Bone Soup and Flipped Bread

Larkey, Sue Spertus. Bone Soup and Flipped Bread: The Yemenite Jewish Table. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House, 2017.

The author gives readers insights into both the cultures of Yemen and of the Jewish people in this volume. A great deal of cultural and background material is woven into the book  -- from the introductory chapters which are almost entirely cultural to the recipes grouped in two sections. She shows the reader the importance of food to the Yemen Jews in normal things in the life cycle -- birth, circumcision, Bar/Bas Mitzvah, betrothal, marriage, days of blessing, and mourning. She also shows the importance of good in the feasts and holidays and on the Sabbath by the Jews. This is a winning combination for anyone interested in more than just a recipe book. The cultural foodways shine in this volume. I received an electronic advance review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Old Testament Is Dying

Strawn, Brent A. The Old Testament Is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017.

Strawn creates an analogy of the Old Testament being a language which he carries throughout the book. The only problem is the analogy is a flawed one. He makes many of his points with illustrations from linguistics. He uses data from studies showing less biblical knowledge. In spite of the author's deep research, I'm not convinced he made his point in a convincing manner. I'm not certain his solution is practical. The Old Testament is alive and well at our church because our pastor uses it to deepen our understanding of God in all three persons. There are riches and treasures in its pages, and Strawn tries to become too philosophical about the problem when the truth of the matter is that studying the Old Testament is the only solution for what he sees as the process of dying. Pastors and Sunday School teachers need to teach the Word of God -- and all of it. Too many churches got away from using curriculum that takes readers through the entire Bible within a certain amount of time and began using topical studies. Don't get me wrong. There is a time and place for topical studies, but church members need exegesis too. I receivved an advance review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Cousins You Meet Online

When I first began researching my family history, I knew very little about researching beyond my own family. I was fortunate to live in a city housing one of the country's best genealogical libraries at the time. I grew up in the South and just assumed I came from a deep line of Southerners. Imagine my surprise when I found a census record with my maternal grandfather in it which identified his place of birth as Illinois. I then began to get the family stories. 

My great grandfather who was of Amish-Mennonite heritage married a woman who grew up Methodist. They began attending the Christian Church after marriage. Her line was an interesting one to me. Her mother's line was clearly New England. The only information I really had about her father's line was something published in one of those "vanity" publications. While parts of it were greatly embellished, it identified her father Stephen's father as Stephen and her grandfather as Isaac. It was said Stephen Sr. went off to fight in the War of 1812 and never came back. Some people say he died in Michigan. No records of his War of 1812 service exist. Stephen Sr. was in Washington County, Ohio by 1804 when he married Lovica Rathbone. Stephen Jr. was born in February 1814. Most people say Stephen Sr. died in 1814 in or near Detroit. We do not know exactly when Stephen Sr. was born, but it is estimated as being around 1780. Stephen Jr. said his father was born in New York. (Some accounts say it was in Little Hoosick, Albany County.)

I was intrigued by my connection to New England and New York. I began to communicate with other researchers via the various mailing lists and message boards that began to crop up. One person answered my query about Stephen, Stephen, and Isaac. He was descended from Isaac's son Cornelius and had been researching the line for many years. Cornelius and Stephen had a sister Debora who married Edmund Rathbone, Lovica's brother. 

My newly found cousin told me about the Taylors and Rathbones ownership of a mill in Ohio County, Virginia. (See the Find a Grave story about Private Edmund Rathbone.) This cousin was never one to share everything he knew. I think he wanted to see if you reached the same conclusion he did. However, he provided hints. Where was Isaac in 1790? My newly found cousin had researched all of the options and was leaning toward Isaac being the one in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania that year. He later concluded that was the case. He never provided a proof argument to me for this. It doesn't really go all that well with Stephen Jr.'s alleged birthplace in New York State.

My distant cousin Edgar Rives Taylor, Jr. died January 31 of this year. His son Gary contacted me earlier this week with the sad news as he was going through his father's email correspondence. When I resume work on the Taylor line, I need to go through my correspondence to pick up any clues or hints provided over the years. The proof argument will be my own, based on my own research, when I am able to clearly identify my ancestor. I will, however, miss Edgar's knowledge and the ability to ask him if he found anything that would negate a conclusion I make. His son Gary posted a lovely tribute to his father which includes part of his father's autobiography.

Adam and the Genome

Venema, Dennis R. and Scot McKnight. Adam and the Genome: Reading Scripture after Genetic Science. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2017.

My hopes for this book exceeded what was presented. I expected more from genetic science than the very basic information presented. I supposed the authors think Christians know nothing about genetics, because that is how they treated the matter.  The book is really more about how we should view Genesis 1-11 in view of modern science. Findings of the human genome project are taken into account in the author's argument of a theistic evolutionary approach. The writers incorporate too much from apocryphal works for their conclusions to be accepted by many Evangelicals. They spend a lot of time discussing the literary Adam, the historical Adam, and the genealogical Adam. Ultimately they were not very convincing in their arguments. While I received an Advance Review Copy from the publisher through NetGalley, I forgot I had pre-ordered a copy. I compared both and am basing the review on the completed copy.

The Barrowfields

Lewis, Phillip. The Barrowfields. New York: Hogarth, 2017.

I had a love-hate relationship with this book. On the one hand, the book was well-written. On the other, I really could not identify with the characters, making it tedious. The book focuses on the Aster family of Western North Carolina. The father is a lawyer with a great love for books and aspirations of becoming an author. They live in a house where the previous tenants were murdered. Tragedy takes the father. The narrator is the son Henry who eventually goes off to the university, promising his sister Threnody he’ll return home. He meets a woman named Story at the university. Henry can’t bring himself to go back home. His mother and sister eventually move away. Although the story line goes much further, I’ll leave readers to discover the outcome for themselves. Although the two books are really not that similar, my mind kept being drawn to William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying as I was reading it. I think the writing and some of the themes reminded me of the book. It’s a great first effort by an author. I received an electronic advance copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.

The Roanoke Girls

Engel, Amy. The Roanoke Girls. New York: Crown, 2017.

When Lane Roanoke's mother commits suicide, she is sent to live with her grandparents in Kansas. Unfortunately she finds dark family secrets. She grew up with cousin Allegra. Lane runs as far away as she can to Los Angeles. She is called home when Allegra goes missing. Unfortunately I did not like this novel. I tried to stick with it, but when I got to a section where profanity was overused, I just could not tolerate it any longer. Other readers might enjoy this more than I did, but I couldn't even finish the book. I received an advance electronic copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

Ryan, Jennifer. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir. New York: Crown, 2017.

This is the story of how the village of Chilbury coped with World War II. Many of the men were at war. The ladies, inspired by a newcomer to the community, organized a choir when there were not enough men to continue the parish choir. No single woman is singled out as a narrator. Instead it is told through the voices of several women, often in letter form. This format often fails to deliver, but Ryan made it work. The narrative includes incidents of village life as well as personal ethical decisions. The bombings touch home for the villagers. It is not quite as "homey" as some novels focusing on village life, partially due to the time in which it is set, but it probably paints a more realistic portrait of it. Enough humor is interspersed to make up for the occasional unpleasantness. This review is based on an electronic galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.

The Not-Quite States of America

Mack, Doug. The Not-Quite States of America: Dispatches from the Territories and Other Far-Flung Outposts of the USA. New York: W. W. Norton, 2017.

This combination travelogue and history presents a fascinating look at territories owned by the United States. Mack took trips to the U.S. Virgin Island, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas, and Puerto Rico where he commented on the culture and infused it with a bit of the history of the islands. Readers get a sense of what each of these islands are today, but the book is not quite what I expected. Many of these territories are over-commercialized; some are not. I appreciated the historical parts more than the travelogue portions, and I sincerely wish more attention to what the culture was like at the time the territories were acquired so readers could compare it to what the United States was like at that time and then draw present-day comparisons based on a number of factors. Mack points out few Americans really know much if anything about the territories. His book was designed to bridge that gap for himself and somewhat for his readers. While I'm glad I read the book, I am interested in reading other books about these territories which may be more aligned with my own interests. For example, Mack focuses on the economy and on political factors, but rarely addresses religion which is a strong interest of mine. Fortunately Mack includes a brief bibliography of other materials at the end of the book for those who want to delve a bit deeper. An advance review e-galley of this book was received by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.

Solo Birthdays

My first birthday.

Birthdays are not quite they once were.When the above photo was taken, my mother lovingly baked the cake. My dad and two brothers were around to help celebrate. This year Mom and Dad are both gone as well as one of my brothers. The other brother is over 6 hours away. None of my friends are available to help me celebrate so I'm all alone. If I want a cake, I must either bake or purchase my own. What good is a cake without someone with whom to celebrate? I certainly don't want birthday cake for the next 3 weeks (if it would even keep that long).

I'm even working on my birthday. A lot of my friends are going to Ballet Magnificat, but they are leaving before I'm off work. I won't be celebrating that way. I decided what I really wanted to do was go eat at Red Lobster. (Garlic shrimp scampi and cheddar bay biscuit craving!) I reached out to friends, but none were available. So now I get to try to celebrate my birthday all alone.

As the timeline posts are probably at 100 or more (if you count the ones done as comments) and will probably exceed 200 or even 300 by day's end, the real card count is at one and the e-card count is at one (from an e-card company instead of an individual). Birthdays just aren't the same after your Mom is gone. I miss her!

Death in the Shadows

McCusker, Paul. Death in the Shadows. Oxford: Lion Fiction, 2016.

Father Gilbert is attending a church conference. He becomes involved in an investigation led by his friend and former law enforcement colleague Detective Inspector Gwynn. A prostitute was murdered, and one of the suspects is a fellow clergyman. The area is saturated with "spas" offering under the table services. I was uncomfortable reading this book. Lion Fiction has published some of the better written Christian fiction. However, I do not think many Christian readers will be comfortable reading about sexual slavery. I think even fewer of them want a sleuthing priest to make a call requesting services even if he is only investigating and does not engage the young woman for her services. The book is well-written, but it is far outside my comfort zone. I considered abandoning it. This review is based on an advance readers copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.

Remarriage after Divorce Was Not an Option

I've been studying many of Mississippi's laws that affect our research as genealogists. Sargent's Code, the earliest collection of laws dating back to 1799 in the Territorial Period of the state's history is not freely available online. However, an 1807 version of The Statues of the Mississippi Territory is available at Google Books.

In today's culture and society, remarriage after a divorce is pretty commonplace, but in the early days of Mississippi's existence, it was not permitted. Chapter 13, section 4 of this code reads:

And be it further enacted, That divorces from the bond of matrimony shall also be decreed, where either of the parties had another wife or husband, living at the time of such second or other marriages : and that all marriages, where either of the parties shall have a former wife or husband living, at the time of such marriage, shall be invalid from the beginning, and absolutely void.

Upstream

Oliver, Mary. Upstream: Selected Essays. New York: Penguin Books, 2016.

When I first saw this book, its subtitle was "essays and poems." When I received the book, its subtitle was "selected essays." I love Mary Oliver's poetry so I was curious about her writing in the essay format; however, I really was not that thrilled about the book having very little poetry of hers with a couple of exceptions, introducing the book and perhaps one section. I was, however, pleasantly surprised that many of her essays were almost poetic because of the way she described things. In one section she reflects on the writings of other poets, and parts of their poems are included. I found all of the essays readable, but a few did not quite live up to the poetic characteristic of others. Still, all in all, it is a good collection, even if I was disappointed Oliver's own poetry was not really present. This review is based on an advance review copy received by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.

Hag-Seed

Atwood, Margaret. Hag-Seed. (Hogarth Shakespeare) New York: Hogarth Shakespeare, Crown Publishing, 2016.

Margaret Atwood did a remarkable job re-imagining Shakespeare's The Tempest. Since his release as artistic director of the Makeshiweg Festival, Felix Phillips has been going by the name Mr. Duke and teaching theatre to a group of prisoners at a medium security institution. He calls his group the Fletcher Correctional Players. The class is more than simply theatre, but he uses theatre as a means to teach other material and critical thinking to the inmates. When the person who had him ousted is set to visit the facility in his official governmental role, Felix sees his opportunity for revenge. He decides to perform The Tempest. He chooses the role of Prospero for himself, gets the woman who was to play Miranda before he was ousted to portray her in this version, and assigns the inmates their roles.  This work is certain to please Shakespeare enthusiasts as well as those who love Atwood's writing. I received an electronic copy for review purposes from the publisher through NetGalley.

Holy Shakespeare!

Sparks, Maisie. Holy Shakespeare!: 101 Scriptures that Appear in Shakespeare's Plays, Poems, and Sonnets. New York: Faith Words, 2016.

I was looking forward to this book, thinking perhaps the author was using the Scriptures and passages of Shakespeare to create devotional thoughts. I was disappointed when I opened the book to find only the passage from Shakespeare at the top and the Scripture at the bottom with a few pages of short "facts" about Shakespeare or his times scattered in between. This is definitely a marginal purchase for most persons and libraries as other books treat the subject better from both an academic and devotional point of view. The bibliography at the end of the book is probably the most useful aspect of the entire volume. This review is based on an advance uncorrected proof e-galley provided by the publisher for review purposes through NetGalley.

Napoleon's Last Island

Keneally, Tom. Napoleon's Last Island. New York: Atria, 2016.

Abandoned read. Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic in 1815. His residence was not fully renovated so he spent time near the Balcombe family home. Betsy Balcombe, in particular, became a friend of Napoleon for the remainder of their lives. Keneally's well-researched novel focuses on the strange relationship between the two. What the novelist failed to do was create anything that engaged me as a reader. I made it approximately one third of the way into the book before deciding to quit reading it. Other persons may find the book more engaging than I did, particularly if they have a strong interest in Napoleon or enjoyed other books by the author. This review is based on an advance reader's e-galley provided by the publisher through Edelweiss for review purposes.

Crossing the Waters

Fields, Leslie Leyland. Crossing the Waters: Following Jesus Through the Storms, the Fish, the Doubt, and the Seas. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2016.


Fields, the author of this volume, resides in Kodiak, Alaska, where she works with her family in the commercial fishing industry. This book relates stories from her own experience. She also travels to Israel where she visits the waters Jesus himself frequented -- the Sea of Galilee and Jordan River. I found the narrative to be fairly rambling, jumping around in locations of the stories, and making the reader question how they got from Alaska to Israel. I felt the narratives needed further editing to really polish them and have the desired impact. The Bible study materials in the appendix were quite good and probably could be used whether Fields' main book was read or not. I received an advance electronic copy of the book through Edelweiss for review purposes.

The Return of Sir Percival: Book 1, Guinivere's Prayer

O'Keefe, S. Alexander. The Return of Sir Percival: Book 1, Guinevere's Prayer. Austin, Texas: Greenleaf Book Publishing Group, 2016.

Sequels to classic literary works either work well or fail miserably. Fortunately this one keeps the reader looking forward to the story unfolding. It's ten years after the fall of Camelot. Everyone believes Sir Percival who went in search of the Holy Grail met his death along the way. Guinivere remains in the abbey. Merlin is still around, mainly putting his "magic" to use for medicinal purposes. Sir Galahad is going by the name Lord Aeron and serving the evil Morgana. This is a wonderful revisit with the Knights of the Round Table. O'Keefe does a great job telling his story, and it's certain to please those who love the Arthurian legend. It's one of my top reads this year. This review is based on an electronic galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.

Another Me

Wiseman, Eva. Another Me. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2016.

The setting is 14th century Strasbourg where the Jews are accused of poisoning the well water. Kaspar the butcher and his friends have begun persecuting the Jewish community. A Jewish boy named Natan became fascinated with Elena, the daughter of another draper but one who is fair. When Natan confronts Kaspar's gang about what he saw, he is killed and becomes an "ibbur," residing inside the body of Hans, Elena's father's apprentice. Soon the bubonic plague breaks out in the city, while the persecution continues. I am a huge fan of historical fiction, and this title sounded very promising. However, when the plot took on the "ghostly" element, my enjoyment plunged. To be fair to the author, the concept of the "ibbur" began to take hold in the late 13th century. I just felt it was unnecessary in this plot and the plot would be stronger had she allowed Natan to escape. I found the plot implausible. I enjoyed the historical parts about the persecution of the Jews and about the bubonic plague; however, I felt Wiseman's writing was not all that strong. The book is a bit of a mixed bag with some parts enjoyable and others not and with some parts plausible and others not. I received an electronic e-galley of the book from the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.

The Northwest Coastal Explorer

Steelquist, Robert. The Northwest Coastal Explorer. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 2016.

Author Steelquist examines the habitat along the Pacific Northwestern United States coastline. He shows the diversity of plant and marine life in the region. I was a bit disappointed that the treatment of "places" received so little attention in the book that used that term first in its subtitle. The author generally gives about a page of information per species. A little information that ties it together is included toward the end of the book. The book would be useful for those planning to tour the northwest and are more interested in the natural habitat than the region's history. I received an advance e-galley of the book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for a review.

Kit Kat and Lucy

DuPont, Lonnie Hull. Kit Kat and Lucy: The Country Cats Who Changed a City Girl's World. Grand Rapids: Revell, 2016.

Author Lonnie Hull DuPont relates the story of her move from San Francisco back to her native Michigan. She and her husband purchased an old farm house where a little tortoiseshell kitten that would come to be called Kit Kat adopted them. The author's husband who had severe allergies to cats found he outgrew the allergy so the shots were no longer necessary. It wasn't long until a Russian Blue kitten also found her way to the farm to adopt them. This cat became known as Lucy. She relates the story of getting the two to adjust to one another. Cat owners will see some of their own cats in some of the antics. Kit Kat was misdiagnosed by one vet at an early age. She eventually was diagnosed with FIV. She lived life as full as she could until the owners were forced to put her down. Grab your box of tissues when you get to that chapter. Lucy ends up getting some new playmates and lives a long life. Cat people will enjoy this book which shows how much joy cats bring to owners' lives. This review is based on an e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.