Unorthodox

Non- Fiction Genre:  Unorthodox The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots A Memoir by Deborah Feldman.

I was raised in a Jewish home but nothing like the way Devoireh was raised by her Bubby and Zeidy. We did not speak Yiddish in the home, my mother never shaved her head and I did not  have to be covered up the way Satmer sect of Hasidic Judaism did.  I was familiar with the practice of men and women sitting separately in Shul but as there was no balcony women were not as separate.

I was not familiar with all the practices of this sect and realize that I probably would have been a rebel as Deborah was.  I was lucky and never had to hide books and went to co-ed schools - both public and Hebrew Schools.  Deborah had to hide the English books she brought home.  I did not have my parents find a matchmaker for me when I was 17 and did not marry until over age thirty.

I did not know a lot of about Hasidic Jews before reading this book.  I watch television, listen to the radio, drive and have a college education.  Education was valued in my family.  Deborah did not even get a regular diploma from high school.  She was expected to have lots of children and keep house for her husband.

Deborah is attending Sarah Lawrence College and appeared on the View the day her book was allowed to be sold.  She is a very independent woman and a well spoken one.  This book is easy to read and I will be lending it to some of my friends to read.

 

Along Came A Spider

Dr. Alex Cross is at the beginning of Along Came A Spider Deputy Chief of Detectives of the Washington (D.C.) Police Department. His doctorate is in psychology, he plays piano, has two children and has been a widower for three years. He has lived with his grandmother, Nana Mama since he was eight years old. He is known as Peanut Butter Man by those who go to the soup kitchen at St. Anthony's Church where he helps two or three days a week.

Two students are kidnapped from the Washington Day School in Georgetown by their mild-mannered math teacher, Gary Swoneji or as the kids call him "Mr. Chips." Maggie Rose is the daughter of a movie actress and Shrimpie Goldberg, who is Maggie's best friend, and the son of the secretary of the treasury. This happens right after a family of three is brutally murdered in the projects of D.C. Gary wants to be noticed and get as much publicity as the kidnapper of the Lindbergh baby as he has killed over a hundred times. Shrimpie is found dead and an attempt by Dr. Cross to deliver a ransom goes wrong. Later, one of the teachers from the Day School is also murdered.

Can the psychologist outmaneuver the psychopath. Is Maggie Rose alive or dead? Will he be able to solve the murder of the black family?

I must admit that I saw the movie before I read this book.  The movie and the book are both very riveting.  My husband and I had to see the end of the movie before we were ready to go out.  The book held my attention also.  The movie did not spoil the ending of the book in any way.  In fact. I called my bookstore as soon as I could to see if they had the book.  It took me around a week to read the over 400 pages of the book. I gave it five stars in Goodreads.

 

Drama Mystery Genre

A Nun In The Closet by Dorothy Gilman

The Abbey of St. Tabitha has seventeen nuns living there in Pennsylvania.  It has been in PA since 1955 and lived by the rules of St. Benedict and would never appeal for funds.  Mother Clothilde had come from Switzerland and was jointed by eighteen American sisters.  Unfortunately, Mother Clothilde and Sister Emma died from serum hepatitis within a week of digging out a septic tank.  No new nuns joined them.

The health food craze saved the nuns as their homemade bread became very popular in the nearby community.  Out of the blue, the sisters inherit some property from Joseph Moretti who was a total stranger to them.  The property is located in upper New York State, a few hundred miles from the Abbey.  They take a vote and Sister John is elected to go see the property.  She chooses Sister Hyacinthe to go with her.  Sister Hyacinthe knows how to use herbs, weeds and ground nuts to make dinner and as the book progresses other useful things.

When they get to the property, they find there is electricity working but no water.  They go down a path from the house and find a well.  They meet Brill and Naomi who have been camping on the property.  They are part of a group that lives off the land and eventually will be a great help to the nuns.  The Sisters, alone again, discover a suitcase of money which has been hidden in the well.  They take it into the house and here a noise and find a man upstairs who has been shot.  He asks for  sanctuary.  This man soon becomes Sister Ursula, the Nun in the Closet.  The house has a hidden passageway and a wine cellar.  There is also this substance in the pantry's sugar jars that isn't sugar.

Before the book ends, the Sisters learn who Mr. Moretti was and his connection to the Abbey, what the substance was in the jars and the real identity of Sister Ursula.  The townspeople, the "hippies", and migrant workers are help the Sisters before they return to the Abbey.

It is easy for the reader to guess what the white substance is and to know that some of the people they meet are not all they seem to be.  It is much harder for the Sisters as they are not aware of all the reader is.  This is the second non-Mrs Pollifax book, I have read and enjoyed as much as the Mrs. Pollifax books.  I feel others will enjoy them also.

What An Animal Reading Challenge V

The What an Animal Reading Challenge IV ends at the end of this month on February 29th. Our new challenge will begin on March 1, 2012 and end on February 28, 2013. The rules are really simple...
1. Read at least 6 books that have any of the following requirements:
 a. there is an animal in the title of the book
 b. there is an animal on the cover of the book
 c. an animal plays a major role in the book
 d. a main character is (or turns into) an animal (define that however you'd like).
2. The animal can be any type of animal (real or fictitious)--dog, cat, monkey, wolf, snake, insect, hedgehog, aardvark...dragon, mermaid, centaur, vampire, werewolf...you get the idea...

3. Challenge runs from March 1, 2012 to February 28, 2013. That’s a full year to read at least 6 books (you can read more if you’d like). You can still sign up after March 1st as long as you can get 6 books read by February 28, 2013)
4. Books can be fiction or nonfiction.

5. You may make a list of books at the beginning of the challenge or you can just list them as you find them.

6. Book titles may be swapped out at anytime (assuming you made a list to begin with).

7. Crossovers with other challenges are permitted and encouraged.

8. You don't have to have a blog or write a review, but you can if you want to.
 If you don't have a blog, just post in the comment section that you'd like to join. You can post your books in there.
9. Books can be in any format of your choice (print, audio,   ebooks)

My Books read are:
1.  Skull and Dog Bones by Melissa Cleary
2.  Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich
3.  Copy Cat Crimes by Karen Ann Wilson
4.  Hounding the Pavement by Judi McCoy
5.  Death in Show by Judi McCoy (love this dog walker series)
6.  Allergic to Death by Peg Cochran
7.  Double-Booked For Death by Ali Brandon

Wicked Winter Readathon

I finish Plum Lovin' and read A Bride for Tom (Smashwords) actually before I officially joined.  I finished Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton which took Friday night and Saturday morning.  I also read 5 chapters of Along Came A Spider.  I am hoping to finish Dorothy Gilman's, A Nun in the Closet before the end of the readathon.  Which is not bad for someone who is not feeling well.

I did finish Dorothy Gilman's book.  I wrote a tease for the teaser challenge and my ball challenge is in another blog post.  I hope to read more of Along Came A Spider before readathon is over and read In Search of Sasquatch next.

Wicked Winter Ball

I like this dress from Nancy Drew Captive Witness for the Winter Ball.

And my crush was always Leslie Nielson.

A Bride for Tom

A Bride for Tom is a free Smashwords book by Ruth Ann Nordin. Jessica Reynolds is at a dance with her best friend Margaret. Her fiance, Peter, was not there. Tom Larson is very clumsy and does not seem to be able to talk to women. Jessica decides she should help him learn what he needs so he can find a bride. She decides to invite him to her home and teach him how to dance. When Tom kisses Jessica, she has a very pleasant reaction. Afterwards, she asks Peter to kiss her and does not have such a great reaction. Jessica eventually realizes that she is not in love with Peter. She breaks of her engagement and waits for Tom to ask her to marry him.

Plum Lovin' Mini Challenge

Plum Lovin' is a Between-the-Numbers Novel in the Stephanie Plum books as there is no number in the title. Bond enforcement is slow in February and Stephanie only has one person to find. Diesel is looking for a Bernie Beaner but Beaner is looking for Annie Hart, who is the person Plum is looking for. Unfortunately, Diesel has Annie who will only stay in hiding if Diesel helps with her caseload. Annie is a relationship expert and Stephanie has to help five people have a great Valentine's Day. Stephanie manages to help the five people have their great Valentine's Day and even clears Annie of the original charges against her. Since I am originally from Philadelphia it is interesting to see that one of the bridges is now the Warren Street Bridge. This book is a wonderful introduction to Ms. Plum even though it only has Joe Morelli, her cop boyfriend call her and mentions Ranger in passing. I think that I want to read more about this character. I will consider this a 5 star book when I add it to my Goodreads shelf.