Quick-Take Rapid Review
Old Age: A Beginner’s Guide by Michael E. Kinsley
Publisher: Random House Audio | April 2016
Format: Audio Download | 3½ hours | Rating: 3½ stars
Audio Listening Level: Easy
Genre: Memoir
What’s it about?
Vanity Fair columnist Michael Kinsley escorts his fellow Boomers through the door marked “Exit.”
The notorious baby boomers—the largest age cohort in history—are approaching the end and starting to plan their final moves in the game of life. Now they are asking: What was that all about?
Quick Take
This short memoir is a series of previously published essays. The author, who is suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, is reflecting back on life as a member of the Boomer generation. Mostly enjoyable, witty, and often humorous, it occasionally veered onto the depressing side — especially since I know I’m on the downside of the hill too.
My only dislike was the last essay where the author proposes that Boomers should pay off the national debt. Huh? Hopefully this was a tongue-in-cheek suggestion. After the 2008 crash I know more than a few people who can little afford more taxes much less give back their social security.
For those who are members of the Boomer generation, this book should resonate with you. Other generations may enjoy taking a peek at what all the boomer fuss was about.
Audio Production
The book was narrated by Danny Campbell. Enjoyable and easy to listen to.
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Source: Review copy provided by PRH Audio.
© 2016 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
Happy Monday everyone. Another busy week ahead for me so this will be short. I’m just thrilled nice weather has finally arrived and I can finally get out in the garden. This past weekend it seemed like everywhere I went I saw people out working in their yards. I guess everyone waited for the weather to settle down.
A few new books arrived and soon I hope to have some time to sit down on my deck and read them. I have been listening to a lot of audio and there will be some reviews coming soon.
New Arrivals
Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis
A literary page-turner about a beloved college professor accused of murdering his entire family, and one small-town cop’s dangerous search for answers.
Sixty: The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning? by Ian Brown
A wickedly honest and brutally funny account of the year in which Ian Brown realized that the man in the mirror was actually . . . sixty.
The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney
A psychological thriller that spins one woman’s seemingly good fortune, and another woman’s mysterious fate, through a kaleidoscope of duplicity, death, and deception.
The 100 Year Miracle by Ashley Ream
Dr. Rachel Bell, a scientist studying the 100-Year Miracle and the tiny sea creatures that create it, knows a secret about the phenomenon that inspired the region’s myths and folklore: the rare green water may contain a power that could save Rachel’s own life (and change the world).
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Giveaways
Still time to enter the giveaways for two new releases. Enter by 6/18, US addresses only.
The Weekenders, a fun beach read by Mary Kay Andrews and Heart of Stone, a thriller by James W. Ziskin.
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The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press | May 2016
Format: Hardcover | 464 pages
Rating: 4 of 5
From the Publisher
Some people stay all summer long on the idyllic island of Belle Isle, North Carolina. Others come only for the weekends-and the mix between the regulars and “the weekenders” can sometimes make the sparks fly. Riley Griggs has a season of good times with friends and family ahead of her on Belle Isle when things take an unexpected turn. While waiting for her husband to arrive on the ferry one Friday afternoon, Riley is confronted by a process-server who thrusts papers into her hand. And her husband is nowhere to be found.
The Story
Riley Griggs and her teenage daughter, Maggie, are planning to spend the summer as they always do on Belle Island. But on the day they were to leave for the island, Riley’s husband, Wendell, never showed up at the ferry to join them as planned. Instead she is served with papers by a process-server shortly before departure. Riley assumes these are divorce papers and is furious. She and Wendell were having problems and planned to tell their daughter, together, about their decision to divorce, and now he does this. And he is not answering her text messages.
When they arrive at the island, the situation only gets worse. Riley finds a foreclosure notice on their home and the locks have been changed. Riley is stunned. She had no idea they had financial problems. She will soon learn there are a lot of things her husband kept hidden from her. And when he turns up dead — murdered — she is left to solve the mystery and discover what secrets her husband was keeping.
Thoughts
A perfect summer read with a blend of mystery, romance, and a summer island setting.
Although over 450 pages, this was a fast read. Mary Kay Andrews has an easy writing style and I find her books a nice break from the intense psychological thrillers, sci-fi, and non-fiction I often choose. Vivid descriptions, colorful characters, and snappy dialog keep the plot moving quickly.
While a charming and captivating story, it was not very realistic. But that’s the point — this is a book you read for fun, entertainment, and escapism.
Win a copy of the book – US Only
Courtesy of the publicist, I have one copy of The Weekenders to give away to a reader with a US mailing address. To enter, fill out the form below on or before midnight, Saturday, June 18th.
Tweet for an extra entry.
One random winner will be chosen and notified by email.
[Giveaway has ended]
Winner: Nancy
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Source: Review copy provided by the publisher and Tandem Literary.
© 2015 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Quick-Take Rapid Review
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli
Publisher: Penguin Audio | March 2016
Format: Audio Download | 2 hours | Rating: 3½ stars
Audio Listening Level: Easy – Intermediate
Genre: Non-Fiction | Science
What’s it about?
Everything you need to know about the beauty of modern physics in less than 100 pages.
Quick Take
I enjoy hard science fiction and the technical dialog that goes along with it. I’ve taken classes in physics and always struggled — probably because as a science major the classes I had to choose from were too technical, and the concepts of quantum mechanics and advanced mathematics were always a bit much for my brain to comprehend. I did absorb a little physics, and as a result, I already knew a lot of what he discussed and didn’t learn much that was new. It was, however, an enjoyable book and an interesting refresher.
If you are interested in learning a little about physics but know nothing about it, this book is an excellent choice. In plain language the author explains difficult concepts of general relativity, quantum mechanics, elementary particles, gravity, black holes, and the complex architecture of the universe.
Audio Production
The author performs the narration. I don’t think this was a good choice. Rovelli’s accent is so strong that it was distracting and at times difficult to understand. Narration matters. I can’t emphasize this enough. Perhaps it was meant to sound like a TED talk or speech, but I would have preferred a professional narrator. Listen to the sample to decide for yourself.
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Source: Review copy provided by Penguin Audio.
© 2016 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Almost wordless: I spotted this lone flower along a path while I was walking in the prairie yesterday.
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Heart of Stone by James W. Ziskin
A suspenseful new thriller set in the Adirondack Mountains.
About the Book
Heart of Stone
by James W. Ziskin
Publisher: Seventh Street Books | June 2016
In the waning days of a lazy August holiday, Ellie Stone is enjoying a bright Adirondack-lake morning. Nearby, two men plummet to their deaths on the rocks below, just a few feet short of the water of a dangerous diving pool. A tragic accident, it seems. But the state police quickly establish that the two victims–one, a stranger to the lake and, the other, a teenaged boy from a nearby band camp–surely didn’t know each other. That anomaly is strange enough, but what really perplexes Ellie is the out-of-place station wagon parked twenty yards from the edge of the cliff.
Wading into a slippery morass of gone-to-ground fellow travelers, free-love intellectuals, rabid John Birchers, and charismatic evangelicals, Ellie must navigate old grudges and Cold War passions, lost ideals and betrayed loves. She sticks her nose where it’s unwanted, rattling nerves and putting herself in jeopardy. But this time, it’s her heart that’s at risk.
About the Author
James Ziskin is the author of the Anthony-, Barry-, and Lefty-nominated Ellie Stone Mysteries. A linguist by training, James studied Romance Languages and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. After completing his graduate degree, he worked in New York as a photo-news producer and writer, and then as Director of NYU’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò. He has since spent fifteen years in the Hollywood post production industry, running large international operations in the subtitling/localization and visual effects fields. His international experience includes two years working and studying in France, extensive time in Italy, and more than three years in India. He speaks Italian and French.
James grew up in Amsterdam, New York. He now lives in the Hollywood Hills with his wife, Lakshmi, and cats Bobbie and Tinker.
Amazon | IndieBound |Goodreads | Twitter | Author’s Webpage
Giveaway Information
Courtesy of the publicist, I have one copy of Heart of Stone to give away to a reader with a US mailing address. To enter, fill out the form below on or before midnight, Saturday, June 18th.
Tweet for an extra entry.
One random winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond.
[Giveaway has ended]
Winner: Suko
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© 2016 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Source: Giveaway provided by JKS Communications.
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