Historical fiction

The Women ~ by T. Coraghessan Boyle, 2009, literary fiction, 464 pages

Is it easy to live with a genius?

Frank Lloyd Wright’s life was one long, howling struggle against the bonds of convention, whether aesthetic, social, moral, or romantic.  He never did what was expected, and he never let anything get in the way of his larger-than-life appetites and visions.  Wright’s triumphs and defeats were always tied to the women he loved:

1. Olgivanna Milanoff, an imperious Montenegrin beauty who was a student of the Russian mystic Gurdjieff and was known by Wright’s apprentices as “the Dragon Lady”;
2. Maude Miriam Noel, a passionate Southern belle with a mean temper and a fondness for morphine;
3. the spirited Mamah Borthwick Cheney, tragically murdered at Wright’s Wisconsin estate, Taliesin, in 1914; 
4. and his young first wife, Kitty Tobin, with whom he had six children.

T.C. Boyle deftly captures these very different women and, in doing so, creates a gripping drama about marriage, the bargains men and women make, and the privileges and pitfalls of genius and fame.

But do you know who Frank Lloyd Wright was?  He was born on June 8, 1867, and died on April 9, 1959.  He was an American architect who designed more than 1,000 structures over a period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements of the twentieth century, influencing other architects worldwide.  He believed in designing in harmony with humanity and the environment, and his philosophy was exemplified in Fallingwater (1935), which some see as the best American architecture ever.  This photo shows Fallingwater.

If you want a BIG book, here it is

Things We Never Got Over (Book 1 of 3 in the Knockemout series) ~ by Lucy Score, 2022, romantic comedy, 570 pages

Naomi wasn’t just running away from her wedding.  She was riding to the rescue of her estranged twin to Knockemout, Virginia, a rough-around-the-edges town where disputes are settled the old-fashioned way … with fists and beer.  Usually in that order.

Too bad for Naomi her evil twin hasn’t changed at all.  After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected.  The niece Naomi didn’t know she had.  Now she’s stuck in town with no car, no job, no plan, and no home with an 11-year-old going on thirty to take care of.

There’s a reason Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones.  But since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least he can do is help her out of her jam.  And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble he can leave her alone and get back to his peaceful, solitary life.  At least, that’s the plan until the trouble turns to real danger.

. . . and to another book that was recently

added to our Crown Center library collection.

Another book donated to our library for residents

Unfreedom of the Press ~ by Mark R. Levin, 2019, history of journalism, 272 pages

Levin shows how those entrusted with news reporting today are destroying freedom of the press from within:  “not government oppression or suppression,” he writes, but self-censorship, group-think, bias by omission, and passing off opinion, propaganda, pseudo-events, and outright lies as news.

With the depth of historical background for which his books are renowned, Levin takes the reader on a journey through the early American patriot press, which proudly promoted the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, followed by the early decades of the Republic during which newspapers around the young country were open and transparent about their fierce allegiance to one political party or the other.

It was only at the start of the Progressive Era and the twentieth century that the supposed “objectivity of the press” first surfaced, leaving us where we are today:  with a partisan party-press overwhelmingly aligned with a political ideology but hypocritically engaged in a massive untruth as to its real nature.

Week in Review

• For Monday Musing, I had noticed "Divorce: The End of an Error" and wrote about it HERE.
• On Twosday, I wrote about a book and the title I would give a memoir, HERE.
• On Thursday, I wrote about the Crown Center's new bus, HERE.
• Friday's book beginning was about a suspense thriller, HERE.
• I got chocolate on my shirt yesterday and wrote about how to get it out of fabric in my Saturday post, HERE.  Did it work?  Yes, it did!

is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

Saturday stuff

I ate soft chocolate earlier, and some of it fell on my shirt.  So I looked up how to get it out without making it set permanently, and I'm hoping, hoping, hoping.

Key Steps to Remove Chocolate Stains:

1. Remove Excess:  Gently scrape off solidified chocolate with a dull knife or spoon.
2. Rinse Cold:  Run cold water through the back of the stain to prevent it from setting deeper into the fibers.
3. Pre-treat:  Apply a heavy-duty liquid detergent (like Tide) or dish soap (like Dawn) directly to the stain.
4. Soak:  Let the garment sit for at least 15–30 minutes to break down the grease.
5. Wash:  Launder the item as usual in cold water.
6. Check Before Drying:  Ensure the stain is completely gone before putting it in the dryer, as heat can permanently set any remaining stain.

I'm about to do a load of laundry in cold water.  When it's done, then I'll know whether this is a happy Saturday or not.

  (Added later:  Yes, it worked. )

Beginning ~ with an offer

Beginning

I was standing at the bar in the Green Parrot, waiting for a guy named Carlos from Miami who'd called my cell a few days ago and said he might have a job for me.

The Cuban Affair ~ by Nelson DeMille, 2017, suspense thriller, 530 pages

Nelson DeMille is a #1 New York Times bestselling author.  His new novel features U.S. Army combat veteran Daniel Graham MacCormick — Mac for short — who seems to have a pretty good life.  At age thirty-five he’s living in Key West, owner of a forty-two-foot charter fishing boat, The Maine (named for his home state).  Mac served five years in the Army as an infantry officer with two tours in Afghani-stan.  He returned with the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, scars that don’t tan, and a boat with a big bank loan.  If the truth be told, Mac’s finances are more than a little shaky.

Mac is in the famous Green Parrot Bar in Key West, contemplating his life, and waiting for Carlos, a hotshot Miami lawyer heavily involved with anti-Castro groups.  Carlos wants to hire Mac and The Maine for a ten-day fishing tourna-ment to Cuba at the standard rate, but Mac suspects there is more to this and turns it down.  The price then goes up to two million dollars, and Mac agrees to hear the deal, and meet Carlos’s clients — a beautiful woman named Sara Ortega and a mysterious older Cuban exile named Eduardo Valazquez.

Mac learns there is sixty million American dollars hidden in Cuba by Sara’s grandfather when he fled Castro’s revolution.  With the “Cuban Thaw” under-way between Havana and Washington, they all know it’s only a matter of time before someone finds the stash.  Mac knows if he accepts this job, he’ll walk away rich — or not at all.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

A new bus for the Crown Center

When I first saw this bus today, Tim (who manages the property) was walking toward me with some people who don't live here or work here.  I saw him later with other employees and asked, "Do we have a new Crown Center bus?"  Yes, we do!  The old one was maroon and white (my high school colors), but this bus is blue and white.  Tim asked me, "Are you going to write about it?"  Hmm, that thought had not yet occured to me, but most people know I'm a blogger and it does sound like a good idea to tell the whole world about new stuff.  So here's our new blue-and-white Crown Center bus.

Two thoughts for TWOsday

I have a tiny booklet for grades 4-8 (dated 2001) that has "journal topics."  Page 199 says, "Write the title and back cover description for the autobiography you hope to write some day."

I have already blogged that if I ever write a memoir, I'll call it Bits of Bonnie.  Click HERE to read more about it.  As for what to say on the back cover, I'll have to give that some thought.  But I can give you "one bit" as an enticement:  I have always enjoyed words:  playing with words, learning new words, writing blog posts about words and ideas, writing poetry (my first national publication was a short poem about a baby playing with her feet up in the air).  Maybe I should pull out my thick "Bits of Bonnie" notebook (shown above) and read stories that I have collected over the years.

Come Pour the Wine ~ by Cynthia Freeman, 1980, Jewish fiction, 517 pages

Cynthia Freeman portrays an insightful and moving story of Janet Stevens, a teenager from Kansas who comes to New York in search of fame and fortune.  The pursuit of her dream leads her into marriage, motherhood, a heart-rending separation, and then divorce.  At the age of forty five, she meets a man who not only gives her a renewed sense of her Jewish heritage, but also offers her the chance for total fulfillment as a woman.

A reviewer on Amazon gave this book five stars and wrote:  "Girl with Jewish background marries a man she falls for like a ton of bricks.  They go through life with a silent problem hovering over their life until one day it's out in the open.  How she and Bill go forward with life is the whole story."

I found this book in our little Crown Center library and brought it home last night to read.

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