Taking your own advice

Dear Debbie ~ by Freida McFadden, 2026, psychological thriller, 336 pages, 9/10

Sometimes, enough is enough.  Debbie Mullen is losing it.  For years, she has compiled all of her best advice into her column, Dear Debbie, where the wives of New England come for sympathy and neighborly advice.  Through her work, Debbie has heard from countless women who are ignored, belittled, or even abused by their husbands, and Debbie does her best to guide them in the right direction.   Or at least, she did.

These days, Debbie's life seems to be spiraling out of control.  She just lost her job, something strange is happening with her teenage daughters, and (according to the tracking app she installed on her husband's phone) he is keeping secrets.

Now, Debbie's done being the bigger person.  She's done being reasonable and practical.  It's time to take her own advice and time for payback against all the people in her life who deserve it the most.  What happens when women finally choose to take justice into their own hands?  Get YOUR hands on a copy of this book and find out for yourself.

"Keep on keeping on," the author says

Affirmations of a Dissenter ~ by C. Joseph Sprague, 2002, theology, 112 pages

"I began to question the literal approach to scripture," Sprague says on page 9.  He affirms his trust in and commitment to unconditional love for all humankind, and dissents from some beliefs and positions long espoused by certain religious institutions, particularly United Methodism, his own denomination.  He deals with issues such as biblical authority, the humanity and divinity of Jesus, and homosexuality, stating what he affirms, where he dissents, and how he suggests change and progress in each case.  He calls people of God to seek to work in the spirit of Jesus, even when — especially when — doing so goes against the culture of the day.  He stresses internal spiritual nurture and external mission and justice-seeking outreach as vehicles for congregational renewal.

Week in Review

• On Monday, I mused about quotes from a book, HERE.
• I wrote about Jodi Picoult's newest book on TWOsday, HERE.
• Wonderful Wednesday's book HERE, was about a paperback book from National Geographic about cats, as I've just taken in another one.
• My Thursday Thoughts were about the nearby library sending their Book Bike to Crown Center, HERE.
• My Book Beginnings on Friday, HERE, was about a 646-page book.
• My new cat's post for Caturday, HERE, mentions using her claws on my sofa.

Hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

Caturday post

Sorry, I'm running a little late with posting for Caturday, but I've been looking online at stuff like I've pictured above (and thinking about ordering in Bonnie's name).  It's only fair, I think, that she should get me something like this, if she doesn't like that I've been sharpening my claws on her sofa.  Don't you agree?

Recommended to me, but isn't 656 pages too long?

Beginning with the Prologue

September 1933 ... Downtown Drugstore had a bell on the door that made a single tink sound when you opened it.  Oxford Pharmacy had two bells on its door so it was more of a ta-tink, though nothing to startle over.   But the Gathright-Reed Drug Co. door bore a foot-long strip of brass sleigh bells on its knob, which, when turned, sent metal balls clanging to announce somebody's coming in the dang store so you better turn around and look see who it is.  And if you did, you'd see me.

The Calamity Club ~ by Kathryn Stockett, 2026, historical fiction (Mississippi), 656 pages

Abandoned by her mother one Christmas Eve, eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one.  Now one of the unadoptable "big girls" at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, she fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed.  Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford to ask her socialite sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind.  But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie discovers her sister’s seemingly charmed life is a tapestry of lies.

Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman running low on luck with little left to lose.  When their fates — and Meg’s — converge, Charlie comes up with an audacious plan for them to take control of their lives.  But in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife and women’s freedom is fragile, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences.  The Calamity Club will make you laugh, cry, and cheer — an epic testament to underestimated women who know that calamity can be the spark of new beginnings.  This is Kathryn Stockett at her most confident, heartfelt, and hilarious — the triumphant return of one of the most beloved storytellers of our time.

The library's book bike returned to Crown Center

The University City Library's Book Bike came to the Crown Center again yesterday, so I searched online for an illustration.  Surprise!  The very first one that came up (above) is from an earlier visit, and I'm in the photo:  Kevin (left) rode the bike from the library, Bonnie is seated in the doorway, and Melvin is standing.  On one side of the book bike are free books for us that are no longer in circulation or donations not needed, and on the other side are books to check out using our library cards.  Yesterday, Kevin parked the Book Bike just inside our lobby door, rather than in that corner.  After people took the books they wanted yesterday, Kevin let me take four for the Crown Center library.

The Secret Life of Cats

The Secret Life of Cats: Out of the Wild and Into Our Homes ~ by Carrie Arnold, 2026 (reissue), 96 pages, animals, 9/10

Cats use the same five senses as humans, but they view the world differently.  Scientists are just beginning to understand the rich complexity of what it means to be feline.  For thousands of years humankind has been intrigued, perplexed, and enamored by cats. This book celebrates the bond we have with our feline friends. 

When I took in my latest cat, a neighbor let me borrow this paperback from National Geographic about cats.  It includes information about how cats communicate, information about cats throughout history, and how to crack the code of cat emotions.

Another book by my favorite author

Hollow Bones ~ by Jodi Picoult, 2026, literary fiction, 464 pages

On September 11, 2001, when Molly Fitzgerald was only two months old, her mother went to an appointment at the World Trade Center and never came home.  Her father and the stepmother who raised her couldn't have loved her more, but she still grew up with a healthy dread of disasters.  Now an adult, she runs the Rhode Island Department for Emergency Preparedness, mapping out ways to save lives during storms, epidemics, and airplane crashes.  She and her husband, Jesse — a police polygraph expert with his own history of crisis — have found a love that is a solace in a dangerous world.  But then the unexpected upends their new marriage, leading them both to question everything they thought they knew.  Moving between past and present, Hollow Bones is an epic story of the lies we tell ourselves as we write the narratives of our lives, the plans we design to protect ourselves at the worst moments, and the ties that bind mothers and daughters.