Horror

This and that September 11, 2022

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I guess it was by design that my current read is about survivors and family members left behind after 9/11. By design of the publishers, that is. That’s OK, I do enjoy the author and the book. It is book two in the series and I’m pretty sure I read book one somewhere along the line, way back when. These books came out in 2004 so they are not new releases.

For sure this remembrance is uppermost in everyone’s mind but the loss of Queen Elizabeth is showing up often in my news feed too. And politics, that’s another big subject. I admit to having conservative leanings and so I’m happy they finally elected a new leader. It will go along way toward being ready if our Prime Minister were to call a surprise election. Hopefully. Enough of that conversation.

Spending all this time watching the news online has had a detrimental effect on my thinking process. Mainly because I don’t want to talk about any of the subjects mentioned above. I need to spend more time thinking on subjects I can talk about but I have to make room for that to happen..

The biggest hindrance to quiet meditation is that I’ve become addicted to the noise and find myself forever searching for one more video to watch. Even though I’ve heard most of the content over and over again.

Both my writing and my reading have suffered lately because of this fixation. Must make some changes and get back to normal.

I did go for a nice walk in the sunshine this afternoon and it definitely interrupted the unhealthy routine. Walking is something I rarely do. The city has added more pretty walking paths, a big surprise to me, and now there are even more options. The thought did keep running through my mind that this was pleasant and I should do it more often. Maybe I will. No promises but maybe.

So my current enjoyable read…

Beyond Tuesday Morning: Sequel to the Bestselling One Tuesday Morning (9/11 series Book 2) 

The hope-filled sequel to the bestselling One Tuesday Morning. In this new novel by Karen Kingsbury, three years have passed since the terrorist attacks on New York City. Jamie Bryan, widow of a firefighter who lost his life on that terrible day, has found meaning in her season of loss by volunteering at St. Paul’s, the memorial chapel across the street from where the Twin Towers once stood. Here she meets a daily stream of people touched by the tragedy, including two men with whom she feels a connection.

One is a firefighter also changed by the attacks, the other a police officer from Los Angeles. But as Jamie gets to know the police officer, she is stunned to find out that he is the brother of Eric Michaels, the man with the uncanny resemblance to Jamie’s husband, the man who lived with her for three months after September 11.

Eric is the man she has vowed never to see again. Certain she could not share even a friendship with his brother, Jamie shuts out the police officer and delves deeper into her work at St. Paul’s. Now it will take the persistence of a tenacious man, the questions from her curious young daughter, and the words from her dead husband’s journal to move Jamie beyond one Tuesday morning.

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I’m 1/4 of the way through and anxious to see what will happen next. This book is still a bargain if you are tempted.

Happy Reading!

Alarming! March 27, 2022

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There are ten bills coming up for vote in California next week. They are publicly available for viewing. But they are not widely known. These bills are truly alarming.

These bills were publicly discussed in the tonight’s informational meeting live streamed at the trucker’s convoy in Maryland.

The discussion re: these bills can be found at the 8:33 mark in the video.

Please watch this and pass it on to everyone you know. If they pass it won’t stop with California. I’m in Canada and I’m horrified. I can’t do anything from up here but I can spread the word to my small audience hoping you will pass it on far and wide.

Watch at the 8:33 minute mark to hear the ten items up for vote.

Pass it on.

These truckers are heading to California in the next few days to help spread the word.

God help us!

Read and enjoyed March 08, 2022

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I haven’t read much from this author and wasn’t sure how I felt about his writing. This book turned out to be an excellent read and now I’ve added Robert Whitlow to my favorites list of authors.

I’m also happy to have stayed with my decision to read to the end. My initial reluctance was due to the genre. Sometimes I feel like I’ve read more WWII novels than I can handle. I was back to experiencing a spark of interest and it paid off.

This one had unique elements to draw the reader in and that was a game changer. His story treatment was a mixture of old and new with a twist. I loved his characters too, except for the ones he wanted us to hate.

I loved this read.

The whole book was a surprise and I gave it five stars.

The Witnesses 

Young lawyer Parker House is on the rise—until his grandfather’s mysterious past puts both of their lives in danger.

Parker House’s secret inheritance is either his greatest blessing . . . or his deadliest curse. The fresh-faced North Carolina attorney shares his German grandfather’s uncanny ability to see future events in his mind’s eye—a gift that has haunted 82-year-old Frank House through decades of trying to erase a murderous wartime past.

While Parker navigates the intrigue and politics of small-town courtroom law, Frank is forced to face his darkest regrets. Then, a big career break for Parker collides with a new love he longs to nurture and the nightmares his grandfather can no longer escape. Sudden peril threatens to shatter not only Parker’s legal prospects but also his life and the lives of those dearest to him.

Two witnesses, two paths, an uncertain future.

Formidable, truly formidable. November 16, 2021

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It’s a slow book day today. That’s OK

I’ve been paying attention to what is happening in British Columbia Canada, weather-wise.

It’s crazy what’s going on there. That’s for sure

They have been having unusually heavy rain and highways and train tracks are experiencing washouts and slides. Flooding in low lying places with people evacuated.

There have been floods before but I don’t remember anything as wide spread and destructive as this.

Rushing rivers taking out anything and everything in their path

Many of the highways and rail lines run through mountainous areas. Supply shortages will be worse than they were already with trains at a standstill

The high mountains are beautiful on a dry sunny day but formidable when slides and washouts happen.

The force of nature is truly impressive, take a look. It is awe-some.

More to say about thinking. October 17, 2021

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Photo by Anna Zaykina on Pexels.com

I can hear someone saying, if he was with you why wasn’t God with me when I was being traumatized?

He was, but there are a few things that make a difference.

I had elderly relatives who knew the situation, at least partially, and were talking to God about me every day. They were also loving on me and telling me about God every chance they had, which wasn’t often. I knew about him and knew to look for him in the room I’d run to in my mind. Escape from the horror.

On top of that, though my parents were running away from God he was still a topic in our home. Dad’s family was Roman Catholic and church attendance was an important and significant part of their family life. Before they were married Mom had to promise the kids would be raised Catholic.

Mom’s parents were Protestant and Grandpa was a pastor. There was angst in our home due to mom’s guilt over living a lifestyle that was heart breaking to her parents.

We never did go to church anywhere and the three of us kids were sent to public school.

I was always a super sensitive kid. Without God I probably would not have survived.

God is with all of us, always, but if we aren’t aware he exists we wouldn’t know to look for him.

God didn’t keep bad things from happening to me but I know he kept things from being much worse than they could have been.

After my third child was born Mom got back together with God. One day she shared with me about looking back over the days of her rebelliousness (oh yes, she was rebellious.) Even though she did whatever she wanted, God was still looking out for her. She could see many places in her life where he had rescued her.

As healthy parents, we never stop loving our kids (at least most of us don’t) no matter how how badly they behave.

God wants a big family and he is aware of every single child that is conceived. He loves them all. That’s mind blowing.

He’s been with you every single day, even if you don’t know it.

Photo by brenoanp on Pexels.com

Read and enjoyed May 08, 2021

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My favorite book so far this week is a parallel, modern and historical. The common denominator is a poignant painting with a checkered past and a complicated present.

I’m not always a fan of blending timelines but in this case it works. Probably the biggest reason, it allows for showing rather than telling. We need both time frames because they are intertwined and the present story only makes sense if we can understand the past.

There is an unforgettable painting with unknown origins. It appeared in the most terrible of circumstances and combining past and present stories adds the right amount of lightness to make the story relatable. The love stories play out in both time frames as the book moves along. The events are unpredictable and the resolution to the story is unexpected.

I would describe the unexpected but that would give away the ending which would never do.

I agree with the reviews quoted below. Unforgettable.

The Butterfly and the Violin (A Hidden Masterpiece Novel Book 1)

Fresh. Fascinating. Unforgettable. The Butterfly and the Violin is a masterpiece of a debut.” –Laura Frantz, author of Love’s Reckoning

“. . .impossible to put down.” —RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 Stars, TOP PICK!

A Mysterious painting breathes hope and beauty into the darkest corners of Auschwitz–and the loneliest hearts of Manhattan.
Manhattan art dealer Sera James watched her world crumble at the altar two years ago, and her heart is still fragile. Her desire fordistraction reignites a passion for a mysterious portrait she first saw as a young girl–a painting of a young violinist with piercing blue eyes.
In her search for the painting, Sera crosses paths with William Hanover–the grandson of a wealthy California real estate mogul–who maybe the key to uncovering the hidden masterpiece. Together Sera and William slowly unravel the story behind the painting’s subject: Austrian violinist Adele Von Bron.

A darling of the Austrian aristocracy of 1942, talented violinist, and daughter to a high-ranking member of the Third Reich, Adele risks everything when she begins smuggling Jews out of Vienna. In a heartbeat, her life of prosperity and privilege dissolves into a world of starvation and barbed wire.

As Sera untangles the secrets behind the painting, she finds beauty in the most unlikely of places: the grim camps of Auschwitz and the inner recesses of her own troubled heart.

I will admit, I lost sleep over this difficult to put down book.

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Podcasts about books – Bondi’s Brother

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A popular podcast format these days: interview guests with recently released books. Most of my favorite podcasts use this method and they come up with amazing guests. Everytime.

Added to that, the hosts of these popular podcasts have well developed interview skills aided by talent for connection with insightful questions.

There are five or six regulars on my watch list and Eric Metaxas Radio Show is one of them. (I know, it says Radio Show but it actually shows up on YouTube as a podcast. That confused me for awhile too.)

Earlier this week Eric interviewed an amazing man about the memoir he’s written outlining his experiences as a teen during World War II. A subject high on my radar since my early twenties. This interview and book built on all of the information I’ve taken in over the years and it was amazing to hear a man speak about living through things I have only read about.

It’s good to hear a first hand account and be reminded it would not be outrageous to think such a terrible thing could happen in the world again… if we are not careful.

The overriding motive behind WWII was a terrible thirst for power. The lethargy and lack of concern among the citizenry of the world allowed the power hungry to seize opportunities and even to invent opportunities, with little resistance.

Our world is experiencing power struggles once again. God forbid that our citizenry would allow it to happen a second time. How could we ever live through it, if it were to get that far again?

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The book featured in this podcast – author Irving Roth

Bondi’s Brother: A Story of Love, Loss, Betrayal and Liberation

Amazon quote:

The Roth family lived in Slovakia, had a prosperous business and two young sons, Irving and his older brother Bondi. Irving’s earliest memories are of the Catholic maid who was like a mother to him. Soon though, all that changed as laws made it illegal for a non-Jew to work for a Jew. His father was also forced to sell his business and the whole family had to wear Star-of-David yellow patches on their clothes. The family fled to Hungary and the boys sent to a boarding school. Later, the two boys were picked up, put on a cattle car and sent to a concentration camp.

All the horrors of the camp are described in excruciating detail – the hunger, the hard work, the constant fear. Always though the boys had each other until after a couple of years they were separated.

In spite of these hardships, Irving survived. Perhaps it was because he was only 15 years old, young enough and strong enough to somehow make it through. Liberation though was bitter-sweet because he never saw his brother again.

The book makes the horror very real. And it’s hard to believe how bad it really was. However it’s also a testament to the positive human spirit and the will to live. I will never forget this book. It will haunt my memories for a long time. Yes, the specific time and place have dissolved into history. But its legacy lives on and teaches the lesson that we should never take our easy lives for granted and we should appreciate what we have. – Linda Linguvic

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Eric Metaxas podcast interview of Irving Roth

A must watch, we could easily find ourselves here again.

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It’s good to be reminded of the evil in the world. We don’t want to be caught unaware like the proverbial frog in the pot of hot water.