Tag: book-reviews

Books · Hobbies

Reading just for fun

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Since Easter in early April this year, I’ve been reading for fun. Here are a couple of books I finished and why you should read them:

When in Rome

The first one I picked up was a gift from my sister-in-law for Christmas. Boy, does she *get* me. This charming rom-com, “When in Rome” by Sarah Adams, featured a stressed-out pop singer (think Taylor Swift) who was hooked on Audrey Hepburn movies, especially Roman Holiday. When Audrey’s character had too much to cope with, she escaped to Rome, Italy. When the lead character in the book, singer Rae Rose took off for the nearest Rome she could find to her home in Nashville – Rome, Georgia. Of course, there she meets the charming and handsome single man, unlucky in love, who is carrying on tradition by running the family pie shop. You can guess it all from there – it’s a delightful combination of Roman Holiday and every Hallmark movie. Plus Rae’s witchy manager who makes her life a torment!

The Guest List

Next up was another gift from my sister-in-law, and again, she did not disappoint. “The Guest List” by Lucy Foley was a Reese’s Book Club pick as well as a New York Times bestseller. This mystery keeps you guessing until the last chapter – the person you think will be killed isn’t. And the person you think did it, didn’t. Set on an island off the coast of Ireland, the scene is a celebrity destination wedding. The bridesmaid, the plus-one, the best man, and the wedding planner all have secrets. And the bride and groom both have character flaws that are slowly revealed through the story. This is a fascinating thriller in the style of Agatha Christie.

Sex and Vanity: A Novel

Lastly, I read a book that wasn’t nearly as trashy as the title makes it sound: “Sex and Vanity: A Novel” by Kevin Kwan, the author of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy. This one starts with a wedding also – but this time on the fashionable island of Capri. Half the fun is the description of the lavish, over-the-top, week-long wedding celebration of a high-society couple. All the parties, bridal shower, special concert and pre-wedding activities are lovingly detailed, as well as the wedding itself. Kwan grew up in the rich Singaporean society he wrote about in his Crazy Rich series, so he speaks from authority when he addresses the clothes, hobbies, and preoccupations of the one percent. One amusing aspect: when each character is introduced in the narrative, Kwan gives the person’s educational background, starting with exclusive primary school and private secondary school, then on to top league college and grad school. It’s a fluffy look at how the creme de la creme live, play, and spend the money. And of course, there’s a happy ending. It’s like indulging in a delightful chocolate bon bon!

Books

Let’s read others’ body language

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Consider these situations: A CEO is across the table from negotiating with a peer for the best terms in a merger. A mother is questioning her teenage son about where he was the night before. An HR rep is interviewing a new prospect.

Every one of these people wants to know what the other person is thinking.

They’d have no problems if they read Joe Navarro’s “What Every Body Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People.” This book not only shows you how to read the clues when someone is being dishonest, but it also teaches how to maintain situational awareness, and maybe even win a poker game or two.

The limbic brain in action

Navarro and his co-author begin with an explanation of the brain, and how our most primitive brain – the limbic brain – is responsible for most of our body language. We’re responding to situations with the most basic of impulses without thinking: freeze, flight, or fight.

This book is filled with examples of body cues Navarro learned from his 25-year career in the FBI. These memorable vignettes are liberally placed through the book, and along with numerous photos demonstrating each body position, help break up the text chock full of citations. Some of the scenarios are ones you can practice immediately.

And – the one area of the body which is the most “honest” part? The part of the body that cannot but help but give you away if you are lying? It’s not your face. A trained poker player can master their face. No, the answer will surprise you. And I’m not giving it away here – go get the book

Books

An Attack on Us

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Is it possible the United States could face the same kind of danger here at home that many countries have experienced? What if Israel’s 10/7 happened here? Most importantly, is that plausible?

Kurt Schlichter thinks so. This author, attorney and commentator released a short novel on Jan. 8 that says yes, it could happen here, all too easily. “The Attack” takes the current national security weak points that everyone knows about and yet no one does anything about, the porous border and an ineffectual government response, and draws the tale out to a logical conclusion. If there is no real border, and thousands of undocumented, unverified, *unvetted* people are moving across each day, hundreds of jihadi could be slowly positioning themselves for an attack. With one phone call they could be activated to strike at once. As Kurt points out in his novel, it’s quite an enhancement when the leaders don’t have to do any command. Jihadis eager to kill as many and welcoming death will cause significant chaos without any fancy plans or leadership.

The novel suggests an event that spreads to touch nearly all Americans. During 9/11, most of the country was untouched physically. Imagine an attack designed to be so vast that no one section of the country could look on in horror, and reassure themselves, that kind of thing happens only in New York or Washington. I remember during 9/11 reassuring my roommate that terrorists weren’t coming to our small town – and being fairly certain I was right. In the novel, one statistician estimated that 84% of Americans knew someone personally who had been killed. Ninety-eight (98)% knew someone who knew someone who was killed. That impact is the kind which remakes country.

Kurt wrote “The Attack” in just three short months after the October 7 attack in Israel. The man is known for turning out a novel each year in his Kelly Turnbull series, on top of his regular day job, but this is impressive even for him. A publishing house approached him about doing a non-fiction work, but another friend persuaded him to turn it into fiction.

The story takes the form of an oral history, with “The Author” interviewing witnesses and participants in the attack five years later. Kurt structures the interviews into before, during each of the three days of the attack, and after. Each story is a short chapter. The “interviewees” range from those cartel members who facilitated the transfer of jihadis and weapons, housewives and mothers who survived attacks on their families, orphans who saw their families killed in front of them, to historians cataloguing the events. It is hard to read, but the story is so fascinating you are compelled to read on.

And it is all too possible. Pray that such an event never happens here.