Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

Abstract

e is indulged by her parents with designer shoes and knows her place and her responsibly in North Korea’s expectation. She reveres the leaders and though curious about the outside world, holds an insular view of both history and world politics. On a selfish teenage whim, she does a prank that changes her mother’s life forever. She crosses the border illegally and finds herself stuck in China where she must carve out a new life for herself. Lee proves herself up to the task, changing her name and reinventing herself to stay ahead of the authorities. Compelling, and fascinating, Lee’s viewpoint alters as her positions change. Well-written and thrilling, this is an exciting book with unexpected twists and surprises.</p><p id="73dd">A guest from our radio show- Indie Author’s Roundtable…</p><h2 id="cfa1">The Sinking of Bethany Ann Crane</h2><h2 id="e414">by K. Kris Loomis</h2><figure id="a179"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*xMoBxFnmYFzrF-_Gyfssqw.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="a918">The residents of sleepy little Grover Springs wants to do their duty to the United States of America. Asked to participate in a strange experiment, all 17 people living there, agree to allow their bodies to be suspended in a type of stasis where their aging would cease. They agree, and Loomis creates a suitably chilling and creepy story around the event. Stuck in isolation, the town is preserved in the mid- 50’s of the twentieth century and we get to know all the characters and their foibles. Bethany Ann Crane is an eight-year-old included in the bizarre experiment and although many enjoy the benefits of not aging, as her mind matures she becomes conflicted. Beth, as she now wants to be called, struggles being stuck in her childhood body and yearns to live a complete life. Crisp and well-written, this book reads like an episode of the Twilight Zone. Loomis manages to mix real characters in an unreal situation leaving the reader engaged to the very end.</p><p id="759a">A guest from my show Let’s Say Hello to our Neighbors…</p><h2 id="4bbf">If I Kiss You, Will I Get Diabetes? by Quinn Nystrom</h2><figure id="4fd4"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*wXJLqxmot4u7ETtgwawSCw.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="27bd">Informative and touching, If I Kiss You will I get Diabetes? is the real-life account of Quinn Nystrom who was diagnosed with Type 1 d

Options

iabetes at age 13. Familiar with the disease, she helped her brother navigate living with a chronic ailment from the age of five. With the help of her supportive family, Quinn tells of the stages from anger to acceptance about living within the confines of regulating blood sugars.</p><p id="d170">Diabetes takes over a person’s life and as Quinn says, ‘there are no days off.” It’s invasive, debilitating, and there is a constant strain to keep blood sugar levels at bay while trying to keep life balanced. Everything and anything can affect blood sugar levels, from food to stress, leaving someone with this disease a hostage to the illness.</p><p id="9ef7">Quinn and her family bravely take the limitations on, and prove to both the world and themselves they will not be defined by their pancreas but rather by their determination to live life to fullest and healthiest. She embraced her challenges and used them to help others faced with the same issues by becoming a spokesperson for the disease. Alex Elle has said,“I’m thankful for my struggle because without it I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength.” I think the world should be grateful to people like Quinn because she has taken a horrible situation and by sharing her struggle may enlighten and help others to conquer the ignorance surrounding a devastating life-changing illness and help them adjust to weathering and surviving the storm of diabetes.</p><p id="b00b">Just for me…</p><h2 id="ed24">Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine</h2><h2 id="e8e8">by Gail Honeyman</h2><figure id="5109"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*TImoZYOS5kH1Nju90PKb6Q.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="4339">Eleanor is not as endearing as Don is the Rosy Project, but has that same kind of lack of social skills. Isolated in a self-imposed exile from a childhood trauma, her reactions are clumsy and just plain weird. Somehow, Raymond from IT, befriends her, and with persistent kindness and understanding draws her back into the living. Eleanor must confront her own truths in order to heal.</p><p id="6613">Well-written, at times humorous and others heart-wrenchingly sad, Eleanor Oliphant is a sweet, but compelling story of a woman’s struggle to learn to love herself enabling her to find the path back to life. Twist at the end was expected, but the sweetness of Eleanor’s realizations made the book memorable as well as worthwhile.</p></article></body>

Books of the Week a collection from assorted sources available

I read a wide selection of books, most are not my preferred genre, but I like to read books by the authors of one of our podcasts. This has to lead to a great discovery of novels I would never have read before. So this weeks collection is a mixed bag.

A Medium find, book club selection, two of my radio show’s picks, and lastly one for just me.

We forget that most of the people posting blogs are authors. I have been buying up books and have not been disappointed with my new source. Here’s just one pick I found right here on Medium.

A Nanny for Harry

by Sylvia Mulholland

Witty, charming, with a touch of mystery, A Nanny for Harry is an entertaining read. Kali is a pregnant overworked attorney, with an equally overwhelmed husband working grueling hours as a resident. They purchase a money-pit of a house and when the baby arrives, her husband hires a beautiful Swedish nanny conveniently at the last minute.

Kali smells a rat when things don’t add up and she spies some suspicious behavior. Add to the mix a disgruntled and threatening client and the book is a jam-packed thrill ride. I liked this book and enjoyed the characters, even though the husband was a bit of a jerk. Mulholland keeps the reader guessing to the end and her clear, crisp prose is a pleasure to read. Light and easy, this is a great beach read.

The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story

by Hyeonseo Lee

Here’s the book club pick.

Riveting memoir of a young girl who escapes North Korea and the harrowing tale of her journey to freedom. Hyeonseo Lee is the treasured daughter of a high ranking army officer and his wife. Due to her superior placement of her family’s caste, she lives a life of relative ease. She is indulged by her parents with designer shoes and knows her place and her responsibly in North Korea’s expectation. She reveres the leaders and though curious about the outside world, holds an insular view of both history and world politics. On a selfish teenage whim, she does a prank that changes her mother’s life forever. She crosses the border illegally and finds herself stuck in China where she must carve out a new life for herself. Lee proves herself up to the task, changing her name and reinventing herself to stay ahead of the authorities. Compelling, and fascinating, Lee’s viewpoint alters as her positions change. Well-written and thrilling, this is an exciting book with unexpected twists and surprises.

A guest from our radio show- Indie Author’s Roundtable…

The Sinking of Bethany Ann Crane

by K. Kris Loomis

The residents of sleepy little Grover Springs wants to do their duty to the United States of America. Asked to participate in a strange experiment, all 17 people living there, agree to allow their bodies to be suspended in a type of stasis where their aging would cease. They agree, and Loomis creates a suitably chilling and creepy story around the event. Stuck in isolation, the town is preserved in the mid- 50’s of the twentieth century and we get to know all the characters and their foibles. Bethany Ann Crane is an eight-year-old included in the bizarre experiment and although many enjoy the benefits of not aging, as her mind matures she becomes conflicted. Beth, as she now wants to be called, struggles being stuck in her childhood body and yearns to live a complete life. Crisp and well-written, this book reads like an episode of the Twilight Zone. Loomis manages to mix real characters in an unreal situation leaving the reader engaged to the very end.

A guest from my show Let’s Say Hello to our Neighbors…

If I Kiss You, Will I Get Diabetes? by Quinn Nystrom

Informative and touching, If I Kiss You will I get Diabetes? is the real-life account of Quinn Nystrom who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 13. Familiar with the disease, she helped her brother navigate living with a chronic ailment from the age of five. With the help of her supportive family, Quinn tells of the stages from anger to acceptance about living within the confines of regulating blood sugars.

Diabetes takes over a person’s life and as Quinn says, ‘there are no days off.” It’s invasive, debilitating, and there is a constant strain to keep blood sugar levels at bay while trying to keep life balanced. Everything and anything can affect blood sugar levels, from food to stress, leaving someone with this disease a hostage to the illness.

Quinn and her family bravely take the limitations on, and prove to both the world and themselves they will not be defined by their pancreas but rather by their determination to live life to fullest and healthiest. She embraced her challenges and used them to help others faced with the same issues by becoming a spokesperson for the disease. Alex Elle has said,“I’m thankful for my struggle because without it I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength.” I think the world should be grateful to people like Quinn because she has taken a horrible situation and by sharing her struggle may enlighten and help others to conquer the ignorance surrounding a devastating life-changing illness and help them adjust to weathering and surviving the storm of diabetes.

Just for me…

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

by Gail Honeyman

Eleanor is not as endearing as Don is the Rosy Project, but has that same kind of lack of social skills. Isolated in a self-imposed exile from a childhood trauma, her reactions are clumsy and just plain weird. Somehow, Raymond from IT, befriends her, and with persistent kindness and understanding draws her back into the living. Eleanor must confront her own truths in order to heal.

Well-written, at times humorous and others heart-wrenchingly sad, Eleanor Oliphant is a sweet, but compelling story of a woman’s struggle to learn to love herself enabling her to find the path back to life. Twist at the end was expected, but the sweetness of Eleanor’s realizations made the book memorable as well as worthwhile.