Rising Tide, John M. Barry

 

Rising Tide: The great Mississippi flood of 1827 and how it changed America by John M. Barry

Started: August 13, 2026

Completed: September 20, 2026

Recommendation: Recommended

Recommended By: Nobody, found it at a library sale

Media: Audio

Review:

This is an interesting book on several levels.  It is interesting to hear about the efforts to reduce flooding along the Mississippi.  It is interesting to see how communities rallied or failed in response to the flood.  It is also striking how quickly racism of all forms was a common part of every day at that time.  Now, it is simply less common.

Daughters of the Sun and Moon, Lisa See

 

Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See

Started: September 11, 2026
Completed: September 20, 2026
Recommendation: Not recommended
Recommended By: Nobody
Media: Audio

Words for which I sought help:

perspicacity -- the mental ability to see through confusion, understand situations quickly, and make very accurate judgements

Review:

The mental and physical abuse described in this novel are constant.  While I see the value in terms of understanding the suffering of the Chinese women of this time in early California, the violence in this book was something that I really disliked.  It just is not for me.  Torture scenes that simply make things worth rather than forwarding the plot seem unnecessary unless the point is to talk about torture.  I wish I had known that this book focused on a massacre and the unbelievable suffering of these women before I picked it up.

A Trade of Blood, Robert Jackson Bennett

 

A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett

Started: September 3, 2026
Completed: September 11, 2026
Recommendation: Highly recommended
Recommended By: Nobody, just love the series
Media: Audio

Review:

It is impressive how Bennett drives a whole fantasy series on how an empire is fed.  This is not just an impressive feat in and of itself, but it is also revealing about our own society and our own world.  Really a great book in a great series.

Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay

 

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay has been in my books to read for so long, I cannot remember why it is there.

Started: August 8, 2021
Completed: September 3, 2026
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Media: ebook/audio

Review:

This book took me forever.  It is a good book.  The beginning is slow and I often grab ebooks when I am sitting in line or just have a minute or two.  This book had a huge cast of characters and an epic story line.  It was just too much to do in dribs and drabs.  When I switched to the audio book, things progressed nicely.  It still wasn't fast because there was so much to remember that I found myself going back and relistening.  In the end, however, having this book on audio meant that I could actually spend time on the story instead of rereading.