SEVEN GUITARS by August Wilson

This is an exciting play about Negroes wanting to progress. They want more money and more self control. The Promised Land is to leave Pittsburgh and head for the big city, Chicago. There is a great deal of violence in this play. I can't help but think of black stereotypes. Men were always carrying guns and knives. Always at the ready to "cut" someone who "done" them wrong. What I like the most about this play is the mention of men who were working hard to change the lives of their fellow brothers. There is Muddy Water, Marcus Garvey, Touissant L'overture, Joe Louis, etc. August Wilson

"Talking about love. People don't know what love is. Love be anything they want it to be."(August Wilson)

Touissant L'overture

Muddy Water

Joe Louis

Marcus Garvey

August Wilson SEVEN GUITARS

COMING SOON

Searching For Whitopia by Rich Benjamin

Searching for Whitopia by Rich Benjamin is a unique book. Rich Benjamin makes the story of "white flight" very simple to read and very personal. I felt as though he were sitting down talking to me, one on one. I find it very interesting in years to come a turnover of positions of minorities vs. the white majority might happen. I try to imagine how this new society will feel to me. I don't really know. I have always heard that "power corrupts." Power corrupts the people who have lived lives of poverty and stress. It seems capability of power is that it can make those in power forget their past positions. Therefore, empathy and justice are soon lost again. So, I will take a wait and see position. I feel no excitement about the future change in positions of the races.

I look forward to reading more books by Rich Benjamin in the future. He is a brilliant author.

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Corked by Kathryn Borel

I looked forward to reading Corked. I turn each page hoping the book will really make me to move ahead quickly. That doesn't happen. I'm sorry. However, I'm sure another person will very much enjoy it. I looked forward to visiting in France, the wine vineyards, with Kathryn and her father. She and her father seem totally miserable. I felt miserable for Kathryn. Her father is clueless, rude and selfish. Perhaps, he changes. I don't know.

I've read much further than my update shows. I'm trying to pinpoint what bothered. Kathryn's writing peaks when she writes about the horrible accident she experienced. Instead, of going deeper in to that situation she switches off the track, glosses it over. Perhaps, she is unable to face the unchangeable situation even now. I don't know.

I do know there is power in a memoir when the writer writes about her life without turning away from the most nastiest event. To write a memoir a writer has to be ready to look at the good, bad and ugly.

This is not the only situation Kathryn Borel jumps over quickly. So, the story didn't strike at my heart deeply. I did clearly understand and caught how she felt about her father. I would love to know how their relationship ends up.

Kathryn is a strong woman. I give her credit for the wine she tasted. She was a quick learner. She picked up the wine vocabulary so quickly. She acted as though she had planted many vineyards. I guess it's all in her genes.

Please read "Corked." I am sure others will love her writing style. There are so many scenes I will remember. For example,

"YOU CAN'T TELL ME I'M WRONG, THEN TELL ME WHAT TO DO.
THEN SHUT DOWN WHEN I ASK YOU FOR HELP."

I cried. So, in many ways Kathryn Borel did strike a chord in my heart.

Say Your One of Them by UWEM AKPAN AUDIO

SAY YOU'RE ONE OF THEM by UWEM AKPAN is wonderful. Luckily I won this audio from Vicki, the owner of Reading At The Beach blog. I really enjoyed the interview with UWEM AKPAN. The interview is given after the last story is told. His voice like the voices of Robin Miles and Dion Graham is mesmerizing. Robin Miles and Dion Graham are the voices telling the stories. Listening to each of the three stories took me out of my world and to another world far, far away. In the interview UWEM AKPAN says he loves each of the stories equally. I would have to say my favorite story is the first and last story.

The first story is very dramatic. There is a violent riot going on in the streets. People are forcing themselves into the homes of people who are not of their tribe. A frightened mother warns her daughter to "say you're one of them." These words she hopes will keep the older daughter and baby boy safe from killers. I won't tell the whole story. It is dramatic, realistic and haunting. Before I read the story the words SAY YOU'RE ONE OF THEM" felt so personal  and urgent. I had to read or hear the book.

In the last story two words stayed with me. A father explains to his daughter it is a matter of "faith differences." Of course, this only makes the girl feel more confused than ever about the shoulds and should nots when picking a friend.

I was surprised to learn that UWEM AKPAN did not dream about being an author his whole life. In the interview I discovered his writing happened by accident, not a planned event. He seems like a gentle and easy man. One who is willing to share his love of story telling. I hope to see his name on a novel or another anthology very, very soon. Although, he does not hesitate to tell the interviewer thinking over and planning these stories took years. I know he will appear again with magical, breathtaking words to share with readers.

I especially became interested as UKEM AKPAN talked about researching facts. I laughed a little bit when he asked the interviewer this question. How would New Yorkers and other Americans feel if I wrote that there were bungalows in Manhattan?  Silly? Exactly. Maddening? Yes. UWEM AKPAN wants to have a deep knowledge about what he writes for readers to read.

I am very glad Oprah chose this book as her Book Club choice. For me, it will remain a memorable choice.

rooftops of tehran by Mahbod Seraji

The novel, "rooftops of tehran" by Mahbod Seraji  is a coming of age story about Zari, Faheemah, Iraj, Ahmad, Doctor and the narrator, Pasha. The book is beyond wonderful. My main focus became the love story. The love story has a Shakespearean feeling. There is jealousy, guilt, insanity, love beyond death,  murder, etc. All emotions common to  mankind whether Iranian or not Iranian are in this novel. Not surprising,  all of cry the same tears.

In rooftops of tehran my learning moment came when I began to focus on the complexity of love. Romantic love between two people easily becomes compounded with difficulties. The difficulty of loving one person deeply while your culture or parents might say no, this is not for you. Is it possible to turn this love off like you would a faucet? No. Therefore, the inner self becomes sick with longing, yearning and desire. The author used flashbacks from the streets of Iran and to an asylum to prove loss of love can drive us over the edge.

I focused on love in a friendship. A best friend is not an easy find. When you find a friend who laughs with you, at you, cries with you, protects you life becomes as colorful as the colors of a rainbow. It's as hard to live without that friend as it is to live without your lover. Life becomes unbearable. Mahbod Seraji writes "I was in love. But then, love is an incurable disease, don't you think?" What a good description of love.

In rooftops of tehran by Mahbod Seraji uses my favorite flower, the red rose, as a symbol for an unforgettable friendship. Pasha will plant a rose in an alley below the rooftops where so many good times were shared with all of his friends especially one. Soon, that rosebush becomes a symbol for all of the neighborhood.  I loved the way Mahbod Seraji used the rose over and over throughout the pages of rooftops of tehran. I wanted to bite between my thumb and index finger many times. I can't do it. Iranians express deep feelings with this act.

Now that this book is finished I will dream of love: Love for grandparents, mothers and fathers, sisters, brothers lovers, husbands and wives. It's all in rooftops of tehran. My only regret is that I can't experience sitting on a rooftop in tehran and laughing with my friends. Those rooftop visits were so very special and memorable.

May I use one more quote Mahbod Seraji wrote? "Life is like a boat without sails: there is no telling where this boat will take us or which shore we'll end up on." I'm waiting anxiously for Mahbod Seraji's next novel.

THE LIGHTHOUSEKEEPER'S DAUGHTER by COLLEEN COBLE

Colleen Coble is a new Christian fiction author for me. My feeling is that I've discovered a treasure chest of precious books.The LIGHTKEEPER'S DAUGHTER is full of excitement, suspense, inspiration and romance. It begins with the life of Addie who has grown up with the keepers of a Lighthouse in Mercy Falls,
California. They find Addie after a shipwreck. Soon Addie becomes aware her whole life is a mystery. There are a few clues left behind to lead Addie Sullivan to the truth. These clues are like God's light in a dark tunnel.

I loved reading along as Addie searched for the truth of her family history. I realized the empty hole of not knowing our past never goes away. For this reason, gnawing questions followed Addie's every footstep. These questions led her to rely more than ever on God's ability to help us in a time. In the end it stuck in my head that God is my protector from all dangers. No aged puzzle is too complicated for him to piece together from beginning to the end. Also, He is able to send trustworthy people to help us along the darkened paths.

I love lighthouses. At the end of the book, I learned how much Colleen Coble loves  lighthouses too. I saw my first "real" lighthouse on the strip of Biloxi's beach. Colleen Coble comes across as a delightful, extroverted lady who loves writing and talking about Historical fiction. This book is truly unforgettable Christian fiction. Oh, I must mention Gideon. What a hero!

hearing from GOD each morning by Joyce Meyers

Unfortunately, I have never met Joyce Meyers in person. When she came to our home town one year my husband and son had the chance to go and hear her speak for three nights. I was at work. My husband excitedly told me over and over about her passion for God. He said she also had the ability to make the audience feel God's presence in the crowded room.

I never doubted what my husband told me. I watched her speak on tv. She seemed to speak to me as a friend. I was sure she knew me through and through as she told about her flaws and the many strengths of her husband. Now for the first time I've enjoyed sitting quietly with one of her books, "hearing GOD each morning."

Yes, Joyce Meyer's  has written many books. This particular book struck me because of the title. I have always wanted to get up each morning knowing that without a doubt God was beside me. This devotional is wonderful because Joyce Meyer writes so simply about intimacy with the Lord. She made me remember  I must come to God as a child, His child. That means I don't need to pretend I know it all.

"Too much head knowledge and reasoning can actually work against us if we are not careful, because we can know God only by the Spirit and the heart, not by the brain."


For example, Joyce Meyer's  in one devotional tells about becoming slightly bored with daily readings of His Word. To remedy this problem she moved her chair to another part of the room. This simple move, moving from where she sat regularly, made her mind open up and see God in a new and splendid way. She began to immediately experience the joy of His presence again. Yes, simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.

Also, Joyce Meyers, like Christ in the New Testament, uses object lessons to make old truths new again. She uses: a dialysis machine, a change of scenery, zucchini bread, a whisper, mountains and musical lyrics on and on and on. Boy, these object lesson help me understand how to draw closer to God. I never was the brightest kid in the Sunday school class or in the adult classes either.

I know this devotional will become well used in our family. For me, I will want to read it more than once as I begin to complain again, forget to pray or just feel grouchy. I will always need a reminder of how to hear from GOD each morning.

Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb

Lamb, Wally

Even though it's after Christmas and the New Year I am enjoying this book so much. It's like a trip of nostalgia. It's a coming of age story about a Felix and his friend Lonny. Both boys go to Catholic school, St. Aloysius Gonzaga. When I went to school, I went to public schools. My best friend who lived next door went to a Catholic school. For some reason, I always thought the kids at Catholic school had more fun. After all, my friend wore this neat looking maroon uniform. Plus, her church gave a carnival every year. I also loved the names of the nuns. The nuns had names like Sister Maria Francis or Sister Rose Opus. The names of the sisters in  Wishin and Hopin are fascinating and mysterious too. There is SisterDymphna, Mother Filomina and Sister Mary Agrippina. While all my school teachers had normal names like Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Stockholm, Mr Hopper. The names just seemed too normal except for "Stockholm." I did think my principal had a certain mystique. First of all, she was a lady. Second of all, her name was Mrs. Potter. I loved that name. Maybe it made me think of the Beatrix Potter books, those tiny, tiny books.

I'm sorry to give a part of my life history. It's impossible not to think about memories while reading "Wishin' and Hopin." The big event is the school play. The play is titled "Jesus Is The Reason For The Season." I want to tell you about one of my school plays. Don't worry. I will restrain myself. "Jesus Is The Reason For The Season" is a laugh a minute. I won't tell you anything about it except two sheep are chased through the auditorium by the students and the parents, baby Jesus is almost destroyed but through creative thinking he is saved with the help of Felix. The book is wonderful. Wally Lamb must write another Christmas book. If he does decide to write one, I will send up a Catholic prayer. Because I seriously doubt he can top "Wishin and Hopin.

Last but not least, Annette Funicello is fondly remembered throughout the book. All of us who remember The Mickey Mouse Club will never forget the beautiful dark curly haired Annette. Annette now suffers with MS. Thankfully, Wally Lamb gives different ways to get in touch with the National Association of Multiple Sclerosis.

Well, I will bump, bump, along to my next book. Remember Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte? Felix can't seem to forget that movie. Read the book. It's beyond great.

It Happened One Night by Lisa Dale

I truly could not stop reading this book. Some romances are predictable. This one is not easy to figure out. Although Lana and Karin are sisters, they are totally different. Lana wants to travel and taste adventure especially in Costa Rica. This is why she is not married. Her head is full of dreams. She is only committed to the Wildflower Barn. She makes her living by selling wildflowers, giving advice about asters, Queen Anne's Lace, etc. Karin is her partner in the Wildflower Barn.

At the beginning of each chapter there is a small paragraph about a particular wildflower. After learning a lot about Lana's personality, I thought of her as a wildflower. Lana is a free spirit. Karin does not want adventure. She is content in Vermont. However, there is one desire that obsesses Karin. Unfortunately, she and Gene, her husband, are unable to make this event happen. It seems like what Karin wants so badly and strives so hard to get comes easily to Lana.

These desires strain the relationship between the two sisters. Karin's marriage becomes strained too. There is so much to tell about what happened as I traveled with the sisters and the men in their lives, Eli,
Gene, Ron and Calvert through Vermont.

To avoid spoilers I will stop writing. I hope you will read this book. If you have already read it, I'm sure you liked it. If you haven't read it, at least, give Lisa Dale a chance to explain how, why and what happened one night.

Distant Thunder by Jimmy Root Jr. Book One "The Lightening Chronicles"

"Distant Thunder" by Jimmy Root is powerful Biblical fiction. Really, I think of the book as the last battle to end all battles with Israel and Iran involved in the battle. Jimmy Root Jr. really kept me in touch with what Ty, the minister, was explaining to his congregation. This was done by taking me back and forth from the United States to the Middle East. It really seems like a writer's genius to have moved me, the reader, back and forth, across the sea. Then, the author took me back to Missouri again. This way the prophecy always was in the forefront of my mind. I have been moved by the book to read more Bible prophecy. I have always been afraid of thinking about the future especially with events that will take place before or during the Return of Christ. I have been definitely afraid to take a closer look at Ezekial. This moving back and forth felt like moving along through the book with a filming crew. I have no doubt this would make a wonderful movie.

I also loved Distant Thunder because of the minister and his church. The folks in the congregation seem like people I have met at different churches. A church is not a body full of people believing in the same way. When push comes to shove some people have their own way of looking at prophecies in the Bible. In other words, they read the prophecies and come away with a totally different interpretation. Perhaps, it is out of fear that they deny the "real" truth.  These are the ones in "Distant Thunder" who make the tension and drama in the book along with the flying missiles, etc.


If all of the congregants had agreed with Pastor Ty Dempsey the book would have been so boring. Fortunately, the book, Distant Thunder, is emotionally moving and memorable. I hope to see a new book coming from Jimmy Root very soon, Book II.

A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve

Margaret and Patrick are the main characters in this novel. Although Margaret and Patrick are married, their interests are different. Margaret is a photojournalist while Patrick's interest is medicine. The one goal they have in common is to climb Mt. Kenya. Subconsciously, they might have thought such a virtuous goal would save their marriage. I did not take long before I could see a change in altitude, a change of place is not necessarily the way to better understand or love a person more deeply.

Mt. Kenya ruled by the African's Ngai becomes the truth teller. To me, mt. Kenya served as a guide and interpreter to all of the characters desires and motives. Mt. Kenya with its icy glacier, sun so hot it could burn and chasms so deep there seemed to be no end stripped bare all masks, all lies and/or all pretenses. I really became deeply involved with the Mountain. Thankful I was not one of the climbers. I think out of all the climbers in the group, during the two treks up the mountain, Margaret seemed the weakest. Although, Diana dies, she is not a weak person. She's stubborn and a know it all and very assertive.

Diana and all Anita Shreve's characters are fascinating. Whatever you think might happen to one person might not occur to that person. In other words, the book is full of surprises. For example, I was never prepared for any of the tragedies that struck Patrick, Margaret, Adhiambo. For me, Anita Shreve in "A Change of Altitude" is suggesting that life and people are not stable but both are ever changing like the weather. The novel made me feel smaller, more humble while the people of Africa, the Masai, and Mt. Kenya, the Leopard and Mamba snake became larger than life and able to conquer any one who dared come to close to their terrain.I feel Anita Shreve left an open field for any person to make a philosophical guess or statement about the continent of Africa and those who dare to try to tame it.

Also there is always the silence hanging over this place and the people whether native born or expatriates. Learning that silence is golden keeps some of the people alive and free. Break the barrier of silence and someone will gladly destroy you. Margaret learns about this dilemma when she hears whispers about African students murdered and mass graves."  There is constant tension. Should I speak or remain silent? I could feel these dark clouds of fear throughout the book. There is constant suspense. Who will survive? Who will not survive? Whether on flat land or on the mountain that choice has to be made by every person.

Anita Shreve with the quiet beauty of her words led me to the summit of Mt. Kenya. She writes in almost a sacred way. Did I imagine all those dangers or did I truly just come through a traumatic experience?

High Heels and Holidays by Kasey Michaels

"High Heels and Holidays" is a fun mystery to read for the holidays or any time you would like to read it. Kasey Michaels' holiday book is part of a series. In the series Maggie is a romance author. In one way she is different from other romance authors. Her main character or hero, Saint Just, discovers his way out of the book and into Maggie's apartment. Isn't that amazing? I would love to have him as a guest because he's very handsome, strong and intelligent. Oddly, he carries himself very well in our modern world. Along with Saint Just comes Sterling, his name explains his character. He's a lot like Saint Just's valet. He's always available when needed.

In "High Heels and Holidays authors are being murdered. Francis Oakes is the first body to be found. His death appears like a suicide, but is it really fowl play? Near the bodies are found  a poem and a box of something really gross. There are three letters in the name of the horrible whatchamacallit. I expected nightmares after reading about it. The good news is I didn't experience one nightmare. Probably, because the novel is so laughable  and full of Christmas my brain compartment marked fear could not crank out a nightmare. Hurrah for that small blessing.

Well, I'm left with one wish. I would love to snap my fingers to make a "real" St. Just walk out of a novel and into my life. I know. It only happens to Maggie. Therefore,  I intend to read the first book in the series along with all the other books with Maggie. My one hope is that Faith, a friend or acquaintance of Maggie's,  will not show up with her treadmill, pup, clothes, etc. Surely, Kasey Michaels would not put Maggie through that  miserable experience again. Good book.

Bo's Cafe by John Lynch Bill Thrall Bruce Mc Nicol

Steven is having the time of his life riding around in an apple red Buick Electra. Thanks to a guy named Andy who owns the car there is plenty of good conversation. Steven meets Andy, an old friend of his dad's, during a time in his life when everything is going the wrong way. Life is a horrible struggle at home with his wife, Lindsey, and his daughter, Jennifer. This book is about a troubled man. Is it ever possible to lose control of your life, then, to gain back control or more control than you ever had in the first place? I know I've been in such a place. I think other people, the majority of people, have been there too. This is the dedication in the front of "Bo's Cafe."

"Dedicated to all the "Andys"who have been creating Bo's cafes for "Stevens" everywhere.

The book is about true friendship. I think Bo, Hank, Carlos, Cynthia and Steven are true friends because there isn't any pretense. They tell about what's truly going on in their lives without fear of rejection. It's about being authentic. What better place to learn how to shed a mask than a friendly cafe where shrimp cocktail is served on a plate.


This is a great book about putting life back together after it's crumbled like a pie thrown in the middle of the kitchen floor. It's a wonderful book where you can sit freely and think about the "real" you vs. the fearful, crying child inside of you. You can do it. After all, you have the best of friends, a lot of laughter, some tears and some anger, but it's all real. You are safe. I am safe.

Across The Endless River by Thad Carhart

Thad Carhart's "Across The River" is a wonderful book about mainly Sacagawea and Charbonneau's son, Jean Baptiste. In the beginning there is a little about Sacagawea. Jean Baptiste experiences the death of his parents. Jean Baptiste's mother was a Shoshone. Sadly, she was taken captive by the Hidatsa Indian tribe. Then, she lives with the Mandan tribe.

Jean Baptiste suffers greatly after his mother' death. However, his memories are of peace, kindness and nature along the Missouri rivers. It isn't long before he begins his travels down to New Orleans and across the sea to France and Germany. He travels with a German Duke of Wurttemberg. This is my favorite part of the book.

I believe without Thad Carhart's beautiful writing style this part of the book might have been boring. However, his descriptive writing is wondrous. I felt as though I were traveling along with Jean Baptiste and his friend. The rooms, some with huge chandeliers, green silken walls, etc. are striking and memorable. The gardens shaped as mazes are great.  Jean Baptiste is seeing a total different way of life from the one he experienced while out West in the Americas. While the Duke is in awe of the natural world of the Americas, he shows it by adding birds, flowers, rocks, etc. to his collection to take back home, Jean thinks Europe is beyond any man's dreams. Jean has never seen people leading such extraordinary lives filled with any fancy artifact you can name.

Thad Carhart in "Across The Endless River" helped me to see clearly how different North American was from Europe at that time. The people over there were more genteel, fancy, gay. Here, the pioneers were still making homes, pulling down timber and learning the ways of the Indians. History is a living force. Times have changed. Look how far America has come in wealth, the Arts, universities and in political intellect.

There is a lot in the book about the French Revolution and Napoleon as well. It is around 1824 when Jean is visiting across the sea. The Europeans are still remembering and striving to overcome the horrors of the French Revolution and talking about Emperor Napoleon. "Across The Endless River" is a book that just flows along tickling all of the five senses. In other words, "Across The Endless River"  by Thad Carhart is marvelous.

Antiques Flea Market by Barbara Allen

Brandy and her mother, Vivian, are amateur sleuths. The town they live in is called "Serenity." It's a small town in Iowa along the Mississippi River. Why the town is called Serenity is odd to me because this town is not serene. There are lots of earth shaking secrets hidden in the homes of different neighbors. Even Brandy's mother and Brandy's sister, Peggy Sue, live with skeletal secrets.

While figuring out the most recent murder, Brandy and Vivian go back and forth to the flea market selling their wares. There is one special, priceless book in one of the flee market booths. It's a book from the Tarzan series. How much does this book play in the murder of one of the neighbors? I can't tell you. I will tell you there is an untimely death brought about by Cyanide. Vivian knows all about Cyanide because she loves Agatha Christie plus Vivian is an actress.

I loved the book because both Vivian and her daughter, Brandy, suffer with mental illness. Not wanting to be politically incorrect I have to admit Vivian's bipolar state just adds to her strong, melodramatic personality. To get through it all Brandy takes Prozac. I must not forget Sushi, the lap pup. Sushi just adds to the cute element of the book especially when Brandy makes him a winter Christmas coat with five legs. She made that mistake because she was looking at some mystery drama while knitting the Christmas gift.

What did I have against the book? Not much at all. It is really funny. However, I did choose it for the Christmas element. It's not very much Christmas stuff in it until the very end. It's as if the author forgot about Christmas and started throwing in that element at the last moment. Even the cover does not look like Christmas. The cover is red. That's about it. There is not a Christmas ball, no Christmas wreath or garland or tree on the covr.There is just Sushi sitting in a fancy chair. I think there is another edition of the book that looks more like a holiday book.

These are small matters. It's a fun mystery with fun people. Oh, at the end of every chapter is a different way to make flee marketing more fun. After reading these hints, you are more likely to come home with some real treasures. I already have the other book by Barbara Allan on hold at the library. By the way, Merry Christmas!

Your Dreams Can Come True 5*****

This is a powerful, important, interesting and fun to read book. I feel it has every step a person needs who would like to be an entrepreneur. Page after page George Foreman in layman's terms is leading a person through the right and wrong ways of becoming a successful businessman in his community. One important thing is to see a need and fill it. I loved the way he described seeing the first George Foreman Lean, Mean Grilling Machine. It wasn't handsome and pretty like the ones we see in department stores today or like the ones demonstrated on television. Well, it just wasn't attractive. Proving that sometime you have to go for and recognize the future look of a product. You have to take a risk. You need vision.

I have to admit to not being  or really desiring to be an entrepreneur. However, George Foreman almost had me sold on a new career in my later life. This is a book that is a knockout punch. It's great! Read it and learn without feeling like you are being taught. I bet your dream to become an entrepreneur will come true.

Children of Dust by Ali Eteraz

I should have jet lag. I've traveled from Pakistan to different parts of America including Alabama and Las Vegas. "Children of Dust" is a memoir about a Pakistani Muslim, Ali Eteraz, his family and friends.

I liked this book because "Children of Dust" is a religious memoir. It's a young man's search for the purest and truest form of Islam. Throughout the entire book he is on the brink of changing from a caterpillar to a butterfly. His search, Ali's questions make this book throb with life. Early in his life Ali looked at the life of Muslim women. He also thought about the way Muslim men were taught to treat an attractive woman.

This part of the book gave me a chuckle or two because Ali truly loved a beautiful girl. It is very hard for him to look down, look away, don't touch. Like all young guys, his testosterone is very healthy.

Anyway, it's clear that Ali is a reformist. The spirit of reform led him to observe and not leap. He observed himself and other men. He studied the Qu'ran. Really, at one point, he became an intellectual scholar. In the end, he walked away from militant behavior while continuing to love Islam.

I really was impacted by his feelings during 9/11. I think it is at this point that I began to see Muslims as individuals. There are Muslims who would never kill Americans, who would never blow their bodies up  in order to do Jihad and kill innocent people. There are Muslims, like Ali Eteraz, who cried for the losses of 9/11.

"Now, having seen their vision of justice....I felt only anger. What made their actions even more reprehensible was that they had carried out their murders in the name of Islam."

This book gently pounded in my head the fact that all Muslims are individuals. When I choose to look at one and think there goes another suicide bomber, another one who would call me, an American, a devil, then, I'm terribly wrong.  I've become racial profiler and I am stereotyping other people. I am labeling people and putting  people in tight cubbyholes to fit what I believe or have heard from someone else.

It's true. There are Muslims who fight with other Americans because they believe in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. The Fort Hood experience made many Muslims ashamed and heartbroken. I must remember to look at the one man lying in the Army hospital bed not at a nation of people.

Ali Eteraz is an example of a man who believes in a pure religion. Pure religion is one that won't do harm to a fellow human being. Because he chose to observe, think and study  Ali Eteraz is still a Muslim. He is a Muslim with a heart.

"The feeling softened me somehow. It melted away my skin and sinew and made me a part of the men around me. These men who were raised from dust, lived in dust, and would eventually rest in dust."

Ali Eteraz is who he is a lover of Muhammed and the Qu'ran and his people and other people too. He deserves respect not misappropriated judgment.

the gift of an ordinary day by Katrina Kenison

Katrina Kenison writes the best memoir I've read in quite a while. The memoir is really about how to cope with change in our daily life. Katrina Kenison learned to appreciate every moment that came her way. At one time she had to deal with her family moving back in her parents home for a short time. Another drastic change is when one son, Jack, is headed to high school while the other brother, Henry, is headed to college. Since each child is dealing with different coping mechanisms, Katrina and Steve's parenting became more sobering, more fragile and more tense.

So, here is a family not very different from any other family going through the stress of their adult disappointments, like the loss of a job, illness of a friend, and the expense of moving while at the same time trying to say the correct words when their boys are disappointed by rejection, etc.

The ordinary days faced by Katrina Kenison are not boring. Her calm, strength and philosophies make her ordianary day noticeably extraordinary.  In no way did Katrina make herself seem like supermom. Katrina Kenison is just a woman in tune with the fact that life is not stagnant. Life is stormy at times. Everyone and everything is turning topsy turvy. Therefore, you need muscle toning to take on the fight.  What do you do? You pluck the best out of yourself. This best that's deep inside is from our friends, family and book we read. All through the book are wonders words about life and how to handle it. Katrina Kenison could hold on tight until the sun began to shine the next day and melt the snow.

I especially identified with her days of coping with the boys becoming men and the Empty-nest syndrome. This is such a hard part of life. When to say what to a young adult? When to let go? Because we do have to let go. What do we do when we're "needed" in a totally new and different way? How not to feel lost when our children leave town, go away to live, etc? I am well past this stage. Still, I miss my boys. I find myself saying to grown men "are you wearing a sweater today?" I have to always grab myself and get a grip. Hey! this guy is a husband, college student, father.

In one instance Jack was pulling away, becoming more inward. Each person was pulling in a different direction while all were trying to remain symbolically together as a family. Talking about tough times, but Katrina Kenison found the wisdom to deal with the time gracefully.  This book is truly wonderful. It's very hard to stop talking about the memorable incidents in the book, "the gift of an ordinary day by Katrina Kenison. The author is a lady I would love to meet at a book signing. I will wait anxiously for her next book.

The Morning Show Murders A Novel Al Roker & Dick Lochte

Finally, I finished this mystery. "The Morning Show Murders" by Al Roker & Dick Lochte is a seemingly long and a bit complex murder. This is one of my pet peeves about the book. I felt the book outlasted it's time. In "The Morning Show Murders" by Al Roker & Dick Lochte there are definitely strong moments made for the big screen. For example, the scene in the New Jersey tunnel with the cheetah driving the Hummer. Also, the fire in the loft apartment and the Vosburgh Mansion with its cold, dark and danky areas. Those were the  moments when I couldn't put the book down. There were other moments when I wanted to throw the book across the room because of boredom

I feel sure the next Al Roker & Dick Lochte mystery will have all theplaces I didn't like ironed out. I would also like to mention the fact I didn't especially enjoy seeing and hearing Al Roker  in my head everytime Billy Blessing made a move to the Wake Up, America show, ate a meal at his restaurant or just became caught in a dangerous situation. Although, I love Al Roker in the morning telling the weather and interviewing on The Today Show, in a book written by him I would like him to keep a lower profile.

The Today Show Al is such a sweet guy. I feel guilty because I didn't fall in love with this mystery. One thing I can say for sure about Al Roker. He played cops and robbers as a little boy. He has a book published to prove it. That book is "The Morning Show Murders" by Al Roker & Dick Lochte.