This was surprisingly intriguing. Ms. Spears writes eloquently. Michelle Williams narrates with heartfelt empathy.
I’m not star-driven, but since writing my memoir, I have read many of them. The mechanics of the writing and reading aside, we dive deeply into Britney’s well-known life. The crazy news surrounding her from the beginning always made me feel sorry for her and angry for her. Hearing her side of it, I feel even more compassion for her.
I was able to pick this up on Libby. If you get the chance, you might like the book, too. Memoirs give us a chance to walk in another’s shoes.
“A senior FBI agent being shot in the precinct’s parking lot is only the first shock in Lieutenant Jane Sparks’s day. The second is Senior Agent Fran Morris is a mirror image of Sparks, an identical twin. After an awkward and confrontational meeting at the hospital while Agent Morris is in recovery, they decide to put their brilliant minds together to not only determine who shot Agent Morris and why but also how they were separated at birth.
How Could It Be? is a fast-paced mystery crime novel filled with lies, deception, and intrigue, and how it all affects a budding relationship between long-lost sisters.”
What better way to explain the story than the blurb from Amazon? I met the author briefly a decade ago, but I see her in the church meetings I Zoom. She doesn’t know me, but I am still proud of her for writing a series!
For a first book, I think this has a lot of promise. The author’s career experience verifies the world the main characters inhabit.
This is a short book—I read it in one sitting—but it was full of promise and intrigue. I can’t wait to read Xiomara Rodriguez’s other books.
While folks are sharing beautiful pics of Fall colors, we’re showing naked trees and a prediction for rain/snow showers today here in Oregon Outback. (I’ll share snow pics if it happens. But, for now):
Old-timers of the area are dusting off tales of winters long ago reaching -40F. I don’t think in our decade we’ve not gotten below -10.
This was a fun memoir! It was quite a surprise after some of the ones I’ve read recently. Connie Chung’s voice is surprisingly rich and personable. Somehow, I didn’t expect that. My impression of her is classic journalism and of the age of nearly regal news reporting. But even in telling her story, you feel that class and strength of character.
Equal to the class, there are parts that make her more human. As she brings up her husband, Maury, we feel her straight laces come undone to humor and that opposite attractiveness. She is not as she appears, not completely. Mischief and a sense of adventure come forth in her book. And her forever-feminist nature.
I highly recommend this book for a sense of history, at least. I was lucky to find the audiobook on Libby.
I saw the show a while back and wondered how it was as a book. I finally got a chance to listen to it from Libby. I didn’t realize this was autobiographical until I was setting up for this review. Whew! As the author’s personal story, her voice made it sound real enough. Though it’s been a while since I watched the movie, I remembered a lot of it. I didn’t like the movie’s ending but felt more depth in the book.
There are elements that I recognized from my upbringing. Maybe people who have had less money will see the positive effect of dreams and affirmations, even when it seems hopeless. Jeannette Walls and her siblings found strength in each other and whatever truths they could hang on to. Even the sad or maddening parts keep you reading or listening. I think there is a lot we can learn from Ms. Walls’ story.
If you get the chance, it is worth the read. I plan to watch the movie again soon.
First of all, I never learned what the river knows. Second, I didn’t like any of the characters. It’s supposed to be a Young Adult, and I am three or four times the age of the prescribed reader. Still, I usually like YA books, so…
It is supposed to be about magick and fantasy, but it is not consistent or completely helpful. The history is enough that it might bring a young person to Google Cleopatra, Egypt, or Argentina. There is a smattering of very elementary Spanish, making a language student feel smart. But honestly, I felt I wasted time getting to an unsatisfying cliff. It didn’t make me want to continue.
Okay, it could be me. OR it could be that I listened to Text-to-Speech, and I could have used a live narrator who could read all the languages presented.
I hope others will read it and like it. It seems promising, but I don’t plan to read the next part of the series. Still, I’m grateful to Libby for the borrow of the Kindle version.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “starts with ‘kn.’” Find a word that starts with the letters “kn” and use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
Know ye knot is the story of knitting and crocheting. Well, it should be but it’s too late in the day to do the research. I just needed a way to introduce my newest toy for Spidercat Sammy. I’m making stressball blobs, frogs, and fish. But it’s been a while since I made crocheted balls. So instead of inserting a stressball I just stuffed it. The little plastic ball might be dangerous for a kitten. But at least I have an idea of how it’s done. The yarn is Baby Bernat.
The yarn and hook make a bigger ball than the pattern calls for. But those baskets look like fun. I’ll have to look for a smaller gauge yarn and hook for the stressball patterns. Found here. Well, the Stress Fish. But all of them are on Etsy.
The day ended with a gorgeous sunset. And the stream took a side show.
Autobiographical books offer a chance to walk in someone else’s shoes. Sometimes, those shoes are uncomfortable, but they enlarge our lives by allowing us to understand another person’s pain or achievements.
There has been a lot of news about Brittney Griner’s life for a while. The newsfeeds seem confused; for one minute, they are putting her on a pedestal, and for another, she’s the worst. I prefer seeing what people say about themselves. See how they see life day by day. Sure, there are autobiographies full of self-delusions, but one can learn the truth in sincerity. Research will help if you aren’t convinced by the end.
I feel Ms. Griner did the best she could. Her writing is easy to follow. I don’t know if I could have lived through what she did.
By the way, Andia Winslow narrates most of the book. I think her voice contributes emotional context to the story. But it is nice to hear Brittney’s voice at the beginning and end of the book.
I hope you try this book. I think you will feel a new level of understanding.
But Super Sammy wins at the three-legged Spider game. He’s a strong little guy. And will probably be neutered around the 9th of November. We’re still working on the other friendly sibling that is a little darker than him.
Now. I need to bring up one of my favorite things to do in November. Please, I try hard to keep my blog peaceful so I hope not to make others uncomfortable. But… I plan to do NaNoWriMo as usual. I look at it as a competition with only myself. I win no matter if I hit 50K or not just in trying. I believe it is best that way. If another wants to use AI, that’s their business. I feel they are cheating themselves of the amazing creative juices that can flow within.
The other NaNo issue of the forums. I never go there. I find it distracting from the writing process, though an occasional research may send me there. I’m sad to learn that it hasn’t been safe for the young people. The organization says they are working on a better, safer haven for everyone. I’m glad my offspring are middle aged now. It’s such a hard time to raise little ones and it should be up to us, the village, to help kids be safer. By eliminating places to be creative we are making it harder on everyone. Cancel society seems set in cancelling everything. Being aware with love for our fellow beings and speaking up to those who would be harmful to others, I think it’s the only way to learn and grow. I hope that others will join me in the month of writing furiously regardless of where you journal your goals and numbers.
Now I’m behind on reviews again, so I better get busy.
Oh, PS, it snowed a little today, and the trees have lost newly yellowed leaves. Dare we say Winter is here?
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
Books, games, music, and life — filtered through the mind of a writer, drummer, and philosopher who thinks too deeply about all of it. If it moves something in your chest, I'm interested.
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
Darswords 
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