The next person you meet in heaven, by Mitch Albom
Mitch Albom’s “the next person you meet in heaven” is a sequel to his number one bestseller, “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”. In the original book he introduced Eddie, a war veteran and amusement park mechanic, who died saving the life of a young girl named Annie. Eddie went on to Heaven and met 5 people and learned that every life matters.
In this book Annie is grown up and is marrying Paulo, her childhood boyfriend. But when her wedding is over, on the following day, she and Paulo go up in a hot air balloon ride and have a terrible accident. Annie finds herself on her own heavenly journey where she meets Eddie, one of the five people she will meet. She also sees episodes from her own left that left her depressed and sad, but she was able to see the lessons she learned from them.
What is surprising about this book is that it is so much like the first book that you start out not expecting to like it. It is just a simple book and a simple story, but Mitch Albom has now sold over 36 million books and is approach works.
Thinner by Stephen King
“Thinner, the old Gypsy man with the rotting nose whispers to William Halleck as Haleck and his wife, Heidi, come out of the court house. Just that one word, sent on the wafting, cloying sweetness of his breath. “Thinner.” And before Halleck can jerk away, the old Gypsy reaches out and caresses his cheek with one twisted finger. His lips spread open like a wound, showing a few tombstone stumps poking out of his gums. They are black and green. His tongue squirms between them and then slides out to slick his grinning, bitter lips. Thinner.”
Steven King originally wrote this book under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. One of six books he wrote using that name.
Billy Halleck is a fat, obese, lawyer who has to defend himself for killing a women who jaywalked by running into her. He was driving with his wife and was distracted (go ahead, read it and find out why) and didn’t see the women in time. She was a Gypsy, daughter of Taduz Lemke, the head of the Gypsy clan in town at that time.
Billy knew the judge and he case is dismissed at a preliminary stage thanks to the judge. Taduz Lemke meets Billy on the courthouse steps and strokes Billy's cheek and whispers one word to him: "Thinner".
Billy begins to lose weight at a steadily accelerating pace, and he soon realizes that Lemke has cursed him as well as the judge who started to grow scales on his skin. Another helper in getting the case dismissed came from the police chief who soft-pedaled the charges and he was also cursed leading to a horrifying case of acne.
Just another good story that holds you interest from a master storyteller
See more about Stephen King a Literary Influence and the books that have been reviewed of his on this site. https://connectedeventsmatter.com/literary-favorites/2018/6/21/stephen-king
One Good Deed by David Baldacci
“It was a good day to be free of prison. The mechanical whoosh and greasy smell of the opening bus doors greeted Aloysius Archer, as he breathed free air for the first time in a while.” The year was 1949 and he was just released from Carderock Prison and he is on his way to Poca City on parole.
The small town is complicated and dangerous even for a man just out of prison and who served in the war. His first night in town at a local bar he is hired to collect a debt seemingly a simple job. The $5,000 debt is owed to Hank Pittleman, a man that seems to own the town. Lucas Tuttle owes the money has no intention of paying up which could be a real problem for Archer who got an advance on his fee before starting the job.
Archer explains his new job to his parole officer, Miss Crabtee, who just seems to take it in stride but also who is tough and will be watching him closely.
When a murder takes place right under Archer's nose the police, who know he is an ex-convict, suspect him and he has no choice but to track down the killer.
Baldacci is a master storyteller who weaves plots that twist and turn, and you don’t see what is coming until it happens. Another great book.
See more about David Baldacci and his other book reviews
that are on this site at:
https://connectedeventsmatter.com/literary-favorites/2019/3/29/david-baldacci
Blowout by Rachel Maddow
It is a shame that many who would benefit and see the situation the same way will likely just see the authors name and go no farther. Rachel Maddow is likely considered on the wrong side by many who are polarized with the political climate today but this book isn’t about being Republican or Democrat it is about how corrupting Big Oil has been to the world.
The Washington Post, in their praise for the book, said that her viewpoint is different only because it has real facts behind it. At least for the sake of this book wouldn’t it have been better to have left the implication of a “side to her point of view” and just said the facts are awful and we ought to be very alarmed at what big oil has done to the world.
“At its heart, this book is a tale of two countries, the United States and Russia, and how, as Maddow sees it—individually and together—they have been warped by a rapacious fossil fuel industry. . . . Fulminating comes easy to Rachel Maddow. What sets her apart from other serial fulminators is that she does it with facts—and sardonic wit.”—The Washington Post
The book is not an easy read. It is a very detailed look at her subject. If you finish it you should get a “extra credit” for what you will learn.
Blue Moon, Jack Reacher by Lee Child
“The city looked small on a map of America. It was just a tiny polite dot, ear a red threadlike road that ran across an otherwise empty half inch of paper. But up close and on the ground, it had a half a million people.” Lee Child starts Blue Moon, his most current Jack Reacher novel (as of November 2019) and we look forward to how Jack Reacher will fit into this tiny dot on the map.
Jack Reacher starts out sitting on a bus, no surprise, and sees an old man sleeping on a bus with a fat envelope sticking out of his pocket. Reacher knows it is what you get from a bank with money and notices a man watching the envelope and the old man. To prevent a crime he follows the man and the young man following him off the bus. As expected, he saves the old man from at least being robbed but he is badly hurt by the would-be robber.
The old man, Aaron Shevick, won’t go to the hospital or the police so Reacher helps him get home and then learns from his wife that they owe money to a loan shark. The town is controlled by two gangs. The Ukrainians and the Albanians who are engaged in a fierce turf war.
A natural Jack Reacher plot but well told leaving us on the edge of our seat right through to the end.
What is amazing about this book is that it is #24 in this series and I have read every one and I am still hooked on this character and Lee Child plot and story skills.
The Guardians, by John Grisham
The Guardians, Grisham’s new legal thriller takes place in Seabrook Florida where a young lawyer, Keith Russo, is shot while working late one night. There are no clues or witnesses but the police eventually tie Quincy Miller, a young black man and former Russo client, to the murder. He spends 22 years of a life sentence with no help from anyone and then he writes a letter to the Guardian Ministries. This lawyer-minister firm is staffed by Cullen Post and a small support group. They take pride in getting innocence people out of prison and take an interest in Quincy’s case. One lawyer was already killed in this case so it will be challenging.
It doesn’t take much work to see that Quincy was framed. It turns out that a Mexican cartel is involved. Grisham has his usual well-tuned plot and some strong scenes. The book seems to be one of his better recent one.
Quotes
Don't compromise yourself - you're all you have.” ...
“In life, finding a voice is speaking and living the truth. ...
“You live your life today, ...
“Some people have more guts than brains.” ...
“If you're gonna be stupid you gotta be tough.” ...
“I'm alone and outgunned, scared and inexperienced, but I'm right.”
More Thoughts on John Grisham
John Grisham writes with authority and it shows. He practiced law in Mississippi and has written 33 novels, and the closer they resonate with the law the more interesting they are.
A story of an innocent man who winds up in prison is one that Grisham would do best and this is a good story, well written.
The Racketeer, by John Grishman
African American, Virginia lawyer, Malcolm Bannister starts out this story saying: “ I am a lawyer, and I am in a federal prison camp near Frostburg, Maryland. It’s a long story. I’m forty-three years old and halfway through a ten -year sentence handed down by a weak and sanctimonious federal judge in Washington D.C.”
Both federal judge Raymond Fawcett and his secretary were recently found shot in the head in his cabin in southwest Virginia. Near the bodies was an empty open safe.
Bannister tells the feds that he can identify the killer for them in exchange for a release from jail and the means to start a new life. An agreement and plan is set up and acting on information from Bannister, the FBI arrests Quinn Rucker. Bannister is released and given a new face and identity as Max Reed Baldwin and put in the witness protection program. . After the FBI discovers that Rucker's gang knows Bannister's whereabouts and is seeking revenge, he leaves the program and goes off the radar. He then meets another man he had met in prison, Nathan Cooley who is pulled into the scheme that Bannister has put together.
Another can’t put it down story full of twists and some real insight into the penal system.
More thoughts on this book by Brent M. Jones
This book was released in October 2012. It has more of a John Grishman feel to it. His newer books sometimes don’t feel the same. His newest book, “The Guardians” will be reviewed very soon and it seems to be a bit of the old and newer books in feel.
A lot of folks have come to this blog for the reviews and I want to thank you for that. I have recently published a book and commented on it on this site before and will be publishing a second one in December. I am putting together a mailing list to just offer some updates no more than twice a month, if that. Some of the comments there will be on the process of putting the books out. I hope you will sign up. See the Newsletter sign up tab.
Why Life Stories Change, by Brent M. Jones
We have a choice in putting together the narrative of who we are, and who we become. We can pick which of the events we connect with, what we conclude about them, and then weave and reweave them into our story. As my story changes with the retelling, I find that it changes me. I become different because of how I see the story.
In Why Life Stories Change, author Brent M. Jones offers some thoughtful reflections on how the events of our lives can be reshaped over time, resulting in positive changes in our self-identity.
If our Life Story creates our identity, then we must include all the lives we have experienced, besides those that we have personally lived. A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, but even so all we have is “right now” and it is our own life that seems to be the clearest to us.
Books and authors influence us. Art, music, poetry, literature, service, our heritage and even food can influence us even to the point of being part of the life story.
“The most powerful words in the English language are tell me a story” according to author Pat Conroy. There is no one whose story I am as familiar with as my own. The same is true for you. This seems so obvious, but then what surprises me a little is how I see that story differently almost every time I tell it.”
Authors Page at Amazon
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A long way gone,, Memories of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beach
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier is a memoir written by Ishmael Beah. The story starts while he is living with his father, stepmother and brother. The book starts with Ishmael Beah, his older brother Junior, and their friend Talloi traveling from their village of Mogbwemo to Mattru Jong in order to perform in a talent show. Ishmael, Junior, and their friend love rap music and sing and dance to it.
While away on their trip their village is attacked by rebels and at the age of 12, he is left on his own separated from his family. The think that their parents fled to a small village on the Sierra Leone coast and they try to try to go there. They don’t find their parents but are forced to join an army unit where is given plenty of drugs and brainwashing and trained to kill. Ishmael lives this life of a boy soldier until he is 16 when UNICEF gets him released from the army to be put in a rehabilitation program.
The process of making a young boy capable and able to be a ruthless killer is something this book will likely cause many to never forget. Also, the goodness and needs of the boy as he is rehabilitated and eventually finds a place that he can consider his family is also well done.
An important book, well done.
Quotes
“In the sky there are always answers and explanations for everything: every pain, every suffering, joy and confusion.” ...
“When I was young, my father used to say, 'If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen.“
“Some nights the sky wept stars that quickly floated and disappeared into the darkness before our wishes could meet them. ”
“...children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given a chance.”
“I joined the army to avenge the deaths of my family and to survive, but I've come to learn that if I am going to take revenge, in that process I will kill another person whose family will want revenge; then revenge and revenge and revenge will never come to an end...”
The Institute by Stephen King
When they kidnap 12-year-old Luke Ellis for his minor telekinetic ability they overlook the power of his very significant intellect. Luke is brilliant and that power is something the evil Institute people had not expected.
Luke wakes up in a room that looks just like his bedroom back home. The door opens onto a hallway decorated with posters of romping children with mottos like “JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE” and “I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY!” Of course, the Institute is not a paradise it destroys its victims. It also destroys the “moral compass” of those who work there too long.
Luke teaches a group of traumatized kids to understand and utilize their own abilities, and to turn those abilities against their captors. In creating human “weapons” of the minds of the kids to be used against perceived enemies, the Institute created a weapon to be used against itself. Luke’s intellect with the linked mental efforts of the children, and with significant help from a powerful 10-year-old psychic named Avery Dixon the balance of power shifts and Luke escapes making his way to DuPray, South Carolina, where he meets up with S.C., Tim Jamieson, a former policeman.
Is this really one of the scariest of King’s novels? I don’t think so. In some ways it seemed to be less gory and horrifying but it was well done with a plot that took some unexpected turns. It was what you would expect of Steven King and worth the read.
See More About Stephen King and the Books Reviewed on this Blog
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Quotes
“this life we think we’re living isn’t real. It’s just a shadow play, and I for one will be glad when the lights go out on it. In the dark, all the shadows disappear.”
“Back in the main corridor—what Luke now understood to be the residents’ wing—the little girls, Gerda and Greta, were standing and watching with wide, frightened eyes. They were holding hands and clutching dolls as identical as they were. They reminded Luke of twins in some old horror movie.”
“Between midnight and four, everyone should have permission to speak freely.”
“He wanted to tell Luke that he loved him. But there were no words, and maybe no need of them. Or telepathy. Sometimes a hug was telepathy.”
Nothing To Lose, A Jack Reacher Novel, by Lee Child
In Colorado the towns of Hope and Despair are separated by twelve miles of empty road. Jack Reacher arrives in Despair and all he wants is a cup of coffee but only finds trouble. The town folks just ignore him in the only diner in town and then order him to leave.
Despair is a company town owned by a powerful, wealthy, ultra-religious businessman and everyone works in this man’s scrap metal recycling plant. This only adds to Reacher’s suspicions that the town is hiding something.
After being kicked out of Despair Reacher goes back to the town o Hope. He gains the interest and help of a local police lady. He learns more about Despair finding out that each night a small plane takes off like clockwork returning 7 hours later while a small well-armed group of military cops stand guard around the scrape metal plant.
He returns to investigate and learns of two men who have disappeared and of a connection to a distant war that's killing Americans by the thousand.
The conflict quickly becomes one between the man who owns the town and Reacher and of course Reacher doesn’t lose.
Another exciting Jack Reacher story well worth the read.
Quotes
“No, I'm a man with a rule. People leave me alone, I leave them alone. If they don't, I don't.”
“A person less fortunate than yourself deserves the best you can give. Because of duty, and honor, and service. You understand those words? You should do your job right, and you should do it well, simply because you can, without looking for notice or reward.”
“I have to warn you. I promised my mother, a long time ago. She said I had to give folks a chance to walk away.”
“Where are the deputies?'
'On their way up to the first-aid post.'
'What happened to them?'
'I did.”
“That should be your town motto. It's all I ever hear. Like: New Hampshire, Live Free or Die. It should be: Despair, You Need To Leave Now.”
“Because deep down to the army a wounded soldier that can’t fight anymore is garbage. So we depend on civilians, and civilians don’t care either.”
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch →
Over 375 books reviewed on my site, connected events matter, and this book was in many ways unique. The plot premise is that some other version of the multiverse exists m is not your everyday plot. See more book reviews at www.connectedeventsmatter.com
Read moreLady In The Lake by Laura Lippman
Novelist Laura Lippman’s Inspiration for her latest crime novel, Lady in the Lake, came from two real-life disappearances in Baltimore in the 1960s when the body of Shirley Lee Wigeon Parker, a black 35-year-old divorcee, was found in a fountain in one of the city’s parks. That same year in September, Esther Lebowitz, an 11-year-old Jewish girl, was beaten to death inside a fish store, a gruesome killing that profoundly impacted Baltimore’s Jewish community.
Lippman’s main character is Maddie Schwartz a beautiful, bored, 37-year-old housewife who decides one day to leave her husband and become a crime reporter because she wanted to live a life that mattered.
Maddie Schwartz finds the body of schoolgirl young Tessie Fine. She needs a job and uses the details she learns about Tessie to get herself hired at the Baltimore Sun hoping to turn that into a reporter job.
After she is hired by the newspaper, she becomes obsessed with the disappearance and drowning of Cleo Sherwood and her focus is intense as she tries to find out what really happened.
The plot moves with a strong backdrop of the racism of the Sixties. Maddie has an affair with Ferdie, a black police officer, who isn’t allowed to use a patrol car but borrows one at night to visit her. The one-time Maddie and Ferdie goes out in public it is to a baseball game and she pretends not to know him acting like they just accidently sat by each other. The never talk of marriage but Maddie mentions that Interracial marriage was not legal in the United States. (Not until 1967)
Maddie evolves from a woman whose main skill is the ability to get men to like her to a woman who has learned she’s going to have to fight her own battle.
Lady in the Lake is a great newspaper novel and captures much of the feelings of the 1960s.
Quotes
“A woman dies young, it’s man trouble.”
“How could 1906 and 1966 be part of the same century? In 1906, there had been no world wars, most people didn’t have telephones and cars. In 1906, women couldn’t vote and black men could by law, but not in practice.”
“Kindness could be so much more painful than cruelty.”
Buy the Book on Amazon. Just click the buy button below
Picasso, by Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein's was born in 1874 in Pennsylvania and raised in Oakland California. She moved to Paris in 1903. She associated with Hemingway, Picasso and other famous artists and writers. Her book tells us about Picasso and his life as a great painter.
In 1904, Picasso rented a studio in an old, dilapidated building in Paris filled with artists and poets located at 13 Rue Ravignan in Paris. Picasso painted Stein between 1905 and 1906 in a style foreshadowing of his adoption of Cubism—and portrays her face like a mask with heavy lidded eyes.
Picasso was one of the innovators of Cubist artwork where objects are analyzed by breaking them up and reassembling them in an abstracted form and Steins seems compelled to defend the art form in this book and mentions that in 1909 when Picasso had completed the Cubist paintings Horta de Ebro and Maison sur la Colline that she was shown the photographs that inspired the paintings.
We learn from Stein’s writing how much Picasso’s home in Spain shaped his approach to art which was considered ahead of its time or avant-garde. She was one of the first Americans to claim that about his work.
Stein's close relationship with Picasso provided her with a unique vantage point to the man and his approaches.
See ART REVIEW ON CUBISM click here
Quotes from Gertrude Stein
Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose.
We are always the same age inside.
America is my country and Paris is my hometown.
“One must dare to be happy. ”
“We are always the same age inside. ”
“It takes a lot of time to be a genius. You have to sit around so much, doing nothing, really doing nothing.”
“Everybody knows if you are too careful you are so occupied in being careful that you are sure to stumble over something. ”
