Organic Granny

Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton   My rating: 4 of 5 stars Dolly Parton partnered up with super bestseller writer James Patterson to write this fast-moving story of a young singer-songwriter's arrival and assent in Nashville's country music scene. AnnieLee Keyes is petite, gorgeous, naive, ambitious, and altogether a 'firecracker'. But she also comes with "secrets" and a bag full of demons from her past. The reader will find that the novel is primarily a mystery story with some pretty interesting 'action' as well.  ( Click here or on image left to to to book on Amazon.ca or click here to go to Amazon.com . Because it carries a strong theme of writing music for the country audience, there is also a lot of the "values" innate to that industry: cowboy heroes, no flagged LGBTQ+ characters, identifiable violent villains, some with shotguns, and a stark contrast between the super-rich and the very poor and all that says for the reader niche. There

Where the Light Fell: A Memoir by Philip Yancey My rating: 5 of 5 stars Seeking wisdom from years of so-called Christian sources-- Sunday School, church school, Godly mentors, prayer, Bible study, reading, pondering, Bible College-- does not provide Philip Yancey with an understanding of his family's dysfunction and inability to show and feel love from each other on any kind of ongoing basis. Yancey suggests in a latter chapter of the book that he always knew that someday he would need to write his memoirs, that there would be reconciliation and resolution to the family dilemmas in doing that. I have read Philip Yancey's books over the years, maybe not all 15 of them, but a majority of them. I introduced his writing to a family member and a very dear friend, who is no longer with us on this plane of discovery-- and how I missed discussing this book with her! Every other book had hints of a rocky childhood and a brave dive into areas of spirituality and religion that were ex

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a beautifully written piece of historical fiction. It has all the hallmarks of a classic, like "To Kill A Mockingbird." The voice of a Southern Black woman of the time, a young nurse who matures over the course of the story into a physician, but who was from birth a Black woman of privilege, rings true and irresistible. The story of racist institutional, systemic injustice in 1970s Alabama is echoing today with the reversal of Roe v. Wade. I love all the shades of grey (or tan?) that Perkins-Valdez so skillfully knits into the story. Any preachy moments are brief and functional. The story moves along with elements of mystery, ethical debate, adolescent spirit, and well-developed characterization that is matched with natural, interesting, authentic-sounding dialogue. This book makes one think, and feel. And Valdez-Perkins doesn't cave into predictable outcomes. Can you tell I loved it? View all my