King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village by Peggielene Bartels and Eleanor Herman

"King Peggy" is a book that I saw at the library several months ago and it screamed at me to read it.  The front cover is so bold and bright and then when I read the synopsis, I knew that I wanted to read it.  Here is how Amazon.com describes it:   "King Peggy chronicles the astonishing journey of American secretary, Peggielene Bartels, who suddenly finds herself king to a town of 7,000 people on Ghana's central coast, half a world away. Upon arriving for her crowning ceremony in beautiful Otuam, she discovers the dire reality: there's no running water, no doctor, no high school, and many of the village elders are stealing the town's funds. To make matters worse, her uncle (the late king) sits in a morgue awaiting a proper funeral in the royal palace, which is in ruins. Peggy's first two years as king of Otuam unfold in a way that is stranger than fiction. In the end, a deeply traditional African town is uplifted by the ambitions of its decidedly modern female king, and Peggy is herself transformed, from an ordinary secretary to the heart and hope of her community."

It was a fascinating book that made the little tiny town on Otuam so real and vivid.  I feel like I really was there with her in Ghana and really became emotionally invested in her struggles and heart aches.  One reason that I love reading so much is that there are so many places that I know that I'll just never get to see.  Reading is away of 'visiting' those places and being there 'in spirit' instead of in person.  This is one of those books.  I'll most likely never visit Otuam or even Africa, but how amazing that through a book I can gain such insight and feel like in some ways I've traveled there.

As interesting as this book was, and as much as I loved learning about such a different country and culture, I felt bored at times and wanted to get through this book to get onto other books.  I think that it was more the frame of mind I was in while reading this, and not necessarily the quality of the book.  I just didn't find myself anxious to dive right back into it.  Again, I think I was just not in the best mood to read it.

Here are a few quotes I liked:

"God alone makes kings"

"In recent years, Americans had invented many new buttons...to stay connected with people, yet these same buttons actually disconnected them from the people sitting right beside them, or from family members in the next room.  Virtual, remote control connection destroyed human connection, and she sensed that many Americans were, despite their hectic schedules, lonely."

"Bad behavior walks hand in hand with its own punishment."

Stars:  3 1/2

Prude Police:  Only a few baby swear words and some slightly crude talk here and there.  

Charmed...

I read a lot...I mean A LOT!  I always have at least two books going at a time and sometimes even more.  I am always charmed when the books I'm currently reading have a similarity, especially a particularly random one.  Or sometimes, since I try to read a different genre as what I've just finished, the next book  will have something randomly linking it to the previous book such as a name or place and it just amazes me at the strange correlation.

For example, a few months ago I was reading three books where -coincidentally-had an eleven year old girl as the main character.  "The Heretic's Daughter" by Kathleen Kent, took place during the Salem Witch Trials.  This eleven year old girl was imprisoned, with her family, because her Mother was deemed a witch.  It was a bit dark and somber, but fascinating.  I was captivated as I tried to picture what that time period would be like especially during that tumultuous time in our history.  I've not read many books about this subject, but I really was intrigued by this one.  "The Lat Sin Eater" by Francine Rivers follows an eleven year old girl in the mid 1800's as she faces her guilt over her little sisters death.  In her quest to find "The Sin Eater" (who is a man who absolves the residents of this small community of their sins), she comes to an understanding of Christianity.  This book was not my favorite and I was really glad to be finished with it and move on to other books.  The third book in my "11-year-old-girl-is-the-main-character-oh-my-gosh-this-is-so-weird" phase is called "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly.  (Is there a more delightful name than that of this main character-Calpurnia Virginia Tate???  They call her Callie Vee for short and I find that equally as delightful).  To be honest, I am still "reading" this book.  I put "reading" in quotes because I am listening to it on my mP3 player and it's taken me awhile because I usually only listen to it at night right before I drift off to sleep.  I am absolutely loving this book, though!  This little 11-year-old has won me over-she is adorable.  In this book, which takes place in 1899, Callie realizes she hates the "homemaking" skills her mother is trying to get her to learn and develops a close relationship with her Grandfather as she discovers more about her love for science.  It also gives little insights into her life with SIX brothers!!  I have loved listening to this book!

That is just an example of a random coincidence between these three books that I just happened to be reading at the same time.  (Well, not at the exact same time, although how cool would that be??  But, you know what I mean...)  I will post more when I discover them.

"Skeleton Man" by Tony Hillerman

On the front cover the New York Daily News is quoted saying, "...A yarn well spun."  I just love that phrase.  Where did that even come from?  The phrase creates an image in my mind of sitting in front of a fire, cuddled in a warm blankie with a cup of pumpkin spice hot cocoa...and of course a book that I would call "a good yarn".

I'd never heard of this author, but apparently he is a New York Times Bestseller and has a lot of books out. Here's the synopsis from the back cover:

"In 1956, an airplane crash left the remains of 172 passengers

scattered among the majestic cliffs of the Grand Canyon-

including an arm attached to a briefcase containing a fortune in gems.

Half a century later, one of the missing

diamonds has reappeared...and the

wolves are on the scent."

I really wanted more character development and a more interesting and intriguing story.  I was confused too many times to be hooked into the plot.  It was slow going in the beginning, then picked up in the middle, and then fizzled a bit at the end.  It was a very quick and easy read, though, which was good since I wanted to get through it and move on to other books.  When I was about half-way through, I thought that I'd probably not read another book by this author.  But, then as the mystery unfolded and resolved at the end, I wondered if maybe if I should give Tony another go.  A good friend recommended this author to me and so I think that I'll give Mr. Hillerman one more chance to impress me.

Stars:  2 1/2  (Actually, I'd give the first 1/3 of the book 2 stars, the middle 3 stars, and then the end 2 1/2 stars).
Prude Police:  It stayed squeaky clean and only had mild language-a few scattered little baby swear words.

Best Friends + Books + Treats = Pure Heaven

My Book Club is simply amazing.  We started out as acquaintances with a love of reading and have become the best of friends.  Our good friend and Book Club member, Katie, was diagnosed with breast cancer over the summer.  We wanted to do something to raise a little bit of money to help her and her family with the mounting medical expenses.  Since we're a book club, we decided it would be most fitting to have a book sale!  I was overwhelmed with the donations that poured in and our tables were over-flowing with mounds and mounds of books!  We all cried as we presented Katie with our earnings and she expressed her appreciation.  I came home feeling so grateful to have these women in my life...and really tired!!

 My beautiful daughter, Bailey came and helped out.

 We love you, Katie!!

All set up and ready for customers...if I could just tear my eyes away from all the books...!