I believe this to be true



June column



Again I apologize for having to close my doors for a few days in May due to family illness. Family has to be my first priority. If you are driving very far please feel free to call first to be sure I am open.

I think I have mentioned before that I have never been a mystery reader. I guess that I am getting hooked, but not to much blood and guts please. I discovered a new author, at least new to me this last month. Ended up reading 3 of her books. Her name is Lisa Unger. Her books are classified as physiological thrillers.

Fragile

by

Lisa Unger

The setting is a small community outside of New York City, where everyone knows everyone and their business. It is a good place to raise children in this warm environment. Some leave to find more excitement but end up coming back. Old high school cliques are never quite forgotten. The students are just mature now and have mature roles to play. When psychologist Maggie Cooper returns with her family and sets up practice, her knowledge of local families give her insight into their lives. Her son's girlfriend disappears and her intuition is useful but also dangerous. There are parallels between this girls disappearance and the abduction of another local girl years before when Maggie was in school. Her husband Jones, local police officer has his own issues with the old case and with his son. When Maggie gets close to the truth she realizes it could tear her family apart. A great ending! A great read!

Darkness My Old Friend

by

Lisa Unger

This is another novel set in the same little community with Jones Cooper, now a semi retired cop back in the picture when he is visited by a psychic to tell him some predictions about his future, some of them dire. Michael, a mysterious young man has returned to seek answers about his mother's disappearance many years earlier, now that his cruel father is dead. He has hired a detective and a psychic to help him find out what happened to her.

Fifteen year old Willow is acting out as she resents being moved to this quiet town with her novelist mother. She has developed a friendship with a daughter of one of her mother's old high school classmates. This new friend has a way of bringing out the worse in Willow and she tendency to run away when things get tough. She witnesses Michael digging what looks like a grave in the woods. The twenty five year mystery of Michaels mother starts to unravel as Jones sees the predictions being fulfilled to his horror.

Black Out

by

Lisa Unger

A very carefully woven mystery about a wealthy suburban housewife named Annie living the perfect live in Florida with her husband Gray, and her daughter Victory. Annie's life begins to unravel when she starts feeling she is being stalked by someone from her past. Someone she has been told many times is dead and can't hurt her. She is seeing a therapist to help her heal from a tragic childhood. Her husband rescued her when she was still a teenage and became her protector. She knows she had a different name and life as Ophelia. But there is so much she can't remember. Under her therapy she starts to piece things together and realizes that maybe some of those closest to her are her enemies. A real psychological thriller that you really don't want to put down or you will forget who and what is real for Annie and what is just in her head. This was a real page turner.

May column



Are you looking for a little gift for someone special? Why not stop in to the book store in Granby and pick up a gift certificate? It can be redeemed for books or hand crafted items.

I have noticed that when I pick out a few books to read for the month that they end up having a general theme that will in someway connect the books. I do not do this intentional but it is just something I noticed. This month two of the books I choose have young teenagers that are learning to make their way in the world. My third book may not meet with approval of some people, but I read a wide variety of books and think that there is something for everyone, so I will report on it and you can decide.

The Secret Life of Bees

by

Sue Monk Kidd

I really love this book and hope to find some more of Kidd's writing soon. The setting is in South Carolina during the 1960's. Lily is 14 years old and carries a burden that she killed her mother when she was only 4. She has grown up with a cold, often abusive father. Her surrogate mother is their black maid, Rosaleen. Lily goes with Rosaleen when she tries to register to vote. (the first time for blacks in the south) Rosaleen gets into trouble and is arrested for spitting tobacco on the shoes of some guys who harass them. Later they come to the jail and beat her up. About this time Lily's father is threatening to do her harm for her involvement so she runs away and manages to sneak Rosaleen out of the hospital where she was taken for sutures. In their flight they end up about 100 miles away. Lily found the name on a picture of a bee keeper that was in the few possessions she had belonging to her mother. They are led to the home of three eccentric black sisters who take them in. Through their love and understanding Lily blossoms and you will have to read the book how the connection to her mother and these three ladies comes about. This book was made into a movie staring Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah. I can certainly see them playing in these roles.

Thirteen Moons

by

Charles Frazier

Did you know there are thirteen moon cycles with 28 days in between? I didn't know that till I was about half way through this book that I figured out how the title fit perfectly.

The setting is in the mid nineteenth century in the raw country of the new America and the edge of what was then the Indian Nation in North Carolina just after the Revolutionary War.

Will Cooper is a 12 years orphan living with relatives, when he is handed a map, keys, and a horse and “sold” into indentured service to find his way to the edge of the Cherokee Nation and run a trading post. The story progresses with his being adopted into the Cherokee Tribe and being a very smart young man who loves to read, he taught himself about the law. As a teenager he found the love of his life who would be an illusive figure throughout his life. He spends most of his life working to protect the rights of his “tribe” even though many where forced to move to Oklahoma. The ones who stayed were legal land owners and he helped them buy up mountain land, establish small towns and industries. As a lawyer and later a Senator, Will goes to Washington City many times to fight to preserve the Cherokee’s homeland and culture. Thirteen Moons is a great novel about a man’s passion for a woman, and how loss, longing and love can shape a man’s destiny over the many moons of a life.

Reincarnation

by

Suzanne Weyn

I like to think that all things are possible. When I read a book like this it resonates with me on a level that many may not agree with. The ultimate historical romance: one love story unfolds over many centuries and many lives.
From prehistory to the present, theirs was a love for the ages. It starts with a fight in a cave over an elusive green jewel . . . and then travels over time and lives to include Egyptian slaves, Greek temples, Massachusetts witch trials, Civil War battlefields, Paris on the eve of World War II, America in the 1960s . . . and a pair of modern-day teenagers. For readers who believe that love is stronger than time or death, this is a great novel suited for young adult reader. Weyn writes other books for teens and young adults.

New life for old stool

Had to share my little creation!  It is a stool that I bought last summer at a garage sale for 2$.  It is solid wood.  Put casters on the "top" making it the bottom, then little boards for shelves and my Watermelen pink paint.  Found the metal top at the Dollar store.  It all works perfect for me to display my table runners that I weave and a few mug rugs.  If I get bored can always find someone to play chinese checkers with me on the table top.


April column



I want to remind my readers that I still have some books by local authors. I have several books written by Randy Turner about the Joplin tornado. I also have several copies of High Grade, a novel by D Lincoln Jones who was born in Granby and grew up in Neosho. He is working on a sequel that I am looking forward to.

Sometimes people come into my store with a book in hand and tell me I just must read this book because they enjoyed it so much. Guess this is just the way it is with people who love to read, we just can't help but want others to find as much joy in reading it as we did.

A book by Barbara Kingsolver is what was shared with me. I read two of her books a couple years ago and reported on them. When I found out the newer book was actually a sequel to an older one I was excited to read it. So I will do a quick review of that first book then follow with this newer one.

The Bean Trees

by

Barbara Kingsolver

A young woman, Taylor, has decided to leave her poor area in Kentucky, sure that there is a better world waiting for her. Her friends are getting married and having babies and she wants none of that. So she takes off in a beat up Volkswagen and ends up in New Mexico where it breaks down next to a tire shop called Jesus Is Lord Used Tires. The woman there takes her in. Ends up this business is a sanctuary for Central American refugees. I forgot to mention that along the way in Oklahoma a woman came up to her car and gave her a 3 year old little girl to save her from the abuse she has endured. The rest of the story is very engaging as she struggles with being a “mother”, makes friends, and learns how new families can be born without giving up the old.

Pigs in Heaven

by

Barbara Kingsolver

This story starts out with Turtle, who is now 6 years old on vacation with her mother Taylor. They are at the Hoover Dam and she is the only one who sees a man fall down a big hole near the dam. You realize right away that there is a very special bond between Mother and daughter. Turtle got her name because of the way she latched on to Taylor when she was 3 years old. The girls aunt just gave her to Taylor in a parking lot in Oklahoma then vanished. Taylor never knew where she came from but was sure she was an Indian child. Through Turtles insistence they find someone to check out this pit and the man is rescued. As a result they become celebrities and a young Cherokee attorney sees them on TV and sets out to find them and reclaim this child who is obviously a “lost” Cherokee who should be returned to tribal family. After meeting with the attorney, Taylor flees to protect her daughter as she knows the emotional damage that will happen if Turtle is taken from her. I love the way the story winds and weaves the lives of Taylor, Turtle, a boyfriend, Taylors mother, and an old Cherokee man who finds his way into their hearts. A terrific ending and I highly recommend Kingsolver books.

Out Stealing Horses

by

Per Petterson

This book was written in Norway and translated for United States publishing. I really liked Petterson's style of writing. It starts out with 67 year old Trond Sanders, who has found a little cottage on a river to live out his life in peace and reflection. He remembers back to 1948 as a young 14 year old growing up along the Norway/Sweden border. His thoughts and feelings as a youth spending summers with his father in a cabin much like the one he has, come back to him with such clarity, then he meets his elderly neighbor and his identity makes him relive the event of that one summer when a new friend. took him out to steal horses. Actually they just pretended to steal them by being stealthy and getting on the horses and riding them across the horse lot. His friend has acted strange all day and later he learns that on the previous day his friend had left a loaded gun in the house and one of his younger brothers picked it up and accidentally killed his twin brother. Trond remembers back to conversations with a friend of his father, who reveals that his father was active in smuggling information during the war. All the lines of this story weave together in the end for an emotional ending that I didn't see coming.

March newspaper column



I wanted to give part of my space this month to this organization. A member gave me this info so I am putting it in exactly as it came to me and I feel it is a very worth while to educate the public about.

Faithful Friends Animal Advocates Inc.is a non profit organization that cares for and finds homes for abandoned and neglected animals in Newton and McDonald Counties. It was started 5 years ago when concerned friends came together, seeing a need for an animal shelter, after the city of Neosho closed it’s animal shelter and sold all animal control products. Organizers decided to build a no-kill shelter in Neosho. After 5 years of fund raising, the new FFAA shelter will hopefully open in May 2014. At this time rescued pets are fostered in homes of caring individuals. There is always a need for more foster homes. If you can help, please call 417-592-2512 or submit an application to foster on the website ffaaneosho.org  FFAA publishes a quarterly newsletter. If you would like to receive one, please submit your name and address information or request via email on line.

Fund raising is a constant need, with the next big event the Second Annual FFAA Spirit Triathlon March 29 2014. Volunteers are still needed to help the morning of the triathlon. Details for triathlon registration and volunteering are available on the FFAA website.

In January, 31 puppies were rescued, along with several adult dogs and cats. Animal adoption days are planned for the first and third weekends of each month, weather permitting. Adoption days are held at Joplin Petsmart, or at the new thrift store. Faithful Friends Animal Advocates opened a thrift store in Neosho, located at 915 W. Harmony Street Suite A-2 telephone # 417-454-4555. Hours of operation are Monday -Friday 10:00-6:00; Saturday 10:00-4:00 and Sunday 1:00-4:00. Donations are welcome at the back of the store M-F 10:00 - 3:00  and Saturdays 10:00-1:00. Please note some items can not be donated, there is a list on the website.

As for the books I have been reading: I guess I am becoming a mystery reader now.

No Time for Goodbye

by

Linwood Barclay

What would you do if you woke up one morning and your house is empty with no trace of your family?

Now imagine you are a 14 year old girl. That was the opening setting for this book. Cynthia woke up with her mother, father, and older brother gone. There was absolutely no evidence of foul play, no note, no goodbye, they had just vanished along with the 2 family cars. The story moves forward to 25 years later when things unravel finally and she starts to learn the truth.
She has started to think she and her daughter are being followed and someone is watching the house. Her patient husband is coming to the end of his rope as he sees his wife coming undone. A clue is that she learns that her father as she knew him never existed as he was leading a double life. A really good mystery with her husband taking a lead role in solving it when the police are unable to.

Never Look Away

by

Linwood Barclay

Another story about the disappearance of a family member that turned out to not be the person that David thought he married and had a son with. David is a small town reporter and when his wife vanishes, as he “looked away” at an amusement park. He becomes the suspect as far as the police can see, as his story just doesn't add up to the facts they have. He ends up finding out that his wife has established a false identification by being his wife as she hid out till the time was right to claim her share of some big money. But the house of cards starts falling apart and in the end a mothers love shines long enough for her to save her son.

The Magdalen

by

Marita Conlon-McKenna

This was a much different pace from the previous mysteries. The setting is in Ireland in the 1950's.

A young girl falls in love with a handsome young man who is new to the coastal fishing town. She ends up pregnant then finds he doesn't want her as he has ambitions to marry an older woman so he can gain control of her farm. Esther's family is ashamed of her and must hide this sin. She is sent to a convent that takes care of unwed mothers and other women of the time who are not able to take care of themselves. This convent is called the Holy Saints Convent and is Dublin. They manage a huge laundry business called the Magdalen Laundry. It was named this because they saw the women they had in their charge as fallen women and they worked long hard hours doing laundry as a punishment as well as a way to have a place to live. The book gives you a look into what it would have been like back in the 50's and the total dependence that women had to be taken care of. If they didn't own property, own a business, or have a husband they were pretty much outcasts. And one small sin on this girls part would make her an outcast even to her own family. Through her months of labors in this laundry she learns she has an inner strength that she will need to stand on her own two feet. She will find a way to learn how to take care of herself and break from the bonds of society and the Church.

February Newspaper column



Brrrr! Crazy weather we have been having. My brother in North Carolina has had very cold weather and snow there. He likes to brag that he left the midwest so he wouldn't have to shovel snow. Well hope he didn't get caught without a shovel.

I have been a member of Friends of the Neosho Newton County Library for over a year, and finally started going to the meetings and meeting folks. What a nice bunch of people and they really do some good work to help the library meet the needs of the community for things that the library can't afford. A couple fund raisers are in the works. One being the nice book bags that are for sale in the library for only 3$. I will carry a few in my book store to sell for them, so stop in and buy a bag, even buy a book or two to put in it. Second being their book sale which has grown to twice a year now. It will be coming up soon and at such good prices so mark your calendar: March 13,14,and 15^th, during library hours. I have applications if anyone is interested in joining or just making a donation.

I have read quite a variety of books this month, from a classic, to a thriller and finally a good fiction by an author that I reported on a couple months ago.

The Pearl

by

John Steinbeck

I have wanted to read this little book for some time, along with more of Steinbeck's books. It is a very simple book of love and greed. This simple fisherman and his family live a very meager existence on the fringe of society. His greatest hope is to find the one Pearl of the World. When he does find the pearl he starts dreaming of how he can better his family with new cloths and be able to send his son to school. The townspeople find out he has the pearl and take advantage of him, trying to steal it when he won't sell it cheap. In the end he is a fugitive and looses what is most important to him due to the greed it made him feel, so the pearl was worthless to him. A great classic that is timeless.

The Vision

by

Dean Koontz

This book found its way into my store recently and was published in 2012, with a nice new cover. At first I thought it was a new book, but as I started reading it I was remembering the events, so looked again and found it was originally written in 1977 and was one of his first books published and yes I had read it a long time ago. I re-read the book and couldn't remember “who done it” till the last chapter. I do have to admit Koontz was laying the plot out to make the husband appear to be the crazed psychopath. It did turn out to be someone close to her and they were after her next. A pretty good read but it didn't have his usual twist of humor that I like. It was a little on the dark side and I think he has definitely improved with age. He even admits in his afterward that is was written when he was young and stupid.

The Invisible Ones

by

Stef Penny

I reported on another book by this author recently, Tenderness of Wolves. I ended up ordering this second book by Penny and I have to say it was my best read in a long time. The setting is in the 50's in

England and is about a private detective, Ray waking up in a hospital bed after being poisoned and he is remembering what lead him there. He had been hired to find Rose, an estranged daughter of a Gypsy family, because he was half Gypsy so would understand their culture. The family that Rose was married into has a curse hanging over their head and possibly some sinister secrets so it is very difficult for Ray to gain their trust to find out what happened to Rose, who has been missing for 6 years. With many twists and turns as the story is told in the voice of Ray and of a young boy named JJ who is part of the Gypsy family. I like the way that Penny draws her characters together then sorts them out to reveal the truth in the end. I found this to be a very good read as I enjoy learning about how other cultures live.

Dorothy Cliff is the owner of Read Again Books