Tag Archive: nonfiction



Lily's Promise: Holding on to Hope Through Auschwitz and Beyond—A Story for All GenerationsLily’s Promise: Holding on to Hope Through Auschwitz and Beyond—A Story for All Generations by Lily Ebert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After reading the book about Masha the cat, still wiping the tears streaking down my face, I hesitated to start reading Lily’s Promise. How could I read something about the Holocaust and not feel so depressed and helpless? I was wrong. Yes, the subject matter was as sad and maddening as you can imagine, but the spirit of Lily, her sisters, and family brightened and encouraged my own spirit.

Look, I know it was one of the hardest things for a person to go through. We can only hope no one has to deal with that kind of thing again ever in history. But when you think of our inconveniences that strike us daily, cost of living, etc., and remembering to live with it all with as much grace as we can muster for those around us, thus even lifting our lives to staying alive and doing our best with what we’ve been given. And to rise even higher for those around us. Saving more than life, saving love. That is the wealth in this book.

Lily, great-grandmother, and Dov, her great-grandson, bring their perspectives to current thoughts about the Holocaust, and memories that most have tried to forget and hide bring the light. It is a beautiful book.

While Lily does some of her own reading, Anna Cordell (narrator) takes over the heavy vocal challenges. Dov reads his parts as he is used to podcasting with his great-grandmother.

I highly recommend this read, especially as an audiobook. I was lucky to find it on Libby.

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My Beloved Monster: Masha, the Half-wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued MeMy Beloved Monster: Masha, the Half-wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me by Caleb Carr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

COVID may have flavored how much I loved this book. We are at a stage without pets. It is killing us not to have a furry buddy around all the time, so we take our pets in virtually for now.

I knew the job was dangerous when I took on the reading of this book about a sweet cat. They have short lifespans. It’s the reason we are catless and dogless right now. So, I knew the book would not leave me laughing. Yes. My Kleenex were close at hand.

Meanwhile, going into the book, I enjoyed every moment of the author’s journey with his new cat.  James Lurie (Narrator) was excellent. I loved how the author and cat bonded. I loved how honest he was about his life before and after Masha.

A warning, if you are feeling the slightest bit vulnerable, you might want to wait. Because I have no self-control regarding books or pets, I went ahead. I was still feverish. So that ending had me ugly crying. My husband was worried for me, But I told him what it was about. He is well now and still can bring himself to read this. Even though a lot of the story Caleb Carr relates sounds like my husband’s relationship with his bonded friend, Rosey. It’s all too raw.

But love is like that. It hurts because of how close we get to the loved one, but it is well worth it every time. So I suggest, if you feel you can handle it, this is one of the best books I’ve read recently. I was lucky to find it on Libby, but I may buy it sometime just to enjoy that love again.

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True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in BetweenTrue Gretch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between by Gretchen Whitmer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this over a week ago. I think it was even before I caught COVID. It was thankfully short as my attention span for the past couple weeks. But I do remember it fondly.

This is a memoir that covers a portion of someone’s life. I appreciated her take of her own life. She seems a strong person with good values. She embraces her family and the lessons learned along the way. She also has a good attitude about being as kind and helpful to others as possible.

Don’t you love Libby, where you can borrow books, even audiobooks? This one was read by the author and her personality shows through.

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All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This WayAll in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way by Fred C. Trump
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fred Trump narrated his book quite well, I must admit. I love biographies now. Since writing my own, I have seen what goes into them. You need to be sensitive to others who shared your history over the years. Fred tried to make as many allowances as he could for slights, perceived or real. He stayed true to his wife and children, writing a book that could make them proud—or at least feel honest.

It’s worth the read. My audiobook was from Libby.

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Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic EvolutionOrigins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution by Neil deGrasse Tyson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Yawn! I was looking forward to our personal astrophysicist narrating his own book. But alas, they found the most boring narrator, JD Jackson. I could still hear Neil deGrasse Tyson’s sense of wonder and humor coming through, but if they were hoping to rev up some interest in science, this audiobook falls with my 8 AM monotone chemistry teacher from high school. I have always loved science. When the bus got us kids to school early, I’d run to the library and find Popular Science magazine. And despite Mr. ‘Chem teacher,’ I stayed true to my actual waking hours interests. And this book will not dull my science passion.

That said, I have to admit to being lost a lot. I let the narrator drone on and often found something interesting every now and then. Mr. Tyson, please read to us with your science enthusiasm shining through!

Still, maybe it is due to reading at bedtime? Maybe others will love this audiobook. In this case, I suggest a paper book or Kindle.

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Yes PleaseYes Please by Amy Poehler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Carol Burnett (Narrator), Seth Meyers (Narrator), & 6 more,* including the author, actress, and comedienne Amy Poehler, made this probably the best memoir I’ve heard (read?). Yeah, I doubt it was nearly as fun in book form. These guests made the game of writing one’s autobiography nearly impossible to win.

I’m not much of a fan of Saturday Night Live, etc. But I do love experiencing stepping into other people’s lives. It brings about a bit of understanding for the world to see how similar we all are and enjoy individual differences.

I did have to be careful as this was my bedtime book. I about popped my eyeballs as I suppressed laughs. I didn’t want to wake the household. It was fun.

Maybe my favorite part was that Amy didn’t dwell on a tortured childhood. Sure, she had her share of problems, but she seemed to own her mistakes and forgive others’ errors as much as she could, making the book more about living life and things that have worked for her.

This was a Libby audiobook. I’m so grateful for how the libraries help us.

*Amy Poehler (Author, Narrator),
Carol Burnett (Narrator),
Seth Meyers (Narrator),
Michael Schur (Narrator),
Eileen Poehler (Narrator),
William Poehler (Narrator),
Patrick Stewart (Narrator),
Kathleen Turner (Narrator)

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My Broken LanguageMy Broken Language by Quiara Alegría Hudes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh my! This was so different than any other memoir. It came at me like my own crazy memories. In and out. Mine are mostly English. But if I were raised with another language spoken around me, it might have sounded like this.

Cousins and relatives played a big part in this book. Exactly like my memories, just different.

If you have a lot of Spanish in your vocabulary, it might be even better. My meager amount barely got me by. At least the author, as she narrated, helped me hear her implications.

I picked up this Audible version after hearing about it on a talk show. I had the spare credit, so grabbed it. I’m thinking I will try to find the paperback so I could I can work on the Spanish more.

Please read some of the more eloquent reviews. Even if you have no Spanish, there is enough to absorb this beautiful story. I’m glad I own it so I can go back and enjoy it and Quiara’s voice and spirit again.

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The End of Alzheimer's: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive DeclineThe End of Alzheimer’s: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline by Dale E. Bredesen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I was in my forties, both of my grandmothers died of Alzheimer’s. As you can imagine, I am working hard to avoid what has been assumed to be my fate. Genetically, I seem to favor the heavier side of the family, so when 2020 warned us to lose weight or get hospitalized with COVID, I went on a fasting diet. After losing 30 pounds, I have kind of plateaued. Even still, in my 18/6 or sometimes 20/4 fast, I am trying to eat as healthy as I can: veggies and a little fruit. I don’t like meat, but I do eat salmon in my daily salad and minimize anything processed. Lots of water or tea. One or two cups of coffee. I have increased my exercise and am trying to get cardio and weights. I’m still not optimum on any of it. I try to get better and better.

Meanwhile I have increased learning a lot of new things. I have 11 languages I’m playing with on Duolingo. There’s a lot of knitting and diamond painting. And I am bringing back my piano playing, learning new songs while awakening old ones I had forgotten. I’ve since started playing recorders, soprano, alto, and tenor. Then I took up the ukulele, and now adding violin. I feel learning new things helps my brain. I work at my sleep hygiene aiming for 7 or 8 hours.

Imagine my surprise to see that I am doing a lot that Dale E. Bredesen recommends in his book. I was able to get the Kindle version through Libby. But now I have ordered the audiobook and my own copy of the paperback. The text-to-speech helped me read the book but I felt I could use a knowledgeable voice to read the technical terminology. And there are charts of the supplements and other aids that I want to be able to follow more closely. So, even after I return the library versions, I will have my own copy to refer to regularly.

I highly recommend this book. It’s quite user-friendly, not too sciency but you can follow the science if you like (I like).

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Voice-Over Voice Actor: The Extended EditionVoice-Over Voice Actor: The Extended Edition by Yuri Lowenthal
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The thought of podcasting and/or narrating books has run through my mind a few times, um, a day, for quite a while. I’ve done research and have played with ideas for a while. This book was fun and informative about it all. And the voice-over industry I hadn’t thought of.

The narrating tag team authors, Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt kept the information hopping and interesting. If one can read cartoons, that’s what it felt like at times, as the team has a population of voices between them.

Now, if only I can conquer the stagefright that silences me with distractions and anti-schedules to keep it organized.

I think this is a lot more that can be gleaned from the wisdom these two grant us in this book. And though I have the audiobook, I feel I need the paper copy to visualize much of the information.

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THE ADHD ARTIST: STAY FOCUSED, CREATE MORE, LIVE ABUNDANTLYTHE ADHD ARTIST: STAY FOCUSED, CREATE MORE, LIVE ABUNDANTLY by Earth West
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don’t know if it was the way the text sounds in text-to-speech as opposed to having narration or if, after a go-getter of a book about the same, this one was dull. Or could it just be that I had overloaded on the subject matter? But I couldn’t get into this book, and much of the information was a repeat of what I’d heard before.

But to give it a good chance I will try to find it on Audible and see if I like it better. I feel that, being a bit of a musician who enjoys artwork, I need more specific information about distraction and hyperfocus within those realms.

Still, I don’t want to discourage others from reading this. It may be just what you need. Or what I may need at another time.

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