Showing posts with label Blitzer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blitzer. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Nevermore: Daughters of Yalta, Everyone Who Is Gone Here, Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife

 



Nevermore 12 - 2 -25

Reported by Rita

The Daughters Of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War by Catherine Grace Katz

The untold story of the three intelligent and glamorous young women who accompanied their famous fathers to the Yalta Conference in February 1945, and of the conference’s fateful reverberations in the waning days of World War II. Tensions during the Yalta Conference in February 1945 threatened to tear apart the wartime alliance among Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin just as victory was close at hand. Catherine Grace Katz uncovers the dramatic story of the three young women who were chosen by their fathers to travel with them to Yalta, each bound by fierce family loyalty, political savvy, and intertwined romances that powerfully colored these crucial days.

Very interesting and enjoyable. I learned more about WWII. - KM 5 stars

 


Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis by Jonathan Blitzer

An epic, heartbreaking, and deeply reported history of the disastrous humanitarian crisis at the southern border told through the lives of the migrants forced to risk everything and the policymakers who determine their fate.

I found this interesting and filled with lots of information, however, it was not an easy read. - NH 3 stars

 


The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston

Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he'd return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is there's nobody left in Fred's life to borrow from. At eighty-two, he's desperately lonely, broke, and on the brink of homelessness. Fred's luck changes when, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he takes the place of Bernard Greer at the local nursing home. Now he has a roof over his head, three meals a day, and, most importantly, the chance to be part of a family again. All he has to do is hope that his poker face is in better shape than his prostate and that his look-alike never turns up. As Fred navigates life in Bernard's shoes, he learns about the man's past and what it might take to return a life in better condition than he found it.

 

Fun and funny, mellow, and sad in parts. An absolutely delightful feel-good story. - NH 5 stars

 

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott

Finding My Way by Malala Yousafzai

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater

The Pilgrims And Pocahontas: Rival Myths Of American Origin by Ann U. Abrams

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds by John Fugelsang

 

New Books

 

107 Days by Kamala Harris

Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi's Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging by Angela Buchdahl

Bad Bad Girl by Gish Jen

Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy by Joyce Vance

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Nevermore: Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here, Alarm of the Black Cat, Noel Letters

 



Reported by Rita

Everyone Who is Gone is Here: the United States, Central America, and the Lives in Between by Jonathan Blitzer

An epic, heartbreaking, and deeply reported history of the disastrous humanitarian crisis at the southern border that tells the story of the migrants forced to risk everything and the policymakers determining their fate.

Well-researched. It is a good book about a horrible situation.    – DC     5 stars

 


The Alarm of the Black Cat by Dolores Hitchens aka D. B. Olsen

This classic mystery features a family feud, feline intervention, and the spirited septuagenarian sleuth from The Cat Saw Murder.

I didn’t care for it.      – WJ     2 stars

 


The Noel Letters: From the Noel Collection by Richard Paul Evans

The best-selling series by the award-winning author of The Christmas Box explores themes of faith, love, and redemption during an illuminating holiday season.

I thought this was a fun book. I really enjoyed the quotes from famous writers at the beginning of each chapter.     – WJ       5 stars

 

 

Other Books Mentioned

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

Lincoln: a Novel by Gore Vidal

In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face-to-Face with the Idea of an Afterlife by Sebastian Junger

Murder in Georgetown by Margaret Truman

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

Blink: the Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

New Books

Before We Forget Kindness: a Novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Invisible Kitties: a Feline Study of Fluid Mechanics or the Spurious Incidents of the Cats in the Night-Time by Yu Yoyo

A Walk in the Park: the True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko