tremendous positive impact in Tourmaline's life. 

Highly recommend. 

links I love

 

This week has been busy even with the long weekend. I often have to smush 5 days worth of work into four, which isn't fun.  I hope that everyone else had a good week. My children were rowing on Sunday and we were there early - they were on the above river. So pretty. Head of the Charles is Sunday!  My partner also had surgery on Wednesday.  :(  I've been in a walking boot for about 2.5 weeks now. The only positive?  I'm doing a lot more strength training!

• NH has 126 cold cases. If you have any information on any of these cases, please contact the Cold Case Unit.
• Books by Russian authors.
• B12 deficiency is linked to this autoimmune disorder.
• Stephen King on the movie version of the Shining.
• Spookiest names of places in each state.
• Notable books about siblings.
• 7 graphic novels for Halloween.
• A new Southern cookbook and a new Southern memoir.
• Latine spooky reads.
• Bookish goodies for fantasy lovers. 
• Barnes and Noble has selected their best books nominations for this year. 
• What we know about the storm in Alaska.
• Stocking stuffers under $15 for adults - yes I went there.
• What functional doctors say to do when you feel a cold coming on.
• The secret life of Horus
• Why you should read Virginia Giuffre's memoir.
• 6-7 and America's schools.