Family Plots: Love Death & Tax Evasion

Family Plots: Love Death & Tax Evasion by Mary Kavanaugh

Description: Mary Kavanaugh only wants a husband and father for her small child. When she reestablishes a friendship with an old friend and it turns romantic it seems like nothing can go wrong. But her husband has secrets – many secrets. Mary is a private investigator and should be used to secrets (and solving them). But for some reason she looks past many of the warning signs and ignores them.

Eventually she will realize that her world is full of tax evasion, shady characters, fake weddings (and fake names), and even hidden bank accounts. What do you do when the person you love isn’t honest with you?

Thoughts:I love that this book is a book that is filled with truths. This didn’t maybe happen exactly the same way – but there is a hint of truth in everything that happens.

You spend the entire book going – how did you not see this? But for many people they see only what they want to see. And for her she wanted to believe that her husband was an upstanding person.

I really wish I knew what was true, what wasn’t and what happened next. It is an exciting life that Mary lead.

This is a pretty unique book – I haven’t read many books that cover what she covers in the same way. She doesn’t hesitate to show that she was oblivious and making excuses for everything. I really enjoyed the interactions with the in-laws. They were just odd. But odd in a funny way!

What genre would you consider this?
Fictionalized Memoir

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The Mighty Queen of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter, and the Town That Raised Them

The Mighty Queen of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter, and the Town That Raised Them by Amy Dickenson

Description: Amy Dickenson has a syndicated advice column “Ask Amy”. Many people ask her where she gets her advice from – and it is her own life. Amy talks about the mistakes she made in her own relationships as well as those she made with her daughter in this touching memoir.

Amy shows us her life and her divorce. How hard it was to date, what she did for her daughter (and what her daughter did for her). Mostly it centers around family and a small town –Freeville. Because that is where Amy’s heart is.

Thoughts:Opening yourself up to admit your faults, the good times and the bad in your life is not easy. And this book is definitely where that happens.

This isn’t a book where it covers her life from one time period to another in order – it jumps around a bit as she explores certain subjects in her life. Allowing her to reflect on everything that was going on and why she did what she did.

I haven’t read “Ask Amy” but after reading this – I see what has given her the insight into life that she has. I think that can only help her in gaining more readers.

What genre would you consider this?
Memoir

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In The Land of Invisible Women

In The Land of Invisible Women by Qunta A. Ahmed, MD

What was this book about?

Qanta is a British doctor who just so happens to also be Muslim. When she is offered a job in Saudi Arabia she decides that it wouldn’t hurt to see what it was like, make good money, and wait till she can get a visa in the United States.

For Qanta this is an eye opening experience. She is a respected doctor who is now in a country that treats women completely differently from what she is used to. She has her eyes opened to how the country works. She also takes a journey and explores her Muslim faith.

This book shows us a small glimpse of life like it was for her. The people are generous and caring and yet there is still that touch of hate and racism, that permeates some of their lives. She opens your eyes to all of this and still see them for the great people, the great country that they are.

What did you think about the book?

Usually I don’t read these sort of books because I find them a little dry. They have a lot of facts, but very little story. But I was intrigued by the book jacket of this book enough to pick it up and see what it was about.

I really enjoyed it. I felt like I was there and finding out about a culture that I didn’t really know anything about. But at the same time it wasn’t written by a complete outsider. It was almost an insiders look at the things that make the Saudi culture. But an insider wouldn’t have the perspective of what is so shocking to someone like me – an American.

If you have any interest in learning about how men and women interact, how the Muslim religion is practiced, what sorts of laws govern that area – this is the book to read for you. It definitely made me think about so many different things. From how others reacted to 9/11, how lucky I am to be a woman in America, and many other things.

What genre would you consider this?
Memoir

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Question for you:
Have you ever been to a place that was so culturally different then what you were used to? Do you think your experience opened your eyes to your culture and others the way it did for Qanta?

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination (A Memoir)

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination (A Memoir) by Elizabeth McCraken

What was this book about?

Elizabeth McCraken and her husband were very happy. Part time writers who had been living in Europe were expecting their first child. Everything seemed to be going perfectly. Then the news – their child was stillborn.

Elizabeth talks about her pain during this part of her life. She speaks of the words of sympathy that helped her through. She speaks of how difficult it was to explain to everyone else in the world that her second child (who was born healthy) isn’t her first. She documents her pain for all the world to read – and it is definitely worth reading.

What did you think about the book?

“This is the happiest story in the world with the saddest ending”. While I understand what the author is saying her – that it started out amazing and ended sadly – the whole book is pretty sad. But that doesn’t take away from the writing or the story.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to have the baby that you are preparing for die before you even get a chance to have it. To go weeks with the baby growing inside of you and then never get to meet him or her. I feel like this book was both an homage to the child who died as well as a display of Elizabeth’s grief.

What genre would you consider this?
Memoir

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