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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2336 KP) rated Apple Cider Slaying in Books

Nov 3, 2019  
Apple Cider Slaying
Apple Cider Slaying
Julie Anne Lindsey | 2019 | Mystery
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Death of a Neighbor Complicates Winnie’s Plans
The apple orchard that Winnie Montgomery calls home, along with her Granny, is having financial issues, and she is looking for ideas to save it. The idea she is most excited about is turning a barn on the property into a cider shop. She just needs a loan from the bank to be able to do the renovations. However, the meeting with the loan officers doesn’t turn out well when they find the body of Nadine during their tour of the facilities. The police are looking at Granny as their prime suspect since she and Nadine fought on a regular basis. With Granny’s freedom and the fate of the family orchard on the line, can Winnie figure out what really happened?

I always pick up the debut in a new series with hopes for a great read. I had more of a mixed reaction to this book. The plot was uneven, with what should have been sub-plots taking over for pages at a time and leaving me wondering when we’d get back to the mystery. The mystery was driven more by events than Winnie uncovering clues, but those events did draw me into the book, especially since I had come to care for the characters. I loved Winnie, Granny, and the rest of the cast. This was really driven home to me in the second half when an event made me gasp and read a little longer than I had intended that day. The timeline was fuzzy, which always bugs me. However, the book is set during the beginning of the Christmas season, and I loved how that season added to the coziness of the book. The four recipes at the end sound delicious, and yes, one of them is for cider. Julie Anne Lindsey also writes under the names Jacqueline Frost and Bree Baker, and I know she has a large fan base under all of those names. While I find this book uneven, I think this fantastic case of new characters will draw in many readers to this series.
  
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Natasha Khan recommended Negro Prison Blues and Songs by Alan Lomax in Music (curated)

 
Negro Prison Blues and Songs by Alan Lomax
Negro Prison Blues and Songs by Alan Lomax
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I first heard Alan Lomax's work while I was at university. I did music with visual art and film, but luckily at that time, it was just before this tutor left that had run it for 25 years, and he was quite old school but great because it was still fairly shambolic as a course and there was some good soulful stuff. Alan Lomax did lots and lots of field recordings around America and archived folk, blues and negro music and porchstep music. This particular album is when he went to Mississippi and Louisiana state penitentiaries and documented the prisoners as they were working in cotton fields. They've got music in their blood and that's what came through, I think. It's just absolute badass, amazing rhythms and there's a sort of sex to the music - they're singing about [sings] "be my woman and I'll be your man!", because they're obviously randy as hell and stuck in a fucking prison and working under really difficult conditions in the heat. There are different tracks where you can hear a load of axes and chains, and they would sing along to the axes hitting the stone, choirs of beautiful voices of men. 'Old Alabama's a really good one and 'Rosie' and what's so interesting is that I would listen to that and instantly there'd be a spider diagram going out. PJ Harvey on To Bring You My Love's 'Goodnight', she just stands there with a stick and hits it and there's a guy doing slide guitar. Moby, embarrassingly, sampled loads of it for free. Nick Cave and loads of artists I've loved, you just see bits of it in their music, it's that deep, dark, gothic soul, blues music. This is the raw, concentrated, original bit. There's a kind of spiritual rawness to it, they're spiritual songs about missing love and family. "I'll spend the rest of my days in these four stone walls." The fact that this mad white guy from somewhere decided to go and capture all of these voices - I know there are a lot of rights issues surrounding Alan Lomax, but I think just in terms of being an archivist, I think a lot of that stuff would've been completely lost, so it's great."

Source
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated This is Home in Books

Sep 26, 2019  
This is Home
This is Home
Lisa Duffy | 2019
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Libby lives with her father, Bentley (Bent to nearly everyone) and their oversized, lazy dog Rooster Cogburn. And then there's also her Aunts Lucy and Desiree, who live in the apartment above them. And now there's Quinn. Quinn's husband John and Bent served together in Iraq. Bent invites Quinn to live in the basement apartment after John goes missing, suffering from PTSD. Libby feels the place is crowded enough already. And Quinn's not too thrilled to be there either. But, before either of them realize it, they are thrust together and slowly become friends.

This is one of those quiet, unassuming books that sneaks up on you, pulling you in with its beautiful writing and wonderful characters. There's no wild plot, insane mystery, or major twist--just elegant prose, a troubled cast, and some real and raw moments that will stick with you long after you finish the last page. Lisa Duffy is an excellent writer, and I so enjoyed her book.


"He'd come home from from the war a different person. A stranger to her. Someone she moved around carefully, gently, as if he were a bomb, ready to explode."


There is a lot going on here--the aftermath of war; family issues; a budding teen romance; marriage problems--but it all works. Libby and Quinn each tell their own story, and as their lives begin to intertwine, it's very heartwarming to watch each come into their own a bit. They each have their own unique voice, and it's hard not to fall for both of them. Libby, especially, tugged at my heart. (But I loved Quinn, too!)

There is, of course, darkness here. This novel offers a very thoughtful exploration of the aftermath of war, not only on the soldiers, but those who love them. It's not always an easy read, but I think it's a valuable one. It gives a very unwavering look at the PTSD these men and women face and how it can not only can ruin them, but their families as well.

Overall, I found this to be an excellent and poignant read, and I'm sorry I let it sit on my Kindle so long. Easily 4+ stars.