The Sagebrush Singers

Kernecker, Herb. The Sagebrush Singers. Reno, Nev.: Humboldt American, 2014.

This is a retelling of the story of the Bremen Town Musicians with a southwestern American setting. A burro, a coyote, a skunk, and a crow head toward town to sing when they come across a band of rustlers. While I prefer the original story, this one should be entertaining for children. The illustrations are done by noted illustrator James Watts although they are not his best work. Although the book was released on May 15, the website advertised in the book has not been updated with the music and other features that were promised. Although the target audience is age 5 and up, I think  younger children would enjoy it. My review is based on an advance e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation a review would be written.

Goodnight, June

Jio, Sarah. Goodnight, June. New York: Plume, 2014.

What a fun read! June Anderson is a New York banker specializing in foreclosures. Her work has created life-threatening stress for her which she refuses to acknowledge. Suddenly she inherits her aunt's bookstore for children back in Seattle. June plans to take a week off and close it down just as she has closed down so many businesses over the years, but the bookstore still holds power over here. She meets a restauranteur in the adjacent space. The two of them hit it off well. There's a lot of resolution of family matters. The big thread in the novel is the friendship between her aunt and Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon and other children's stories. The letters June finds among her aunt's books point to her aunt's influence in the creation of the much beloved children's book. Ironically, June discovers that the bookstore is in financial trouble and finds herself on the opposite end of her banking role. Can she save the bookstore? I loved this book. You can tell that the author loves children's literature and literature itself. It may not be the most plausible story. There are more famous names dropped than could possibly actually occur, but even in spite of that, I loved the book. It's a fun and creative fictional look at what might have been the inspiration of a classic. This review is based on an e-galley received from the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.

The Tastemakers

Sax, David. The Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy for Cupcakes But Fed Up with Fondue. New York: Public Affairs Books, 2014.

Have you ever wondered how food trends begin and end? Author David Sax takes a look at how some food trends began, why some of them decreased in popularity, and how some will likely continue. He also takes a look at political and economic factors in the food industry. He includes a bibliography for each chapter at the end rather than utilizing footnotes in his narrative. From cupcakes to Indian cuisine, from food trucks to fondue, he takes a look at the culture of food in American society. I found the book interesting in places but bogging down in others. The review is based on an advance e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.

SNGF: Mother's Birthday

For this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, Randy Seaver has challenged us with a set of questions regarding our mom's birthday.

1)  What day of the week was your Mother born? Tell us how you found out.

Mom was born Saturday, 30 August 1924. [1]

2) What has happened in recorded history on your Mother's birth date (day and month)? Tell us how you found out, and list five events.
 
August 30, 1682 - William Penn set sail from England to the New World. [2] 
August 30, 1850 - Honolulu becomes a city. [3]
August 30, 1862 - Confederates defeated the Union at the Second Battle of Bull Run. [4] 
August 30, 1945 - General MacArthur lands in Japan. [5]
August 30, 1967 - Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African-American justice of the United States Supreme Court. [6]

3)  What famous people have been born on your Mother's birth date?  Tell us how you found out, and list five of them.

August 30, 1797 - Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein [7]
August 30, 1818 - Emily Bronte [8] 
August 30, 1870 - Maria Montessori [9]
August 30, 1893 - Huey Long, governor or Louisiana [10] 
August 30, 1930 - Warren Buffett, businessman [11] 

4)  Put your responses in your own blog post, in a comment on this blog post, or in a status or comment on Facebook or Google+.

It's obvious that I'm putting them on my blog!


[1] InfoPlease Perpetual Calendar, online resource, InfoPlease (http://www.infoplease.com/calendar.php : 17 May 2014).
[2] "Historical Events on 30th August," HistoryOrb.com (http://www.historyorb.com/events/august/30 : 17 May 2014). 
[3] Ibid.
[4] "August 30," On this Day (http://www.on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/aug30.htm : 17 May 2014).
[5] "Historical Events on 30th August," HistoryOrb.com (http://www.historyorb.com/events/august/30 : 17 May 2014).
[6] "August 30," Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_30 : 17 May 2014), s.v. "Events." 
[7] Ibid., s.v. "Births." 
[9] "August 30," On this Day (http://www.on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/birthdays/aug30.htm : 17 May 2014), s.v. "Births."
[10] Ibid.
[11]  "August 30," Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_30 : 17 May 2014), s.v. "Events."

The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor

Gaynor, Hazel. The Girl Who Came Home: A Novel of the Titanic. New York: William Morrow, 2014.

Maggie Murphy was one of fourteen from the village of Ballysheen, Ireland aboard the Titanic. She was heading to America to live with an aunt after her mother's death, leaving behind the love of her life, Seamus Doyle in the village as he cared for his sick father. The story alternates between 1912 and 1982 when Maggie finally tells her story to her great-granddaughter, a journalist. One of the heroes of the book is a steward by the name of Harry Walsh who ensures that Maggie gets safely on board a lifeboat. The published story, of course, receives much attention by the press and brings with it some touching moments. I loved the historic story of the TItanic, but the parallel story of the present between Maggie's great-granddaughter Grace and Jimmy didn't have the punch that was probably intended. Fortunately, that is a minor part of the overall book, so the book was quite enjoyable. The book was received through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program with the expectation that a review would be written.

NGS Recap

Randy Seaver was lamenting (on Facebook) the lack of posts last week during the NGS conference. I really didn't have a chance to post much. I was using my iPad to access the Internet although I had the laptop with me also. The only time I pulled it out was when I was giving my presentation on Wednesday. That went well, by the way.

Favorite sessions that I attended:

• "Hell on the Home Front: War-Time Damages and the Claims They Generated" by Elizabeth Shown Mills
• "North Carolina Research" by Jeff Haines
• "Shootout at the Rhododendron Lodge: Reconstructing Life-Changing Events" by Judy Russell
• "DNA and the Golden Rule: The Law and Ethics of Genetic Genealogy" by Judy Russell
• "Working with Documents: The Importance of Context in Record Analysis" by Barbara Vines Little
• "South Carolina Research" by Jeff Haines

Socially this conference was a bit different than most. Usually genealogists tend to congregate in the lobby near the bar area in the evenings. Not this time! I think we were spread out over too many hotels for this to work. As a result, it was hard to make connections with people, and you saw a lot less of people than you often did. One person joked that we were just all getting too old.

Food: We tried several local restaurants. The worst food and service award goes to the Hilton Garden Inn's restaurant. On that evening, we had a group of seven. We were the only people in the restaurant, and they couldn't seem to get the orders right and the food was horrible. I ordered crab cakes. They were quite dry. They didn't give you remoulade sauce or anything to cut that dryness. The worst part was that part of the crab shell was in my crab cake. I probably left more than I ate. It was pretty much inedible. Another person had a burger which he had ordered medium rare. It was way past well done. It had taken so long to get the food we got that he didn't dare send it back. The waitress had forgotten to take my "side" order which was supposed to accompany my meal so I had to wait on that after I got the crab cakes. On the good side, my side order of fries was actually hot as opposed the ones the others had gotten. The Best Food award goes to a place we found through Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. It was called "Dot's Back Inn." Burgers are their specialty. I had the one with the jerk seasonings, provolone cheese, and grilled onions. I think it was called the "Rasta." Jeff had the Greek one that had feta and tzatziki sauce. We both thought ours were great. We knew that they had a lot of burgers. We wished we'd tried it earlier because when we got there, we discovered that they had a menu of things on a hand-written board that were daily features. For example, there was a Moroccan-spiced swordfish with cilantro sauce. The fish of the day was shark that day. They had a shrimp and andouille sausage dish served on a bed of cheese grits that sounded quite yummy. They had blackened mahi and much more. They were also quite reasonably priced with most dishes being under $15. If we had not eaten at Mama J's (a soul food place near the convention center that was also quite good) at lunch, we might have tried one of the bigger meals instead of the burger that night. One of the highlights was a donut run we made with friends one evening. They were in search of a maple bacon donut at The Sugar Shack. They were out of that flavor, but we tried the Baby Ruth donut which was absolutely wonderful.

Exhibits: I didn't spend a lot of time in the exhibit hall except for my shift at the APG booth. It was small and crowded. I did manage to walk by most booths, but I just didn't spend money this time. My bank account thanks me although that is a bit odd for me not to purchase a little more than I did.

Hotel: The staff at the Marriott where I stayed was great. The valets who parked our cars were very service-oriented, making it a good experience every time I needed to get my car out.

All in all, it was a great conference!

They've Ruined My Easter Candy

When I was growing up, I always loved the variety of Easter candy that would appear in my basket. It usually consisted of jelly beans, chocolate eggs, the hard oval shaped eggs that were a bit hollow but had a marshmallow layer near the top, a few Cadbury eggs, a large chocolate Easter bunny, and malted milk eggs (aka Robin eggs). I must confess that the jelly beans were probably my least favorite because they were usually the cheap ones instead of a good variety such as Jelly Belly. I loved just about anything chocolate, although the bunnies did not usually have a good flavor. I always, however, enjoyed the malted milk eggs. I went to the store a day or two before Easter and purchased a bag of malted milk eggs. I didn't read the packaging very carefully, but when I tasted them, I realized there was some sort of flavor on the shell part. I really wanted plain malted milk eggs. I glanced at the package and still only saw the words "malted milk eggs." This week I was in another store and saw the Easter candy on clearance. I went over to the shopping cart that had malted milk eggs in it. To my disgust, the only variety they had were coconut flavored malted milk eggs. No regular ones at all! I came back home and took out my bag. There in tiny print were the words "ice cream flavor" down at the bottom of the bag. That explains the disgusting taste. I wish I'd just purchased a package of Reese's Cup eggs.

Georgia Courthouse Disasters

Graham, Paul K. Georgia Courthouse Disasters. Decatur, GA: The Genealogy Company, 2013.

Graham has researched and documented the disasters that affected various Georgia courthouses. He tells the stories of fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and other things which affected disasters and tells whether or not there was record loss, and if so, what was lost or remained. It's a very handy reference book for anyone doing genealogical work in the state by a well-respected Georgia genealogist.

Murder Comes Ashore

Lindsey, Julie Anne. Murder Comes Ashore. New York: Carina Press, 2014.

Patience finds some body parts that wash up on Chincoteague Island. The local law enforcement and FBI are on the case. Her parents land in jail. She is determined to clear their name. It's a dreadful read with a promising setting. I never connected with the main character or really with any of the others. The writing did not flow. If you are interested in the Chincoteague setting, you are better off remembering it with the classic children's book Misty of Chincoteague. If you are interested for the mystery aspect, there are many more mysteries out there which are far more engaging. This is based on an advance reader copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Under Magnolia

Mayes, Frances. Under Magnolia: A Southern Memoir. New York: Crown, 2014.

Mayes recalls her childhood and youth in Georgia, her college days in Virginia and Florida, and a few moments from her recent return to the South. She has a way of describing place that is a true gift. We even see some glimpses of some of her poetry. While I prefer her works on Italy, this one does give you insights into what shaped her as a person and writer. She also draws comparisons between Italy and the Southern United States. The writing is elegant as one has come to expect in her works. This review is based on an e-galley received by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation a review would be written.

The Homesick Texan's Family Table

Fain, Lisa. The Homesick Texan's Family Table: Lone Star Cooking from My Kitchen to Yours.  Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2014.

Lisa Fain grew up in Texas but currently resides in New York. In this volume, she takes Texas cuisine, much of it from her own family, and gives it a bit of a New York twist by adding or substituting other ingredients and by using Kosher salt instead of the salt that would be most commonly used in the Southern States. She has quite a few Tex-Mex inspired dishes as well as some with hints of barbecuing. Many of the traditional Southern desserts are also included. Each sections is prefaced by a family story. The dishes themselves either give a family story, information about an ingredient and its use in Texas, or another interesting tidbit for the reader. Recipes vary in the degree of difficulty and amount of time it would take to prepare.  Persons looking for a book that will provide pure Texas recipes will want to find a different cookbook. Those who like twists on family favorites will enjoy this one. This review is based on an e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation of a review.

Murder Simply Brewed

Chapman, Vannetta. Murder Simply Brewed. (Amish Village Mystery ; 1). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2014.

Amber Wright is the manager of an Amish Artisan Village in Indiana. When Ethan, the coffee shop manager, dies, it appears to be a simple health issue, but not everyone believes that. Amber makes Hannah Troyer her coffee shop manager. Hannah is observant and notes some things that seem a bit off and make her suspicious as well. With no cooperation from the local officers, Amber and Hannah must investigate on their own. This is a case of a book trying to be too many things. The author needs to decide whether she wants to write romance or a mystery. If she wants to write romance, she probably needs a bit more development of that in the plot. If she wants to write mystery, she needs much further development there. The whole thing seemed rather implausible. It simply was not well-developed. The presence of a boa constrictor in the plot nearly made me abandon the book entirely. If you don't mind suspending believability for awhile and really like Amish fiction, try this one. If you are a mystery lover, avoid this one. This review is based on an advance e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Blackberry Pie Murder

Fluke, Joanne. Blackberry Pie Murder. New York: Kensington, 2014.

Hannah ends up in jail when she hits a man with her vehicle on a rainy day. No one seems to know who the man is. Mike is suspended by  Bill for refusing to arrest Hannah. Because she was arrested at the beginning of a weekend, she has to stay in jail until Monday when the first hearing will be held. Hannah begins the investigation into the man's identity from her jail cell while she's awaiting the hearing. In the meantime, Hannah's mom Delores is constantly changing her mind regarding things related to her upcoming wedding to Doc. While it's an enjoyable installment in the series, there's a little too much stuff not resolved at the end for me. Persons who have not read earlier installments in the series will likely want to read a few before beginning this one just to be able to sort characters. As usual, there are quite a few recipes, particularly for cookies and desserts that will appeal to readers, if they can get through the commentary. I often wish that the recipes were provided without the commentary at some spot in the book so readers who don't keep the books permanently don't have so many pages to copy if they want a recipe. An advance e-galley of the book was received by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review would be written.

Dear Abigail by Diane Jacobs

Jacobs, Diane. Dear Abigail: The Intimate Lives and Revolutionary Ideas of Abigail Adams and Her Two Remarkable Sisters. New York: Random House, 2014.

Author Diane Jacobs has done a tremendous amount of research into the life of Abigail Adams, wife of the second United States president. It also concerns her sisters. Much of the content in the book is derived from extensive research into her letters. It is supplemented by additional research into the social history and political history of the colonial and early national periods. While the book is well researched, it is not a particularly stimulating read. It has a rather dry academic tone although there are parts that are interesting and insightful. The book does a good job of showing that Abigail Adams was very involved in the political world, had her own opinions, was critical of slavery, and believed women could be involved politically. This book will be of most interest to academics, but others with an interest in Abigail, her family, or women in that period of history will probably also want to read it. An electronic galley of this book was received by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review would be written.

And Then There Were Nuns by Jane Christmas

Christmas, Jane. And Then There Were Nuns: Adventures in a Cloistered Life. London: Lion Books, 2014.

Twice-divorced and newly engaged Jane Christmas is trying to determine whether or not she has been called to be a nun. She is in her late fifties. She visits several convents and monasteries as she tries to determine whether she has received a vocational call to dedicate her life in such a manner. The main purpose of the book seems to be to make the reader aware that monks and nuns do not receive funding from the church and need financial assistance. Their vows sometimes make it awkward for them to request that funding. Before reading this book, I was unaware that there were Anglican nuns as well as Catholic ones. The author visited communities from both faiths during her spiritual quest, as she had been reared by parents of both faiths. The author is also dealing with the emotional fallout from a rape that had occurred more than thirty years earlier in her own life. I received an e-galley of this book from the publishers through NetGalley with the expectation that a review would be written.

SNGF - 6 Questions

a)  What was your first illness as a child? I honestly have no idea, probably something like strep.



b)  What was the first funeral you attended? I've been going to funerals most of my life. My best guess would be it was probably to Dad's Aunt Myrtie's husband's funeral. His name was Otha Reece. I would have been about three. The first grandparent who died was my mom's father. I was eight when he died.

c)  What was your favorite book as a child? As a very young child, I had some of those cheap books that you got at the 5 and 10 stores. I absolutely loved There's a Mouse in the House. It was a rather small book, but I am sure I read it almost daily as a young child. After I was a little older, I adored the Little House books. I think Little Town on the Prairie was my favorite in the series.

d)  What was your favorite class in elementary school? No question about this one. Social Studies! I loved studying about the world. I loved maps. I loved geography.

e)  What was your favorite toy as a child? Definitely a doll. The question is which one? I loved them all.  There was "Janice" which was a baby doll that had a hard head, hands, etc. and a soft body. There were two bride dolls. One was a hand-me-down from one sister-in-law; the other was what I got for being in my other brother's wedding. There were Barbie dolls. One was the old kind that had the hair painted on the form and used wigs. Another was a Malibu Barbie--all the rage at the time. There was also Baby Tender Love. There were lots more, including Cindy, that I carried around by her hair. One time the beautician offered to color her hair. She really "frosted" it with that gray color that was popular back in the 1960s. I never played as much with the doll after that because she'd ruined the hair in my opinion.

f)  Did you learn how to swim, and where did you learn? I took lessons at the Amory Municipal Pool. It's really sad that they tore down the pool and the shower facilities and even leveled the ground.

March 1939: Before the Madness

Frei, Terry. March 1939: Before the Madness - The Story of the First NCAA Basketball Tournament Champions. Lanham, Md.: Taylor Trade, 2014.

This is the story of the road to the first NCAA tournament. The author who has a connection with the Oregon Ducks (who were called the Webfoots back then) did tend to focus on their story more than on the story of the other teams that advanced in this first tournament, but it was still a very interesting story. In addition to including what was going on in the basketball world, the author also included paragraphs giving an overview of what was happening in the World in regards to World War II. The author had also followed through with additional information about the post-tournament life of each Oregon player and how World War II and/or the Korean Conflict affected them. It's very readable. I can envision this book being a hit with many college students who are somewhat reluctant recreational readers. This review is based on an advance e-galley of the book provided by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review would be written.

The Land of the Five Flavors

Hollmann, Thomas O. The Land of the Five Flavors: A Cultural History of Chinese Cuisine. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013.

This book takes a look at the history of Chinese cuisine. The title led me to believe that I would be looking at a more regional approach to this history, but it was a more blended approach, showing how regions influenced other regions and later how even the world influenced the cuisine. The book even showed how agricultural influences from other countries were implemented. It took a look at how economic and political factors were also influential. It also takes a look at modern dining habits, including fast foods from Western culture. It includes quotations from Chinese literature. Citations are mainly in text ones. It's very academic in tone with a good bibliography and index provided. Recommended for those with an interest in ethnic cuisines or Chinese culture. Review is based on an advance e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Tennessee Bibliography for 2012

Each year, the Tennessee Library Association produces a bibliography of publications from the prior year which is published in their publication Tennessee Libraries. Fortunately this publication is accessible free of charge. The 2012 Bibliography appeared in volume 63, no. 4 (2013). It contains several publications of interest to genealogists. Please take a moment to look through the bibliography and find items that might help you in your research.

Here is a link to 2012 and to prior years:

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2007 Juvenile

2006 (PDF)

2005 (PDF)

2004 (PDF)

2003 (PDF)

2002 (PDF)

2001 (PDF)

2000 (PDF)

1999 (PDF)

1998 (PDF)

1996 (PDF)

1995 (PDF)

1995 (i.e. 1994) (PDF)

1994 (i.e. 1993) (PDF)

1993 (i.e. 1992) (PDF)

There are a couple of earlier ones at the site, but I could not get them to display properly so I will let you look for those yourself if you really want them.

Shadows of Death

Dams, Jeanne M. Shadows of Death. New York: Severn House, 2014.

Dorothy & Alan are once again vacationing. This time it is on the Orkney Islands. The benefactor of an archaeological dig on a remote island is found dead at the site. Alan is asked to assist  in the investigation as the local constabulary are tied up with a terrorist threat. It's a small pool of suspects. Alan and Dorothy realize that someone is planting red herrings to try to deter them from the investigation. One key person goes missing. No one knows for sure if he's dead or alive. They also get assistance from the vicar's wife. While the mystery is pretty good, it didn't quite work for me on the plausibility level. I would love for the author to let Dorothy and Alan stay at home in Sherebury for the next installment in this series. It's beginning to seem like they never stay at home, and I do miss the locals there. This review is based on an electronic copy received through the publisher from NetGalley with the expectation of a review.