Books I Read and Other Assorted Oddities

It was summer 2023. I remember coming across breaking news headlines about two children who were found in Ivins, Utah, in deplorable condition. These two children had been abused by their mother, Ruby Franke, and her friend, Jodi Hildebrant. The children were malnourished and had been forced to do horrible punishments, outside in the stifling Utah desert heat in the summer. This has been one of the major child abuse cases to come out of Utah in recent years, a string of others not far behind. It's a case that I remember distinctly following. One of my coworkers recommended this book to me, and I'll admit, I was hesitant at first. Sometimes people who experience this kind of abuse and trauma become extremely anti, and I just wasn't sure I wanted to read about that. However, as I dove into Shari Franke's book, I found her to be the opposite. That impressed me, and just added to what I liked about this book. In The House of My Mother , Shari Franke (Ruby Franke's oldes...

 I picked this book up on Audible because it sounded interesting and didn't disappoint. A Woman of No Importance  describes the incredible true story of Virginia Hall, an American woman who served as an SOE spy during World War II. Virginia, rejecting her family's expectations of a highly advantageous marriage, pursued a career in the State Department. She dreamed of serving her country as an ambassador or in other roles high within the department. Blocked at every turn because of her gender, and then later, as a result of her amputated leg, she left the State Department at the start of World War II. She served as an ambulance driver as the German army advanced across the Maginot Line and into France. From there, Virginia was recruited to SOE - the Special Operations Executive. This secret branch of the British government was formed to conduct clandestine operations in Nazi-controlled territory. Virginia was sent to France as a journalist and spy. She made contacts in the Vich...

 I inherited a bunch of upper elementary books from my mother-in-law when she left teaching, and it's been my goal to read some of them so I can make recommendations to my own kids. I keep thinking these little books will only take me an afternoon, but here I am two months after starting it finally finishing it. Moose Flannagan lives on Alcatraz Island. He's not a prisoner, but his father works at the prison, and so the family lives right there on the Island next to the cons. Moose's sister has been ten for five years in a row. They've tried to find help for her mental condition, and their last choice is a school for similar children. The family has relocated to Alcatraz to be able to afford the school. Moose meets the other Alcatraz children, including the willey Piper, the daughter of the warden. Piper hatches many schemes, one of which is to get the kids at school to pay them to get their clothes laundered by the cons including the infamous Al Capone. Can they actual...

 I feel a little like I read this out of order a bit. I picked up The Hobbit  after I started The Lord of the Rings  trilogy because I didn't realize that it too had been recorded by Andy Serkis. I thoroughly enjoyed his reading of the novel. I had never read The Hobbit . I had only seen the Peter Jackson films. While I loved The Lord of the Rings , I found myself loving The Hobbit  films less. From the community reactions to those films when they came out, I knew that Jackson had embellished the story. I finally dug into the novel to find out how much. Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit: respectable, normal, and non-adventerous. Gandalf is a wizard who decides to change all of that. After meeting Bilbo in the Shire one morning, Gandalf secretly invites 12 dwarves to come to Bilbo's house. Once there, they discuss plans to reclaim their ancestral home: The Lonely Mountain. The Mountain is now home to Smaug, the dragon, and they need a burgler to help them find the dragon's we...

 I finally finished The Lord of the Rings  trilogy! I listened to this one as an audiobook as well, and loved Andy Serkis as the narrator for this novel. The Return of the King  finishes the story of the One Ring. Frodo and Sam continue their perilous journey to Mordor. Gollum leads them into the lair of Shelob, the ancient, giant spider. There, Sam narrowly escapes, while Frodo is pierced by her venom. Thinking him dead, Sam vows to continue Frodo's mission on his own. He takes some of Frodo's belongings, including the Ring. He watches as Frodo is taken further into Mordor by Orcs who proclaim that he isn't dead. Sam rescues Frodo, and they proceed on through Mordor. They reach the volcano, where the ring is destroyed. Meanwhile, their other friends are defending Middle Earth from the onslaught of Mordor. Minas Tirith is attacked, and Gandalf works to protect it. He is joined by Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli with the army from Rohan. Once the Ring is destroyed and Mordor c...

This review contains massive spoilers for the original trilogy as well as The Lost Metal . Read with caution!  I love Mistborn ; it's one of my favorite Sanderson series. I bought this book as a standalone, but I think it appears in some of Brandon's novella collections as well, maybe Arcaneum Unbound (don't quote me on that). Kelsier died at the hands of the Lord Ruler in a vain attempt to assassinate the god. Or did he? Secret History  follows the story of Kelsier after he was stabbed by the Lord Ruler on that fateful day. Too stubborn to die, Kelsier instead lingers, finally convincing the shard of Perserverence that he should instead survive. The Shard binds him to Ruin's power as well, trapping Kelsier in Ruin's prison until the day that Vin released him. Can Kelsier help Vin? Can he become more than a spirit? This book was amazing. I love Kelsier's story so much, and I always thought that Brandon killed him off too early. Turns out he didn't end up dyi...