Nevermore: Midwives, Salt, Still Alice, and much more!

Nevermore opened with the discussion of The Secret of Midwives by Sally Hepworth, a novel which focuses on three generations of midwives. Neva Bradley cannot let anyone know the details of her pregnancy, especially who the child’s father is. Grace, Neva’s mother, cannot let go of the secret. Neva’s grandmother, Floss, finds herself having a feeling of deja vu when she hears of Neva’s situation. Floss holds a deep secret as well—as secret that if ever let out, there will be consequences for all three of the midwives.

Up next was Thief of Glory by Sigmund Brouwer. Jeremiah Prins is 12 years old and living in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). The year is 1940. When Holland declares war on Japan in 1941, Jeremiah and his family are moved to a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. Jeremiah is able to escape and leaves, but only after breaking off a marriage engagement to a girl named Laura. He finds himself living in California, feeling regret and anger about what the war did to him. The Nevermore reader stated that this book was graphic but interesting.

Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier was described as being a good historical fiction piece. Will Cooper is twelve years old when he is given a house, a key, and a map to journey through the Cherokee’s Nation. Along the way, he meets Bear, and Indian chief, who becomes a father figure to him. He also meets Clare who has captured his heart. This book focuses on a boy’s passion and adventure in search of a home.

Next was Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. In this non-fiction novel, Kurlansky focuses on salt. Yes, that’s right—salt. This book covers the impact salt has had in our civilization. Salt once served as a form of currency, which is where the word “salary” comes from. The Nevermore found the book to be interesting and will next read Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Kurlansky.

In Lisa Genova’s Still Alice, Alice Howard is a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard. She is also a world-renowned expect in linguistics. As if her life couldn’t be more perfect, she is also married to a successful man, and they have three grown children together. Alice begins to become disoriented, which only increases over time. This causes a change in her relationship with her family and her work. Alice discovers the reason why she has been forgetting small details—she is in the early stage of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The Nevermore reader said the book was good but is a disquieting piece of fiction that centers around the early onset Alzheimer’s disease. 

Barry Glassner’s The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things was described as being interesting non-fiction that explores relative risk vs. absolute rick and how people misinterpret them. The book focuses on special interests, the news, crime, drug usage, and how the government continues to manipulate its people.

Next was Matthew Christopher’s Abandoned America: The Age of Consequences. Christopher is an architectural photographer who captures photos of abandoned places in America. (Most of the places are located in the north.) He also has a website where you can view additional pictures: www.abandonedamerica.us. Two of our Nevermore readers read this book and enjoyed it!

Faces of Freedom Profiles of America’s Fallen Heroes: Iraq and Afghanistan by Rebecca Pepin (local news broadcaster for WCYB), along with multiple writers, focuses on the fallen American heroes who died at war in Iraq or Afghanistan. This book includes all branches of the military and includes a service member from every US state. The Nevermore reader stated the book contained lots of stories that will affect each person differently. Most of the stories usually brought them to tear.

The Planets by Robert Dinwiddie was also mentioned and was described as being authoritative and up to date with lots of great diagrams and pictures. The book is brand new to the Bristol Public Library and features information gathered by NASA and the European Space Agency. For those who would like a more in-depth view about the solar system, make sure to check out The Planets!

The next book discussed was Paul Abel’s and Brian May’s How to Read the Solar System: A Guide to the Stars and Planets. The Nevermore reader stated that is was a good companion to The Planets, and a quieter and more thoughtful and very British take on our current knowledge of the solar system.

Last, but certainly not least, was Crucible of Command: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee: The War They Fought, the Peace They Forged by William Davis. This book focuses on Grant and Lee and the Civil War. This was described as being a good book by a non-academic historical writer about the battle of Richmond.