Hush (Hush, #1) by Dylan Farrow

In the world of Hush, ink, the suspected origin of a deadly plague, has been declared the enemy of humankind and outlawed. The keepers of the law, High House and its magical soldiers called bards, roam the world, rooting out those who break the law and rewarding those who bend to their will.

“Our history shows that vigilance and caution are tantamount to survival. Burn the ink from the page. Turn away from forbidden words, toxic tales, and deadly symbols. Cleanse the country of this malignant blight. Join us.”

Shae lost her brother to the mysterious plague early in her life and her family has been outcast from her small village since. When tragedy once again darkens her family’s doorstep, what will Shae do not only to seek justice for her brother but, potentially, the whole world?

The premise of Hush had some interesting ideas, but this debut, young adult novel suffers from wooden characters and predictable plot twists.

“The Bards arrive today.” The Bards. Suddenly I feel as though the house has been encased in ice. The town elders say there’s power in words- that certain phrases can change the world around you.”

Weakness in the character development aside, Shae is a strong protagonist who struggles to create her own reality which differs quite markedly from the reality that her small town has imagined for her. Teens might connect with her more strongly than I did, which is to say, not at all.

I’m not sure what it was. Maybe I’m suffering from YA dystopian reading burnout?

Instead of appreciating Shae for her flaws which include falling in love too quickly, trusting everybody and pushing all her friends away the moment she could really use their help, I found myself annoyed with her.

“I spent countless nights lying awake, staring at the austere wooden beams of the ceiling, trying to figure out if I was mad or cursed- or both.”

Be smarter, I thought. The odds are stacked against you, and you need to pay attention, not fall for the first stranger you meet who has a dreamy pair of eyes.

But as I said, I’m definitely not the intended audience for the book.

Here’s the author, Dylan Farrow, talking about Hush:

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy. And thank you for reading!

Fancy AF Cocktails: Drink Recipes from a Couple of Professional Drinkers by Ariana Madix, Tom Sandoval, Danny Pellegrino

I’m not a reality tv watcher. I have no idea what show these two are from, but I’m not going to let that keep me from giving credit where credit is due.

These folks know how to make a seriously fancy cocktail.

The sections of this book of drink recipes are divided into “classy,” “trashy,” “shots,” and “recovery,” which aren’t all that useful when it comes to drink classifications, but plays right into their reality show vibe.

The index at the back of the book that divides each cocktail by the spirit used in it is far more helpful and appealed to the librarian in me.

Brief autobiographical stories and recollections from the authors are included on nearly every page.

I imagine readers who have enjoyed the television show the authors feature on may enjoy it more, but I do enjoy a tell-all memoir. Of course it depends on who it’s about, but for some starlets or rock stars, I consider the tell-all memoir to be the book equivalent of mindless reality television.

The photography of Fancy AF Cocktails is a work of art. The authors are, in fact, quite fancy but the real stars of this book show are the drinks. I suggest page 95, “Salty New Yorker,” with its garnish of a caramel chocolate as exhibit one, closely followed by page 59, “Alchemy Rose,” and the hearts etched into its foam as exhibit two.

Highly recommended for readers looking to up their cocktail A-game. Thanks for reading!

More Tales of the City (Tales of the City, #2) by Armistead Maupin

“For all her trials, she loved it here in San Francisco, and she loved her makeshift family at Mrs. Madrigal’s comfy old apartment house on Barbary Lane.” pg 11, ebook

All of the characters whom readers loved from the first book (Tales of the City) are back and mixing things up in San Francisco. This soap opera-ish fictional series remains as fast-paced in its second installation as it was from the start.

Mary Ann is still working for Halcyon Communications, which is under new leadership, and has to face a new set of challenges. That’s not even mentioning the dark memories she’s trying to forget about a certain former boyfriend, or two.

Michael Tolliver, called Mouse by his friends, is still on the look out for love after a disastrous semi-relationship in the last book.

Mona Ramsey, the free spirit, is about to uncover another major secret about her past. She can add it all of the other ones she’s picked up…

“And she was- she believed- the only one who knew Mrs. Madrigal’s secret. That knowledge, moreover, formed a mystical bond between the two women, an unspoken sisterhood that fed Mona’s soul on the bleakest of days.” pg 18

There’s a pregnancy, romantic cruise, conspiracy, secret club and more in this installment. A must-read for any fan of the series.

“I want it too badly, Mary Ann. Any idiot can see that. When you want it too badly, no one wants you. No one is attracted to that… desperation.” pg 129

One criticism I had for this book, the same I had for the last one, is in the highly unlikely coincidences contained in many of the plot twists. It seems to me that in a city the size of San Francisco, the dozen or so main characters would be more likely to run into other people than each other.

But, like most works of fiction, I suppose it’s fine to suspend your disbelief on some points.

As for the rest of the book, I would describe it as compulsively readable. It’s almost like book candy, you can’t stop at just reading one. I certainly couldn’t.

And, with that, it’s on to the next one…

Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel

“A clearly defined medieval book has a unique personality, and part of what we have been doing in our visits to collections has been to engage with manuscripts as individuals and to discover what they can tell us, which can be learned from nowhere else.” pg 569

Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts is more than a scholarly look at medieval manuscripts. It is a book for anyone who appreciates the intersection of art, history, politics, religion, and the rediscovery of forgotten things.

Readers learn about the tremendous amount of materials and effort that went into creating the manuscripts as well as why they were created, and for whom. These details are incredibly revealing.

“The 1,030 leaves of the Codex Amiatinus would have utilized skins of 515 calves or young cattle.” pg 82

Christopher de Hamel attempts to trace the history of the books from their creation to the present. He visits libraries and museums across the world, relating stories of gorgeous buildings and caretakers both cautious and casual.

“The Book of Kells is so precious and so immediately recognizable that Bernard explained that it would be inappropriate to allow it into the reading-room.” pg 102

De Hamel has chosen twelve books from different centuries. As the reader progresses through time, the development of binding techniques, art, layout styles and more unfolds before her eyes. It is like viewing a series of snapshots about humanity, revealed through manuscripts.

A majority of the books are about religion, others war, and still others are concerned with the movement of the stars through the sky. Curiously, at least to this modern reader, the books weren’t necessarily created for the purpose of reading.

“Gospel was a work of art. It was a sacred object and a tangible symbol of divinity, enclosed in a cumdach, for sanctifying a church, for carrying in processions, for swearing oaths, and for veneration. … Mere reading was secondary.” pg 128

My favorite part of Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts is the photo of the cover of each manuscript at the beginning of each chapter and the pictures of the pages scattered throughout the text.

“Those who meet famous people often remark afterwards how unexpectedly small the celebrated personage was in reality.” pg 17

This is a book that celebrates bibliophilia. The author lovingly describes what it feels like to handle the manuscripts, critiquing the art and admiring the meticulous calligraphy. He makes you feel like you were there too.

One small criticism, this is a dense read and though de Hamel does his utmost to make the topic accessible, occasionally it ventures into the niche, though fascinating, world of medieval manuscript scholarship. But he never veers too far from the path.

Highly recommended for book lovers everywhere. If you liked this book, you might also want to try Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World.

And thanks for reading!

Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity by Felicia Day

Embrace Your Weird is a non-fiction and self help manifesto encouraging creativity and told in Felicia Day’s unmistakably humorous way.

I say “unmistakable” for any of her myriad fans who have watched her ground-breaking web series, “The Guild,” or read another of her books like You’re Never Weird on the Internet. Her tone and sense of humor remains the same.

And if you haven’t had the chance to enjoy any of Day’s other creations, I encourage you to give them a try. They’re light-hearted and fun.

“Aside from (over)sharing a lot of my opinions, I have filled this book with exercises designed to uncover the joy of creativity. To help people beat back the fear that keeps them from trying new things.” pg xi

On almost every other page, Day encourages readers to stop a moment and draw a picture, fill out a list, or write empowering messages over and over so that they’ll sink in. The act of reading this book is nearly a creative act in and of itself. (Sadly, I couldn’t do this because I was reading a library book. Suggestion for future readers: buy yourself a copy.)

“No, I don’t think creativity is a cure-all. But I do believe it could be a cure-most.” pg 29

Besides reminding readers that we have unique voices and viewpoints that the world needs to hear, Day loosely structures the rest of the book off of life viewed as a game. She asks us to remember our “hero-self,” identify “enemies” and “allies” of our creativity, and to view the steps we take towards creation as “quests.”

Day also shares moments in her life when she’s completed or failed attempting various pieces of this philosophy in her own life.

“I constantly hand my heart over to strangers to batter however they wish, and I wonder why I’m constantly wounded all the time, and this makes me reluctant to create. Good way to operate? NOT REALLY!” pg 143

As I said, the whole book has a definite Felicia Day vibe. And it’s fun!

“Playfulness is the root of all creation. All invention. All discovery. There is no reason NOT to feel joyous when we make things.” pg 206

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Pexels.com

She wasn’t afraid to tackle all sorts of hang-ups people might have in their creative process. Day nailed my biggest issue: finishing projects once they’re started.

“But we will never get anywhere if we don’t focus on one thing at a time. And then see that thing through before moving on!” pg 239

Message received. Now to put it into action…

Recommended for anyone looking to start or jump start their creativity. This book is an excellent place to begin. Thanks for reading!

JOMO: Celebrate the Joy of Missing Out! by Jessica Misener

JOMO or “the joy of missing out” lists “350 plus ways to make staying in more fun than going out.” Unfortunately, a large number of these suggestions included books to read or programs to watch. In my mind, all of those fit into one of two categories, reading or watching television.

“Because skipping a night on the town doesn’t mean you’re missing out on life – you’re just missing out on someone else’s idea of what your life should look like.” pg 7

That being said, there were a few solid suggestions in this book for alleviating boredom. I particularly liked “shower with the lights off” pg 24, “listen to autonomous sensory meridian response videos” pg 47, and “do The New York Times’s 36 questions” pg 127.

The rest of these seemed repetitive, as I mentioned, or uninteresting.

Perhaps this book would have been more enjoyable in the pre-COVID world, when I hadn’t been quarantining at home for months, disappointed with the state of the world and feeling stymied. Maybe I could have gotten into “make a homemade pizza” or “rearrange your furniture.” But things have moved beyond expecting the completion of simplistic tasks to hold the answers to life’s problems, at least for me.

“Host a fondue party,” that appears on the cover of this book, seems like something that happened in another world. Will we ever get back there?

Thanks for reading!

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Before We Were Yours is a historical fiction based on the real and heart-breaking scandal of child kidnappings and paid adoptions from the Tennessee Children’s Home Society.

Children were treated like a type of rare commodity. Sadly, abuse and even death awaited some of the unfortunates who passed through the society. Some of the children taken in had families, but the society acted as if they did not.

As a student of forgotten history, I didn’t want to believe that such things could have happened in the United States and, relatively, recently. But, it’s true.

“The Foss children and the Arcadia were formed from the dust of imagination and the muddy waters of the Mississippi River. Though Rill and her siblings exist only in these pages, their experiences mirror those reported by children who were taken from their families from the 1920s through 1950.” pg 295, ebook

Lisa Wingate tells the story in two different timelines – one in 1939 and the other in the modern day. The earlier story line is by far the most compelling.

Readers meet Rill Foss, one of five children belonging to an itinerant family who live on the Mississippi River in their house boat. Her story begins the night her mother, Queenie, is having trouble delivering a new baby.

When Rill’s father, Briny, takes Queenie to the local hospital for help, something terrible happens to the children they leave behind.

Photo by Maximilian Mu00fcnzl on Pexels.com

Meanwhile in the modern day, Avery Stafford has moved home to help her father, a senator, during his re-election campaign. There are also concerns about her father’s health as well as her upcoming nuptials to organize.

But then she stumbles upon an elderly woman who has a picture that closely resembles Avery’s own grandmother. Could there be a connection between the two?

“Grief and a change of location can often be more than the mind and body can handle.” pg 43, ebook

Of the two stories, the earlier one is far more interesting. Rill is such a strong and indefatigable heroine in her struggle to keep her siblings together. I was enthralled by each chapter narrating her life.

Photo by Kristina Paukshtite on Pexels.com

The Avery portion of the story, on the other hand, was just so predictable. If Before We Were Yours had just been the modern story, this book would hardly have earned a mention from me, let alone netting the Goodreads Choice Award for historical fiction from 2017.

“Life is not unlike cinema. Each scene has its own music, and the music is created for the scene, woven to it in ways we do not understand.” pg 278

Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction as well as book clubs.

In the future, I may pen a History Guy episode about the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. It seems to me that the fate of these poor children, now grown and many departed from this life, is history that deserves to be remembered.

Slutever: Dispatches from a Sexually Autonomous Woman in a Post-Shame World by Karley Sciortino

“Without question, if I weren’t a slutty as I am, my life thus far would have been far less interesting. … But my sluttiness has also been the cause of many existential bathroom-mirror moments.” pg 8, ebook

Karley Sciortino, sex blogger and author, has led a self-described colorful life. It certainly comes through in this tell-all memoir.

Through her experiences, Sciortino has proudly embraced her sexuality and her place in society as a woman who knows what she wants in the bedroom, and takes it. This hasn’t been a simple path.

Part of her struggles are society’s views and programming about “slutty” women.

“It’s a no-brainer that we’re influenced by the people and stories that make up the culture around us. And it’s difficult to cite an example, either real or fictional, of a happy, healthy, promiscuous person – let alone a woman.” pg 8, ebook

The rest of her difficulties seem to stem from a lack of self knowledge or awareness. Sciortino isn’t afraid to tackle any and all issues head on in her own unique way.

“…my goal isn’t to be good or normal or accepted. My goal is to be free. (And maybe also to troll society a bit in the process, for good measure.)” pg 12, ebook

Photo by Nina Uhlu00edkovu00e1 on Pexels.com

It took me a couple chapters to get into this memoir. Sciortino’s writing style is frank to the point it sometimes feels abrasive, but it maintains an honest delivery throughout.

“My biggest revelation of the saga was that group sex is amazing for when you’re drunk, because you can just take a time-out whenever you’re bored or tired and someone else will literally take over for you. Genius.” pg 24, ebook

The early part of the book is fixated on sexual experiences and experimentation. As she delves deeper into her underlying motivations and psychology, Sciortino begins to get to the heart of matters. That’s when I felt this book became worth the read.

She had me asking myself some difficult questions: Why is sexuality such a complex issue? Why should people, in the privacy of their own homes and with proper consent, care what others think?

Why are there different standards for men and women?

And why is sexuality, which can play such a large part of the happiness in our lives, so difficult to talk about? (For some, not Sciortino, obviously.)

Recommended for mature readers who don’t mind a nearly stream-of-consciousness style of writing as well as a thick skin to push through Sciortino’s delivery to get to the meaning behind the words – because there is meaning to be found.

Thanks for reading!

The Dragon Behind the Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World’s Most Coveted Fish by Emily Voigt

The Dragon Behind the Glass documents journalist Emily Voigt‘s descent down the rabbit hole of fish collecting, money, power, and scientific exploration in some of the most remote locations in the world.

“A pair of whiskers juts from its lower lip, and two gauzy pectoral fins extend from its sides, suggesting a dragon in flight. This resemblance has led to the belief that the fish brings prosperity and good fortune, acting as a protective talisman to ward off evil and harm.”

(Fish pictured below is not an arowana.)

Photo by Chevanon Photography on Pexels.com

Though it starts off with a major hook, Voigt takes the reader to a crime scene where a pet store owner appears to have been killed for his shelf of rare fish, the book begins to meander after that and never gets back to the compelling pace of the opening.

That is not to say there aren’t some fascinating history and fish-related trivia tidbits. In fact, the majority of the book consists of that.

“… the keeping of pets reflects our hunger for status symbols, for what the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre called the ‘carnal, clinging, humble, organic, milky taste of the creature,’ which underlies all luxury goods. The modern pet shop first appeared in American cities in the 1890s; and with it began the mass importation of exotic animals from Asia and South America.” pg 21, ebook.

Voigt explores the history of aquariums, pet-crazes throughout history, and the ascendance of the arowana as the pet fish of choice in the East. Complicating matters, the arowana has become incredibly rare in the wild, partially due to its desirability among collectors, but also because of the destruction of its native habitat.

“The most highly coveted – or at least the traditional favorite – is the legendary Super Red, native to a single remote lake system in the heart of Borneo. … As late as 2008, researchers with Conservation International reported that rural Cambodians were still eating greens, even as wild populations plummeted due to over-harvesting for the aquarium trade.” pg 30, ebook

Like other rare and precious commodities, the interest and money surrounding the arowana has led to some shady dealings. I wasn’t too surprised by the alleged criminal activity Voigt describes among collectors. But I was flabbergasted by the fierce competition among some scientists in the rush to catalog and name the increasingly rare fish.

Perhaps that’s naive of me. Scholars jockey for prestige as much as anyone else. I suppose I’ve never stopped to think about it.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

I was also surprised by how many species are out there that science has not studied yet.

“When I first set out to report on the Asian arowana, I figured I would start by finding the researcher studying the species in the wild- only to realize no such person exists. The popular illusion that modern science has the entire living world covered, that there is an expert analyzing every crevice, is far from true.” pg 205, ebook

Recommended for readers who are interested in a detailed study of fish, travel and history. It’s a slow-paced adventure, and not for everyone, but there are some treasures to be found if you stick with it.

Thanks for reading!

The Help Desk Book Blog

Sharing reviews and deep thoughts about life.

Tag: read

Hush (Hush, #1) by Dylan Farrow

More Tales of the City (Tales of the City, #2) by Armistead Maupin

Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel

Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity by Felicia Day

JOMO: Celebrate the Joy of Missing Out! by Jessica Misener

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Slutever: Dispatches from a Sexually Autonomous Woman in a Post-Shame World by Karley Sciortino

The Dragon Behind the Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World’s Most Coveted Fish by Emily Voigt

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