February Books

Sweet Sanctuary by Sheila Walsh and Cindy M. Coloma -- a story about a single mother and her son living in a small coastal town in Maine; Wren has to work through some sibling issues after her grandmother comes to town wanting to throw a birthday party for herself; a library book my mom had on hand that I decided to read 

Talk of the Town by Lisa Wingate -- yet another library book my mom had that I decided to read. I need to read more serious books, but she keeps throwing these my way!  This book is told by two women - the chapters alternate between the voices of Hollywood TV producer Mandalay Florentino and small-town widow Imagene Doll. 

Undaunted Courage  by Stephen E. Ambrose -- I got this book at a book exchange sometime last year. I decided to start it on January 1, read a little most days and see how long it took to finish. Well, I had nearly all of it read by the end of January, but didn't care to rush through the last fifty pages so I could add it to last month's book list.  Instead, I whittled away on those last few pages, and finished it February 8.  This book is about Lewis and Clark's expedition to the northwest.  It focuses on Meriwether Lewis' life (his first name was his mom's maiden name in case you were curious).  There were many interesting tidbits throughout this book. I didn't realize Lewis had such a close relationship with Thomas Jefferson.  Nor did I realize blue beads were such prized trade items with some of the Indians the explorers encountered. 

This book told of encounters were grizzlies (yikes!  Eight balls passed through one bear before he was shot in the head and killed p. 224), the value of beavers, how the Indians passed around their women for the explorers' use (yuck, yuck, yuck...no wonder they all had STDs!), and the men were flogged - like Saudi Arabia does now - if they did really wrong (like falling asleep on guard duty!  Serious stuff!)

I made note of the White Cliffs mentioned on page 228 as the author said he had been several times and it was very beautiful. 

Also, Ambrose's talk of Meriwether Lewis' possible drug addictions and manic-depressive bouts was interesting.

By the way, the explorers sometimes "enjoyed" dog meat when elk wasn't available or even when they tired of elk.  Apparently some Indian tribes raised dogs for food, whereas, others would not eat dog meat even if there was nothing else. 


This was something I shared on Facebook because I found it funny/interesting.



 "Dispensing with Drouillard and the sign language, he decided to use a translation chain that ran from Sacagawea, speaking Shoshone to the Indians and translating it into Hidatsa, to Charbonneau, who translated her Hidatsa into French, to Private Francis Labiche, who translated from French to English." (pg. 277)

A Garden in Paris by Stephanie Grace Whitson -- my mom saw this was about Paris so she brought it from the library for me. It was OK; nothing spectacular, but it did make me want to move to Paris! 

Turning the Paige by Laura Jensen Walker -- another Getaway Girls novel.  Hah. What can I say? My mom has supplied me with library books so far this year!  This one was about a thirty-something lady who was left caring for her somewhat suffocating mother.  I rather enjoyed it especially when she and her sister visited Scotland. Made me want to go!

Preemptive Love: Pursuing Peace One Heart at a Time by Jeremy Courtney -- I got this book for Christmas. I can't remember now who recommended it, but I recall putting it on my Amazon wishlist last year.  This book is about a man and his family and friends and many others who wanted to help the children in Iraq who were hurt by life there. So many with heart defects, in need of surgery - yet there were few able to get help.  Such a wonderful story of pursuing peace, offering life in spite of fear and secret police and tribal folks who want to make life hard for you.  I really appreciated many things about this story.

Claire Knows Best by Tracey Bateman -- a cute, light, somewhat amusing fiction book from the library telling of an author Claire and her four children, exhusband, his wife, Claire's boyfriend, and such.   This book takes place after a tree fell on her house during a tornado.

Close Your Eyes by Amanda Eyre Ward -- a story about Lauren whose mother was killed when she was a child, and her dad was charged with her murder; Lauren travels back to her childhood home in New York to follow some leads about the case

Tropical Fish by Doreen Baingana -- these were "tales from Entebbe," a place in Uganda.  Somewhat interesting stories from three sisters at boarding school, at work in Entebbe, and for one, coming to America and then back home again

You've Got Libya by Greg Livingstone -- I can't remember who recommended this book last year, but it was on my wishlist and I got it for Christmas.  Not the best book ever, but it was pretty neat to see how God used this unwanted child born to an unmarried couple in 1939.  Quite an adventurous soul!

I Love Claire by Tracey Bateman -- another book in the Claire series. I realize now that I read books two and three without the first one. Still a cute story, and I could follow it fine. 

Facelift by Leanna Ellis  -- another easy read from the library; a lady who has her ex-mother in law come live with her after a botched face lift.  The book is about more than that, of course.  It deals with issues as a single mother raising a teenaged daughter.