The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

Candice Millard.

416 Pages

Pub New York : Doubleday, ♭2005.2005

An extraordinary and thrilling account of Theodore Roosevelt’s journey to find the origin of the Rio de Duda, or the River of Doubt. The story sets its pace after Theodore has just given his speech for the presidential elections of 1912 where he was shot in the chest by a saloonkeeper John Schrank. Even after being wounded in the chest, he spent 90 minutes finishing the speech. Despite his heroics, he failed to win the nomination. What followed was a depressive period, which was soon remedied by an invitation to give a series of speeches in South America by the invitation. Beginning as a simple tour of several South American cities, evolves into an amazing and dangerous tour up the River of Doubt to find its source. The U.S. President as a boy was a keen naturalist and saw this as an opportunity to pursue his lifelong dreams. Accompanied by his son Kermit, and several other naturalists, adventurers, and Cândido Rondon, Brazil's most famous explorer and the river's discoverer. The journey begins blighted by ill prepared plans with poorly thought out supply provisions: caviar, china, untested rafts, and other exotics. What follows is a journey cursed by starvation, malaria, being stalked by the cannibalistic Cinta Larga tribes, and even murder. At one point, a severely ill Theodore pleads to be put to death in order to save the rest of the expedition. In fact, after returning to the US, Roosevelt never recovered his health after his harrowing expedition. The author Candice Millard gives a portrayal of Theodore’s character and moxy, and the intricate and interlaced environment of the Amazon.

The One for You/ Roni Loren/ 442 pgs

This is the final book in a series that I have absolutely loved. This one centers around Kincaid, a feisty real estate agent who just rashly bought a farmhouse with the dream of turning it into a B&B. As with the other books in the series, Kincaid is a survivor of a school shooting. Her then boyfriend, Graham, died that night. She, however, does not have any memories of the evening, which is explained later in the book. Growing up, Kincaid's best friend was Ashton, a nerdy bookish boy who, unbeknownst to her, had a massive crush on her. To escape his parents and the aftermath of the shooting, Ashton left town right after graduation and is now a successful author. However, his leaving gutted Kincaid. For reasons, they are both back in town now and in charge of getting a bookstore ready for sale. This is another wonderfully romantic novel from this author.

Gwendy's Magic Feather / Richard Chizmar / 328 pages

This is the sequel to the book Stephen King and Richard Chizmar co-wrote, Gwendy's Button Box.  Gwendy Peterson is now thirty-seven years old and is a representative in the United States Congress.  She returns to office in Washington one day after a meeting and finds the mysterious button box of her childhood sitting on her desk.  The box was entrusted to her one summer by Richard Farris, a mysterious stranger.  The buttons if pressed could cause catastrophic events in any part of the world.  Gwendy takes the box home with her over the Christmas holidays.  The box has effects over her mother's battle with cancer and with the disappearance of three girls from the town.

The Shoemaker's Wife / Adriana Trigiani / 470 pages

This story is based on the author's grandmother.  The story begins in Italy in the early 1900s.  Enza is the oldest daughter of a large family.  Ciro is being raised with his older brother at a convent after their mother leaves them there when their father is killed in a mining accident in America.  Their mother is mentally unable to care for them.  Enza and Ciro meet when Ciro is hired to dig the grave of Enza's youngest sister who has died.  Shortly after this Ciro immigrates to the United States and becomes an apprentice to a shoemaker.  Later Enza and her father also immigrate to America to earn money to send home to the family to build their own home.  Ciro and Enza both end up in New York City and their paths cross several times, until at last after Ciro returns from fighting in World War I they get married.  From there they move to Minnesota to set up their own shoe business.  This was a beautiful story that does a good job telling the immigrant experience in the United State.

The Silent Patient / Alex Michaelides / 323 pages

Alicia Berenson is a famous painter married to a famous fashion photographer.  One evening her husband returns home late from work and Alicia shoots him five times in the face.  Police arrive to find her with the gun, but Alicia never speaks a word.  She refuses to talk or explain all through her trial.  She is found guilty and is put in a secure psychiatric unit in North London.  Over the years Alicia continues her silence and her art work increases in value.  Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who is fascinated by Alicia's case and when a position opens up at the facility that houses Alicia, Theo applies and is hired.  Thus, Theo sets out to try to get Alicia to talk.  The results of his efforts lead to unexpected consequences and takes the reader on a thrilling journey!

A Fatal Winter / G. M. Malliet / 364 pages

Max Tudor is the priest in the small English village of Nether Monkslip.  His former occupation was in the intelligence community and as a result the local police come to him to help investigate crimes.  In this story a bother and sister, Lord Footrustle and Lady Baynard,  living in nearby Chedrow Castle are found dead.  Max is called on to go to the castle and to interview the long-lost greedy relatives who have recently come to visit at the castle.  With the information he gathers he solves the mystery of who is responsible for the murders.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time / Mark Haddon / 226 pages

This book is about a mathematically gifted autistic boy, Christopher,  living in England.  The author tells the story from Christopher's point of view. Christopher's mother has left him and his father to live in London with another man.  She can no longer cope with raising an autistic child.  Christopher's father tells him his mother is sick in the hospital and then that she has died.  One day Christopher is in his neighbor's backyard and discovers that the neighbor's dog has been murdered.  Christopher sets out to be a detective and track down clues to solve the dog's murder.  In the process he stumbles on evidence that his father has lied to him about his mother and that she is living in London.  Angry with his father Christopher takes off on his own to London to find his mother.

A Madness of Sunshine/ Nalini Singh/ 352 pgs

I've always wanted to read something by Nalini Singh but she writes paranormal romance which is not my thing. So I was happy to see she'd written a suspense novel. This one takes place in a remote little town in New Zealand and the descriptions of the landscape really make me want to travel there. Anahera returns to her small hometown after the death of her cheating husband. A lot of ghosts still reside in town, including that of her abused mother, now deceased, and her abusive father, still living. As soon as she returns, a young woman goes missing while on a run. The only police officer around is Will, an outsider banished to this remote town after an "incident." The cast of characters are well done and Singh lets you see them from outsider Will's eye as well as Anahera's, a local but one who's been gone for twelve years. Add in some missing hikers from years ago and the insulated location and this is a tense, well-done suspense. I hope she writes more of them.

Thriver / Mendel Rosenberg / 79 pages

What drew me to this book is that the author lived in St. Louis when he wrote this book.  Mendel Rosenberg lived with his family in Lithuania.  When the Germans invaded Lithuania in World War II the Rosenberg family was forced to move to the ghetto created for Jews in 1941.  Mendel was 14 years old at the time. Eventually the family is transferred to concentration camps.  Mendel's father, grandmother, and brother do not survive the war.  Only Mendel and his mother survive.  The author does a good job telling his story of his life surviving WW II and what he did after the war.

The Pink Suit / Nicole Mary Kelby / 280 pages

On November 22, 1963 President Kennedy and the First Lady travel to Dallas, Texas.  Mrs. Kennedy is dressed in the now iconic pink Chanel-style suit that was the President's favorite.  This novel tells a story of how that suit was created in the New York boutique Chez Ninon.  Kate is an Irish immigrant that works at the boutique and is charged with making this suit.  Although the two women never meet, Kate knows exactly how to make the suit to fit the First Lady.  The story shows how this famous suit also was a big part of Kate's life.

Escape From Paris / Stephen Harding / 206 pages

This is the true story of a small group of downed American aviators in World War II who are hidden and guided out of Nazi occupied France by the French resistance fighters.  The story specifically focuses on American Joe Cornwall and the daughter of the family sheltering him, Yvette Morin.  Yvette and her parents lived and worked at the Hotel des Invalides, a complex of buildings which includes the tomb of Napoleon.  The Morin family with the help of other resistance fighters were able to smuggle in , hide, and help downed Allied flyers escape Nazi France.  Joe Cornwall spent more time with the Morin family due to unexpected circumstances which allowed time for Yvette and Joe to fall in love.  By the time Joe is able to escape he and Yvette are engaged.  Shortly after Joe gets out of France Yvette and her parents are arrested by the Nazis for their resistance activities.  The book follows the story of what happened to Yvette and Joe during the rest of the war and after WWII ends.

I Bring the Fire Series, Part 2 Monsters / C. Gockel / 264 pages

After being attacked by a serial killer, saved by Loki the so called god of mischief, lies, and chaos then dragged to Alfheim, losing every cent in her bank account because Loki decides to borrow it, and caring for her ill grandmother, Amy Lewis has lost her scholarship to veterinary school. But it's all right, she has a plan. If she manages to keep her day job as a receptionist, and her night job as a vet tech, she might be able to get her scholarship reinstated and save enough money for the dreaded "miscellaneous fees." Too bad her regular boss had to take care of some things and her new temporary boss is unbearable.  Agent Steve Rogers (not related to Captain America) has political aspirations, but when a suitcase nuke turns out to be something much worse and so-called Norse gods start showing up in his life, he has a priority shift, and is transferred from the career path of his choosing to DUO the department of Anomalous Devices of Unknown Origin. Meanwhile, Loki's priorities and plans haven't changed at all. He wants Asgard to burn for Odin’s part in murdering his sons, ex-wife, and mentor. Of course, earthly pleasures can be so distracting.These three disparate characters have little in common, but they'll have to join forces to save the earth from trolls, wyrms, frost giant invasions, and an old evil growing beneath Chicago's streets.Narrated by Barrie Kreinik 7h 18min.

I Bring the Fire Series, Part 1 Wolves / C. Gockel / 254 pages

Driving across america from California to Chicago, Amy Lewis is on her way to her grandma's house for her summer break from college and she's being chased by a very bad predator. Galaxies away Loki, is waking up in a prison cell, strangely without a hangover, and with no idea what he's done wrong-this time, anyway. Thor is hiding something, Odin is up to something wicked, and there seems to be something that he's forgotten.  It seems that Thor has broken his oath to Loki to protect his sons and Odin is determined to execute them for “treason” against the throne. In the process of breaking out of prison and trying to save his sons Loki falls through a portal to Earth and ends up saving Amy. Now Loki and Amy must join forces to outwit gods, elves, magic sniffing cats, nosy neighbors if Amy can convince him not to be too distracted by Earthly gadgets, Earthly pleasures, or three-day benders, they just might pull it off. Narrated by Barrie Kreinik 7h 25min.

Hopeless Series, Book 1 Hopeless Magic / A. K. Koonce / 161 pages

Zakara is thief and on one job where she breaks into a tower she finds more than what she was looking for and  when a fight breaks out she gets hurt badly but ends up saving three men that were locked inside the tower. Her first instinct is to ditch them as soon as possible, after all to survive she needs to look out for number one, herself, but they have the one thing that intrigues her more than wealth, and that’s magic. After the decline of technology, Fae magic ruled the world, until the Fae withdrew and it disappeared without a trace. Now only myths of the magic wielders linger in their destroyed society. The three prisoners she saved claim to be Fae, but she doesn't trust them. She doesn't trust anyone. Can Prince Ryder convince the pretty thief to lead them to the Hopeless City where the Fae supposedly reside? Or will she kill or ditch him and his companions before they even arrive? Narrated by Dara Rosenberg 3h 5min.

Divine Dungeon Series, Book 5 Dungeon Eternium / Dakota Krout / 344 pages

The narrator for the Audio book version changed between the first four books and this last book, it is unbelievably distracting because the voices for each character are drastically different than the last books.  The Epic conclusion of the Divine Dungeon Series. The world watches the sky with trepidation. Xenocide's insanity knows no bounds, and all will soon suffer the effects he had planned. For a millennium Xenocide has manipulated the necromancers, the guild and kingdoms to get them to all war against each other and so that he could get their energy to power the massive ritual he wanted to do. And though none know what is to come, they all know it isn’t going to be easy to survive. The Master (of the Necromancers) has a plan, one that can give the world at large a way to escape the oncoming desolation. It may be on the bleeding edge of morality and what he needs might prove too difficult to secure, but The Master asks for trust, which might be difficult to get with the things he has been manipulated by Xenocide to do.  Cal and Dale both have their role to play as the world hurtles toward destruction. One needs to bring the races of the world together while the other simply needs to survive. Surrounded by supposed allies, the duo will do all that they can to succeed—but with every new arrival comes rising tensions and faltering trust. Narrated by Luke Daniels 10h 7min.

Divine Dungeon Series, Book 4 Dungeon Desolation / Dakota Krout / 401 pages

Cal finally gets Dani back and even resurrects Dale, Again. But the necromantic armies are on the warpath and nowhere is safe. Even the presumed sanctuary of Cal’s now floating dungeon is threatened! The leadership of nearly all the sentient monarchies has been wiped out, and only the races most suited to repelling the advancing darkness have an intact chain of command. Cal learns quickly that the most pressing threat is not the far-off war, but is instead those entrusted with the general population's protection. As it turns out, the idea of having a flying dungeon for your people is very tempting indeed.  Dale has been facing his own trials and tribulations better than anyone else could have hoped for, but when the war takes a turn for the worse, his duties are forcibly assumed by another. Since his only chance at survival is painful and rigorous advancement, Dale must learn if his strength of will can develop into strength alone. If not, the world itself may be at risk. Narrated by Vikas Adam 11h 56min.

Divine Dungeon Series, Book 3 Dungeon Calamity / Dakota Krout / 431 pages

Powerful necromancers are on the move, and if there’s one thing Cal hates most it’s necromancers and Cal is caught in the crossfire. Then the Necromancers take his partner and without his faithful Wisp, Dani, Cal's mind slips into madness and he begins creating traps and monsters that go against his already loose morals, his dungeon falls into disrepair. After a direct threat from an unexpected force causes Cal's mind to stabilize, he throws all of his resources into keeping his thoughts clear and busy, becoming stronger so that he and his won’t ever be hurt again, while he funds searches for his lost companion. When others fail him again and again, Cal decides to take matters into his own hands. Deadly occurrences remind Dale that no matter how well he does in his small community, he is still considered a weakling in the greater world. Though he continues his physical and mental training, he decides to gain strength by any means necessary, as he tries to find Dani for Cal before Cal slips back into madness, even if these decisions are killing him. Narrated by Vikas Adam 13h 13min.

Divine Dungeon Series, Book 2 Dungeon Madness / Dakota Krout / 424 pages

Dungeon Core Cal saved both the town the resides near him and Dale, although Dale doesn’t seem grateful to him about it. Both Cal and Dale have become stronger, each in spite of the other. The dungeon-Cal-knows exactly how much their strength has increased, and is working hard to become exponentially more powerful. His schemes are becoming more complex, and his dungeon (body) more deadly. Dale has a nasty surprise waiting for him as he works to thwart the plans of the devious dungeon. Hearing a voice (Cal) in his head that distracts him at critical moments, he must fight his mind as he battles deadly creatures. Unbeknownst to both, they are in for the fight of their lives as madness threatens the land. Narrated by Vikas Adam 12h 1min.

Divine Dungeon Series, Book 1 Dungeon Born / Dakota Krout / pages

For eons, conquering dungeons has been the most efficient way to become a strong adventurer. Although, not everything is as straightforward as it seems. Several questions have always plagued the minds of those that enter these mythical places of power: Why are there so many monsters? Where do the amazing weaponry and heavy gold coins come from? Why does the very air fill with life-giving energies?! Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions, for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Core, a human soul forced against his will into a magical stone after Necromancers sacrifice him.  After several lonely years, Cal was able to regain sentience, allowing him to form new memories while slowly growing a dungeon around himself. With help from a friend, Dani a willow-the-wisp Cal learns how to create monsters and traps, increasing his power and size quickly. But when a threat to his existence rears its head, Cal decides that he will do anything to stay alive and become stronger. Unfortunately for treasure-seekers and adventurers, the fastest way for Cal to achieve his goal . . . is to eat anyone that enters his depths. Dale was a sheepherder when he stumbled on the dungeon in the mountains, and he knows how valuable the land on which it sits will be.  Before anyone finds out about it he buys the land rights to the entire mountain and then submits the new dungeon location to the guild. His trials to becoming stronger and richer have only just begun if only he can survive the dungeon that seems to be trying to kill him. Narrated by Vikas Adam 12h 33min.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek/Kim M. Richardson/308 pgs

Book discussion started off the year with a terrific read. This book combines two factual things--the Pack Horse Librarian program of FDR's WPA and the Blue People of Kentucky. In 1936, Cussy Mary and her father are the last of the "Blue People" of the eastern hills of Kentucky. They and their ancestors suffer from a rare genetic disease that turns their skin blue. They are not treated well by the white hill-folk or the townspeople of Troublesome Creek. Despite that, Cussy took the initiative and became accepted in the Pack Horse Librarian program. She rides a mule (Junia--a truly delightful personality) and delivers books and magazines deep into the hollers and hills of Kentucky. Going along with Cussy on her delivery route is both fascinating and heartbreaking. I had to keep reminding myself that the story takes place in 1936 because this area of Kentucky was very underdeveloped and the poverty was staggering. The attention to historical details and each and every unique character make this book a standout.