Reviews with TLC

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a written version of Adichie's Tedx Talk about how women's equality uplifts and supports whole communities.  I enjoyed her talk so much I wanted it in written form, so I could read it, ponder it, and keep it on my shelves to references at my convenience.   We Should All Be Feminists drives home the point about how women's rights are as important as men's rights. Adichie explores the myriad variations of inequality and beliefs around feminism. We Should All Be Feminists demystifies the idea of feminism and explains how feminism benefits everyone.

Ancient Illusions by Joanne Pence takes Michael Rempart to his childhood home and then away from home in a thrilling adventure that brings back characters from Ancient Shadows and Ancient Echoes . Pence takes the reader from Cape Cod to the mountains in Idaho to Japan in a search for answers. With dips into mysticism and belief systems that seem at odds with one another, Ancient Illusions blurs the lines between reality and illusion. The characters are interesting and diverse even the ones who aren't exactly likable. Family dynamics, romance, and beliefs clash as supernatural elements wreak havoc on the world around the characters. As in the other books in this series, living in a lifelike illusion creates a dangerous situation for the world at large and it's up to Rempart to find the answer and protect the world by containing the demons seeking to destroy the world using humanity's intense obsession with immortality to manipulate them. Ancient Illusions offers us a gli...

Wild Horse Country: The History, Myth, and Future of the Mustang by David Philipps felt a bit like taking a horseback ride over ever-changing landscapes. One minute I was floating high on the beauty of the horses running wild. The next I was infuriated by the policies that seemingly have been poorly conceived and even more poorly implemented. I enjoyed the in-depth discussion of the history of the horse and the horse's evolution. Philipps goes to such lengths to explore the plight of the horses, the effect of the horses on the environment, the frustration of the ranchers regarding the horses, and the attempts of the Bureau of Land Management to manage the horses that at times it's hard to discern fact from opinion and reality from mythology. As a horse lover, an animal lover, it's hard for me to imagine and feel anything but annoyance with those who have such intense disdain toward wild horses. As Philipps highlights massive corruption and cruelty toward the horse that a...

How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson is a delightful book of poetry that offers a glimpse into 1950s America through the life of Nelson and her family. Nelson's poetry tells a story that engaged me, made me think, and touched my heart so much I often found myself looking forward to my nightly poetry reading, thinking about the poems throughout the day, and reading more than my allotted number of poems per day. Nelson pulls words together into poetry that weaves world events, American society, interracial relations, and family together with finesse and honesty. How I Discovered Poetry is as much about discovering life as it is about discovering poetry.

Robert Crais delivers again in The Promise. His writing always brings crime fiction to life and drops the reader right into the middle of the action with characters that the reader wants to know better with each book in the series. The Promise is no different. Crais weaves current events, worldwide issues, and a mother's grief together in a suspenseful tale that keeps the reader engaged even during the parts of the story that demand a suspension of disbelief.  Once again, the chapters from the dog's point of view added an extra depth to the story that enhances all the other chapters. The Promise keeps its promise to explore injustice and exact justice.