Tidying Up a Long Life-A Review of “Bernice Runs Away” by Talya Tate Boerner

As the title suggestions, Bernice decides to run away from home-but Bernice is not a child, but a delightful and quirky 80 something year old with a family, a home and friends that love her. Why would a senior citizen decide to leave everything and everyone she knows to go on an adventure?

Bernice is a widow and lives alone with her cat in the house she and her husband first moved into when they were married. She has the support of her church friends and her good friend Marlene. Her daughter wants her to move to Atlanta and live in a carriage house she is building on her property so she won’t be alone. But, of course, Sarah, her daughter, never thought to ask Bernice if moving in with her was something she wanted to do. And it isn’t.

Bernice is tired of her old life. She reminisces about her summers as a teenager spent at Lake Norfork and her first love, John Marvel, who broke her heart. She decides she will move to the Lake and try to change her life.

She uses the techniques set out in Marie Kondo’s organizational books (which I personally don’t care for) but in a humorous way so it was not preachy like Marie can be, to decide what is important for her to keep and take with her to the Lake. She uses these techniques throughout the book.

Once at the Lake she makes new friends and discovers more about herself and what has been bothering her deep down over the years. She gets a new haircut, gets some answers about her teenage love, and sorts her family issues out. The author does a great job by making the story realistic, not magically giving Bernice all the answers she wanted but having her grow as a person and basically, tidy up her past and present life.

I truly enjoyed this book and read it in a day. It is not a thriller or a mystery book. It is purely a sweet family story starring a plucky 81 year old who reminds me of my own mother. I highly recommend this book. I give it 5/5 stars.

Thank you to One Mississippi Press and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this ARC.

“Roar”- Bite Size Pieces of a Woman’s World

       Over the weekend I finished Roar by Cecelia Ahern. This gem of a book offers bite-sized pieces of everyday events and feelings women of all ages can relate too. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

There are thirty micro-fiction pieces in this book, each titled “The Woman Who…”. Some of my favorite stories include: “The Woman Who Was Swallowed Up by the Floor and Who Met Lots of Other Women Down There Too”- a story about a woman giving a presentation with embarrassing results and how she got over her feeling of embarrassment, ” The Woman Who Returned and Exchanged Her Husband”- what would happen if your husband came back with a money back guarantee and you could trade him in, like a car?, and “The Woman Who Ate Photographs” about a woman who ate her memories to relive them. I loved many more of these stories. I could relate to almost all of them, and I know any woman who reads these will chuckle and nod her head.

These stories are not linked formally, but instead are a snapshot of a single issue women face in each. They can be read all at once, or separately at different times. I like to read this book at work when I can snatch a moment or two of quiet, or in the car, or before I go to bed for a good laugh. They are funny, but they will make you think about how women are faced with little problems all the time and how we can overcome them.

They are not “I hate men” stories but instead are woman-centered with the good and the bad. They are like magical realism feminist micro-fiction with a humorous tone.

I want to thank NetGalley and Hachette Book Group for the chance to read the ARC of this delightful collection of micro-fiction.

I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

A Funny Field Guide- Review of “The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America”

  I will confess right here. I am a ‘birder’ or someone who enjoys watching birds. This little spoof of a field guide caught my eye and it is quite amusing for anyone who knows a little about birds, or for anyone who wants (or thinks they want) to take up the rewarding habit of birdwatching.

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America by Matt Kracht is a slight book with hand-drawn pictures of common birds of North America (although most of the birds seem to be West Coast birds; where Matt lives) and descriptions of the birds given in a unique style.

The title should set the tone for the book. In reality, I think Matt likes birds, and enjoys being a birder although he presents his ‘field guide’ with snarky comments about their behavior and their looks.  Take the cover model, the White-Breasted Nuthatch, a pretty little bird who comes to my feeders year round. Matt calls them White-Breasted Butt Nuggets and describes their free-loading personalities and quirks of eating upside down.

The book starts with a funny story about how he starting watching birds and drawing them. He talks about how to use the book, where to find birds, what you need to start the hobby, parts of a bird (the drawing is quite informational), the main bird shapes (sometimes you can’t see a bird clearly like at dusk or from behind, but the shape of the bird can give you a start on identification) and a great section on the ethics of bird watching.

Section two is a small selection of common birds he describes with colorful language (lots of cussing here) and has beautiful hand-drawn illustrations. They are not divided into classes of birds, like most field-guides. I am not sure how he selected which birds to include in this ‘guide’. They are both east, west, and middle USA birds, with mostly west coast represented. My favorite designation are the birds he calls ‘Murder Birds’ mainly killers like the Great Gray Shrike who impales their pray on thorns (kinda like the heads on spikes that Count Dracul liked to decorate with) and the Cooper’s Hawk who eats other birds.

Section three is tips for watching birds, like what you need to see them (like binoculars). Section four is about the four seasons of bird watching and what to expect. I think this is a brilliant section; most field-guides don’t bother with this information. There is a section on extinct birds, how to pick the right birder feeder for your yard, how to make your own bird feeders, and how to keep a bird journal. I love the screen shots of his own bird journals, they are funny, sarcastic, yet oddly beautiful.

Could a newbie birder use this book? Yes, and no. I think it would be a great gift for an experienced birder to get a good laugh. As far as a newbie, it could spark an interest in birding and the book does have some information about markings and behaviors to learn about bird identification, but a standard field guide will also be necessary. I would love to see more from Matt but in a more organized fashion with the classic bird groups represented and maybe a mention of online resources including birding lists would be helpful.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes, I did. I could do without all the swear words and teenage boy humor but the observations are mostly spot-on and the drawings are great.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. Thanks to Net Galley and Chronicle Books for the chance to read the ARC.