Kate’s 2¢: “The chimney sweeper’s boy: a novel” by Barbara Vine  

“The chimney sweeper’s boy: a novel” by Barbara Vine  

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Martha Harmon Pardee did an excellent job of narrating this book. The author wrote a compassionate tale of how one gay man dealt with his issues. I felt sorry for the wife, who put up with it all for so long.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.[2] A second string of works was a series of unrelated crime novels that explored the psychological background of criminals and their victims. This theme was developed further in a third series of novels, published under the pseudonym Barbara Vine.

Rendell has sold an estimated 20 million copies of her novels.[3]

Early life[edit]

Rendell was born as Ruth Barbara Grasemann in 1930, in South Woodford, Essex (now Greater London).[4] Her parents were teachers. Her mother, Ebba Kruse, was born in Sweden to Danish parents and brought up in Denmark; her father, Arthur Grasemann, was English. As a result of spending Christmas and other holidays in Scandinavia, Rendell learned Swedish and Danish.[5] Rendell was educated at the County High School for Girls in Loughton, Essex,[4] the town to which the family moved during her childhood. In 2016 a blue plaque was unveiled at her former home, 45 Millsmead Way, Loughton, in recognition of her time living there.[6][7]

After high school, she became a feature writer for her local Essex paper, the Chigwell Times. She submitted a story narrating a local sports club dinner she had not attended. Because of her absence from the dinner, she did not know that the after-dinner speaker had died midway through the speech, and she failed to report it. She was subsequently forced to resign.[8]

Personal life[edit]

Rendell met her husband Don Rendell (not to be confused with the British saxophonist of the same name) when she was working as a newswriter.[4] They married in 1950, when she was 20, and in 1953 had a son, Simon,[9] now a psychiatrist-social worker who lives in the U.S. state of Colorado. The couple divorced in 1975 but remarried two years later.[10] Don Rendell died in 1999 from prostate cancer.[9]

She made the county of Suffolk her home for many years, using the settings in several of her novels. She lived in the villages of Polstead and later Groton, both east of Sudbury. She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1996 Birthday Honours[11] and a life peer as Baroness Rendell of Babergh, of Aldeburgh in the County of Suffolk, on 24 October 1997.[12] She sat in the House of Lords for the Labour Party. In 1998, Rendell was named in a list of the party’s biggest private financial donors.[13] She introduced into the Lords the bill that would later become the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (the intent was to prevent the practice).

In August 2014, Rendell was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September’s referendum on that issue.[14]

Rendell was a vegetarian who was described as living mostly on fruit.[15] She described herself as “slightly agoraphobic” and slept in a specially made four-poster bed because “I like to feel enclosed.”[15]

She was a patron of the charity Kids for Kids.[16]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The chimney sweeper’s boy: a novel DB47794

Author: Vine, Barbara

Reading Time: 13 hours, 23 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Martha Harmon Pardee

Subjects: Mystery and Detective Stories, Psychological Fiction

When famous author Gerald Candless dies suddenly, his beloved daughter Sarah agrees to write his biography. She immediately discovers that her father was not the man he portrayed himself to be: he had stolen the name of a dead boy, and his whole past was a lie. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex.

New York : Harmony Books, 1998.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Black Out” by Lisa Unger

“Black Out” by Lisa Unger

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Martha Harmon Pardee, my favorite narrator, did a great job with this Psychological thriller.

   Unger masterly wielded her craft to create a truly horrible nightmare situation for Annie.

A few take-aways:

–Demons rattle and scream and thrash until you can’t ignore them any longer.

–You think you love him but you know how evil he is.

–The union that made me weakest, has produced the union that has made me the strongest.

–There’s more to life than just playing it safe.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

lisaunger.com

Lisa Unger (née Miscione; born April 26, 1970) is an American author of contemporary fiction, primarily psychological thrillers.[1][2]

Biography[edit]

Miscione was born in New Haven, Connecticut but grew up in the states, England and New Jersey. She spent her teens in the Long Valley section of Washington Township, Morris County, New Jersey.[3][4] Miscione moved to New York City after high school, where she graduated from the New School for Social Research and spent a decade working in publishing in New York. During a vacation in Florida, she met her future husband Jeff Unger, who was vacationing from Detroit. After marrying Unger, she resigned her job, moved to Florida and gave herself a year to sell her first novel. Fairly quickly, she found an agent and sold a deal to produce four crime novels.[2] Her first four books were published in her maiden name of Lisa Miscione.[4]

In 2002, she published Angel Fire, the first book featuring Lydia Strong. The book received mixed reviews. Publishers Weekly described it as “gripping and terrifying right through the carnage of its final scene” and commended the novel’s depictions of grisly scenes.[5] Rex Klett, writing for Library Journal, praised the Unger’s writing style and the book’s suspense.[6] However, Kirkus Reviews called it “predictable” and “flatly written”, criticizing Lydia’s characterization.[7]

In June 2006, Unger published Beautiful Lies, her first novel under her married name,[2] through Crown Publishing Group. It became a New York Times Best Seller the week it was released.[8]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Black out: a novel DB68143

Author: Unger, Lisa

Reading Time: 11 hours, 31 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Martha Harmon Pardee

Subjects: Psychological Fiction, Suspense Fiction

Annie Powers lives a luxurious Florida lifestyle with her small daughter and her husband, who works for his father’s privatized military company. But Annie is still terrified of a killer from her past–and no one can convince her that he’s really dead. Strong language and some violence. 2008.

New York : Shaye Areheart Books, c2008.

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Kate’s 2¢: “The betrayed wife, Family Secrets (01)” by   

“The betrayed wife, Family Secrets (01)” by   

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Ann Marie Lee did a good job of reading this interesting dilemma. It is unfortunate that it is the children who bare the brunt of adults misdeeds.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

kevinobrienbooks.com

Kevin O’Brien is an American novelist of thriller and suspense novels. He grew up in Chicago’s North Shore, attending Sacred Heart School and New Trier East High School in Winnetka, Illinois. He studied journalism at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and moved to Seattle, Washington in 1980. He worked as a railroad inspector for several years, while writing his first novel in various hotels.[1]

His first novel, Only Son, was published in 1997 and was optioned for film rights by Tom Hanks.[1] It was also selected by Reader’s Digest for their Select Editions, along with novels by John Grisham, Nicholas Sparks, and Barbara Delinsky.[2] His second novel, The Next to Die, was published in 2001 and became a USA Today bestseller.[2] He has since written over twenty more novels, many of which have also been USA Today bestsellers.[3] The Last Victim (2005) hit the New York Times Bestseller List and won the Spotted Owl Award for Best Pacific Northwest Mystery.

His latest novel, The Enemy at Home, was released on August 22, 2023. It is a historical thriller set in 1943 Seattle, where a woman joins America’s “Army at Home” of defense plant workers and becomes connected to a serial killer they call the “Rosie Ripper”.[3]

He resides in Seattle today and is active in efforts in supporting up-and-coming authors, including Seattle 7 Writers and Hugo House.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The betrayed wife DB110556

Series: Family secrets

Order in Series: 01

Author: O’Brien, Kevin

Reading Time: 14 hours, 23 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Ann Marie Lee

Subjects: Mystery and Detective Stories, Psychological Fiction, Suspense Fiction

“THE PERFECT FAMILY Sheila O’Rourke has always known her husband isn’t perfect. Who is? But things have been better since they moved to Seattle to make a fresh start. So much so that when sixteen-year-old Eden turns up, claiming to be Dylan’s child by another woman, Sheila tries to be welcoming. CAN BECOME At first, Sheila feels sympathy for the girl. Eden’s mother recently fell to her death in an incident with unsettling parallels to Sheila’s past. Still, Eden is a difficult house guest, sowing discord among the family. Sheila has already been on edge for weeks, receiving anonymous texts, noticing odd noises coming from the house next door. And that’s just the start. A PERFECT NIGHTMARE Sheila wants to trust Dylan. She wants to feel safe in her own home. But no one can hurt you more easily than the ones closest to you . . . the ones you keep believing until it’s too late . . .” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

[United States] : Tantor Media, Inc., [2019]

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Kate’s 2¢: “A Pearl in the storm: how I found my heart in the middle of the ocean” by Tori Murden McClure

“A Pearl in the storm: how I found my heart in the middle of the ocean” by Tori Murden McClure

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   This book was one of seven stories on a cartridge NLS sent to me.

   Faith Potts did a good job of narrating this story. It was fun to read about an adventure I’d never have the nerve to attempt.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Victoria Murden McClure (born March 6, 1963) is an athlete, adventurer, chaplain, lawyer, and university administrator who was the first woman and the first American to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1999. She was also the first woman and first American to ski to the geographic South Pole and the first woman to climb the Lewis Nunatak in the Antarctic.

Early life and education[edit]

McClure was born on March 6, 1963[1] in Brooksville, Florida[1] and as a child moved to Connecticut and then to Pennsylvania. At the age of fifteen, she moved in with her grandmother in Louisville, Kentucky, to attend the Louisville Collegiate School from which she graduated in 1981. She went on to Smith College, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1985. She followed that with a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School in 1989, a J.D. from the University of Louisville School of Law in 1995,[1] and a Master of Fine Arts in writing from Spalding University.[2]

Solo row across the Atlantic[edit]

Thirty-six years old at the time,[3] she rowed for eighty-one days, traveling 4,767 kilometres (2,962 mi), starting from the Canary Islands and finishing at Guadeloupe on December 3, 1999. Her boat, Pearl, was twenty-three feet long, four feet high, and six feet wide and weighed about 1800 pounds.[4][5] It was her second trip across the ocean, her first one cut short due to the hurricane season in 1998.

She wrote a memoir about her experiences, A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean, published by HarperCollins in 2009.[citation needed]

Antarctic[edit]

Murden is also noted for her 700-mile ski across the South Pole (the first woman to ski to the South Pole), and she was the first woman to climb the Lewis Nunatak in the Antarctic.[citation needed]

Other activities[

 McClure worked as a chaplain at Boston City Hospital, the executive director of a shelter for homeless women, and a public policy analyst for the Mayor of Louisville, and she worked for the boxer and humanitarian Muhammad Ali.[citation needed]

On June 1, 2010, she became the president of Spalding University, a private Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky.[6] She retired in 2024.[7]

She was the chair of the Board of the National Outdoor Leadership School.[8]

She also served as the Chair of the Board of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), an outdoor education school headquartered in Lander, Wyoming, that emphasizes environmental ethics and wilderness excursions.[citation needed]

She retired in 2024.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

A Pearl in the storm: how I found my heart in the middle of the ocean DB70111

Author: McClure, Tori Murden

Reading Time: 10 hours, 19 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Faith Potts

Subjects: Adventure, Travel, Women

The author recounts her quest to become the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. McClure details a harrowing but failed 1998 voyage in a twenty-three-foot boat that forced her to confront her personal demons and a later attempt that brought love, enlightenment, and, finally, success. 2009.

New York : Collins, c2009.

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Kate’s 2¢: “The Bend of the World” by Jacob Bacharach

“The Bend of the World” by Jacob Bacharach

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Although Julian Thompson did a good job of narrating this book, I did not finish it.  At first, so much potty mouth turned me off, then, it just got too far out for my interest and believability.

   I think NLS should list lgbtq in the ‘subject’ line.

POSTED IN

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

A Pittsburgh writer’s audacious first novel blends corporate satire, science fiction and conspiracies

“I wanted the book to have a sense in which adulthood is a sort of conspiracy against youth.”

Bacharach is publishing his first novel. The Bend of the World, he quips, is “a coming-of-age story in which no one comes of age.”

Set in Pittsburgh, the book is a rollicking, occasionally mad blend of dark workplace comedy and crooked love triangle(s), improbably suspended in a web of conspiracies and conspiracy theories involving, variously, UFO sightings over Mount Washington, time travel, a corporate takeover, Bigfoot, secret chambers beneath the Point, Nazi ancestors and plenty of drugs. The narrator is Peter Morrison, age 29, with a fateful 30th birthday party looming.

Bend of the World, out April 14 on W.W. Norton imprint Liveright Publishing, is already getting national press. And the real-life story of a young Pittsburgh arts administrator with no publishing credentials getting a hardcover deal might inspire some conspiracy theories itself — save for the strange power of the Internet.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The bend of the world: a novel DB79129

Author: Bacharach, Jacob

Reading Time: 9 hours, 5 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Julian Thompson

Subject: Psychological Fiction

Peter Morrison is drifting through life with his easy-to-please girlfriend, his rich grandmother, and his best friend Johnny, who is into drugs and conspiracy theories. When Peter meets older couple Mark and Helen, his world changes–and not necessarily for the better. Strong language. 2014.

New York : Liveright Publishing Corporation, A Division of W. W. Norton & Company, [2014]

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Kate’s 2¢: “The night listener : a novel” by Armistead Maupin

“The night listener : a novel” by Armistead Maupin

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I like the way Ray Hagen narrated this intriguing story. It was interesting how the author incorporated the blind woman and her guide dog.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Armistead Jones Maupin Jr.[1][2][3] (/ˈmɔːpɪn/ MAW-pin; born May 13, 1944)[4][5] is an American writer notable for Tales of the City, a series of novels set in San Francisco.[6]

Early life[edit]

Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., to Diana Jane (Barton) and Armistead Jones Maupin.[1] His great-great-grandfather, Congressman Lawrence O’Bryan Branch, was from North Carolina and was a railroad executive and a Confederate general during the American Civil War.[7] His father, Armistead Jones Maupin, founded Maupin, Taylor & Ellis, one of the largest law firms in North Carolina.[8] Maupin was raised in Raleigh.[9]

Maupin attended Ravenscroft School and graduated from Needham Broughton High School in 1962.[10] He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he wrote for The Daily Tar Heel.[11]

Career[edit]

Maupin worked at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, a station managed by future U.S. Senator Jesse Helms. Helms nominated Maupin for a patriotic award, which Maupin won. Maupin said he was a typical conservative and segregationist at this time and admired Helms as a hero figure. Maupin later changed his opinion and condemned Helms at a gay pride parade on the steps of the North Carolina State Capitol.[9][12][11] Maupin is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and served several tours of duty including one in the Vietnam War.[13]

Maupin worked at a Charleston newspaper and the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press in 1971.[14][15] In 1974, he began what would become the Tales of the City series as a serial in a Marin County-based newspaper, the Pacific Sun, moving to the San Francisco Chronicle after the Sun’s San Francisco edition folded.[16]

In 1978, Maupin publicly accused San Francisco Police Inspector Dave Toschi of faking one of the Zodiac Killer’s taunting letters to the media, seriously and irreparably damaging Toschi’s career and reputation. Maupin claimed to have noticed a similarity between anonymous fan mail Toschi had sent him after Maupin based one of his Tales of the City characters on him, and a Zodiac letter received by the San Francisco Chronicle on April 24, 1978. Although the USPS crime lab cleared Toschi of being the Zodiac letter’s author, Toschi admitted to writing the fan mail and was removed from the case, destroying his chances of succeeding Charles Gain as chief of the San Francisco PD.[17] The incident is portrayed in the 2007 David Fincher film Zodiac.[18]

Personal life[edit]

Maupin has stated that he recognized his sexual orientation as gay from a young age,[12][11] although he did not engage in sexual activity until he was 25, and decided to come out in 1974.[9][42][43][20] For 12 years, he was in a relationship with Terry Anderson, a gay rights activist who co-authored the screenplay for The Night Listener. The couple lived together in both San Francisco and New Zealand.[44]

After his breakup with Anderson, Maupin married Christopher Turner, a website producer and photographer, whom he met through a dating website.[29][45] The couple was married in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on February 18, 2007.[21] In 2012, Maupin purchased a home in Tesuque, New Mexico, previously owned by shoe designers Lynne and Dennis Comeau.[46] In 2019, Maupin and Turner relocated to London,[47] settling in Clapham.[48] In November 2023, Maupin became a British citizen.[47]

Maupin’s life and work are explored in the documentary The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin.[49] Early in his career, he was mentored by writer Christopher Isherwood, who had a significant influence on his writing.[50][51] Maupin identifies as an atheist[52] and is a cousin of the British singer Sarah Jane Morris, formerly of The Communards.[12][53]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The night listener : a novel DB52746

Author: Maupin, Armistead

Reading Time: 9 hours, 54 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Ray Hagen

Subject: Psychological Fiction

Downloaded: 04/18/2026

Gabriel Noone suffers from writer’s block, struggling to create a script for his late-night radio program and trying to cope with the departure of his lover of ten years. The arrival of a book manuscript by a thirteen-year-old boy who has endured horrendous sexual abuse by his parents changes Gabriel’s life. Strong language. 2000.

New York : HarperCollins, c2000.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Perfection salad: women and cooking at the turn of the century” by Laura Shapiro

“Perfection salad: women and cooking at the turn of the century” by Laura Shapiro

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Margaret Strom did a good job of narrating this history of women and cookery. The author’s well-documented research delved into the 1800’s cooking and eating habits, then brought us up into the 1900’s and beyond.

   I like to plan my meals around some process, convenient  foods and home-made items from scratch and grown in my small garden.

 A few take aways:

–By watching what people buy, you can tell a lot about them.

–Food is a lens, through which to view the world.

–Perfection salad is the name given to an aspect salad filled with finely chopped cabbage, celery, and red pepper…in the 1905 Knox Gelatin cooking contest.

–We live upon, not what we eat, but what we digest.

–…apple, celery, mayonnaise salad packed into a tomatoe….bannana and nut salad tucked inside a banana skin

–…unless these families were willing to properly adjust their eating habits no change in their condition was possible.

–The best opportunity to install the principles of scientific cookery on a grand scale, was offered by the public school.

–Smith Lever Act: putting the education into the hands of trained teachers.

–…learning to cook by putting canned vegetables together with sauces…not understanding the science of the chemistry.

–Women’s cooking remains an anonnemous service to their families; while men’s cooking tends to become an highly personal gift to a grateful audience.

–Smooth and flawless and innocent, a light as perfect as a molded salad inspired the domestic scientist and they never dreamed of wanting food.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

laurashapirowriter.com

Laura Shapiro (born June 20, 1946) is an American food journalist and historian. Shapiro was a dance critic for The Boston Globe in the 1970s and joined Newsweek magazine in 1984. She shifted to food writing during her 15-year tenure at Newsweek, and in 1995, she won a James Beard Foundation Award for one of her magazine features.

Shapiro has written four books on culinary history. Her 2007 biography of television chef Julia Child won the Literary Food Writing award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Biography[edit]

Laura Shapiro was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 20, 1946.[1] She is one of two daughters of Frances Sidd (1917–1997), a former caterer who worked for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and Boston Ballet, and Harry Shapiro (1914–2014), who played the French horn in the BSO from 1937 to 1976 and was later the orchestra manager at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox.[2][3] She was raised in Needham, and she graduated from Needham High School and then Radcliffe College.[4][5] As her father played in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, her summers growing up were spent in Berkshire County.[6] She recalls some important life experiences in the Berkshires, especially in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge and the Lenox Library, describing the latter as one of her favorite places.[6] Her career began at the Cambridge Phoenix and the alternative weekly The Real Paper; at the latter publication, in the 1970s, she mainly wrote about the women’s movement.[7][4][8] She was a dance critic for The Boston Globe later in the 1970s, and she joined Newsweek magazine in 1984 to write on dance.[8][4] She ultimately spent 15 years writing on food for the publication, during which she won the 1995 James Beard Foundation Award in the category “Magazine Writing on Diet, Nutrition & Health” for her feature “The Skinny on Fat”.[9][10] Her writing has appeared in Gastronomica, Gourmet, The New Yorker, and The New York Times.[8]

A culinary historian, Shapiro has written four books about women and food.[11][12] From 2009 to 2010, she was a fellow at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, where she worked on a collection of biographical essays.[13] Shapiro and Rebecca Federman curated the exhibition Lunch Hour NYC at the New York Public Library, June 2012 to February 2013, which discusses how New York City gave the lunch hour its modern identity, examining a 150-year history.[14][15] She appeared in the first episode of a food podcast hosted by the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, Ox Tales, released in 2018.[16]

Shapiro served a three-year term on the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities ending in 1974, and was appointed for another term in 1976 by state governor Michael Dukakis.[17][18]

As of 2018, Shapiro lives in New York City.[6] She is married to John Stratton Hawley [Wikidata], a professor of religion at Columbia University’s Barnard College.[1][19][20]

Writing[edit]

Perfection Salad (1986)[edit]

Shapiro published her first book, Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century, with Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 1986. It examines the influence of science and industry on home cooking and the roles of women in the U.S. in the late 19th century, including the home economics movement and the development of the American cuisine.[21][22][23]

In an effort to gain background information for her work at The Real Paper, Shapiro began reading about the women’s movement of the 19th-century at Schlesinger Library, in Cambridge. During this time, she started conducting archival research on women’s lives in the kitchen, an intersection of topics she felt was overlooked, and working on what would be Perfection Salad.[8] Research for the book led her to surmise that “[f]ood coverage is either written by the food industry or at the service of the food industry.”[23]

Barbara Ehrenreich of New York Times Book Review felt the book had “deft humor” that some readers “may find unbecoming to a work of such impeccable scholarship”, though she felt it was appropriate given the subject matter.[21] In a review of the 2001 reprint, Kirkus Reviews noted some “risible facts” in Shapiro’s history, but felt it was not “palatable or even digestible reading fare”.[24] Maxine Margolis, writing in The American Historical Review, wrote that the book provided “a wealth of data on a topic that has been too long ignored” despite insufficient analysis in some places.[22]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Perfection salad: women and cooking at the turn of the century DB62572

Series: Modern Library food

Author: Shapiro, Laura

Reading Time: 11 hours, 15 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Margaret Strom

Subjects: Cooking, Home Management, Social Sciences, Women

Downloaded: 04/09/2026

A history of the American domestic science movement at the beginning of the twentieth century. Describes the efforts of women to gain control of the kitchen using scientific methods that resulted in bland, processed food. Considers the influence of industrialization and economics on the way meals are prepared. 1986.

New York : Modern Library, 2001, c1986.

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Kate’s 2¢: “New Native kitchen: celebrating modern recipes of the American Indian” by Freddie Bitsoie and James O. Fraioli

“New Native kitchen: celebrating modern recipes of the American Indian” by Freddie Bitsoie and James O. Fraioli

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Mark Ashby did a great job of narrating this interesting collection of recipes and history of their various Native American origins.

   I was pleasantly surprised to find out how many of these ingredients I have been incorporating into my meals for decades.

A few take aways:

–Listening to people and places is just as much a part of story telling as speaking is.

–grocery shopping can be an adventure.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Freddie J. Bitsoie is a Navajo chef and author. He was the Executive Chef for the Mitsitam Native Foods Café at the National Museum of the American Indian.

Bitsoie was born in Utah to Diné parents and moved frequently between Albuquerque’s Sandía Mountains and California.[1] He attended the University of New Mexico, majoring in cultural anthropology with a minor in art history before attending culinary school in Scottsdale, Arizona.[2]

James O. Fraioli is a published author of twenty-five books and an award-winning filmmaker. Fraioli has traveled the globe alongside experienced guides, naturalists, and scientists, and has spent considerable time exploring and writing about the outdoors. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Seattle Aquarium and works with many environmental organizations. Learn more about his work at VesperEntertainment.com.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

New Native kitchen: celebrating modern recipes of the American Indian DB106243

Authors: Bitsoie, Freddie, Fraioli, James O.

Reading Time: 6 hours, 46 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Mark Ashby

Subject: Cooking

Chef Bitsoie and James Beard Award-winning author Fraioli present a collection of recipes celebrating Indigenous cuisine and food traditions of North America. Categories include soups, salads and vinaigrettes, vegetables and starches, land and sea, and puddings and sweets. Includes a list of pantry items typically found in Indigenous kitchens. 2021.

New York : Abrams, [2021]

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Kate’s 2¢: “The Best Friend” by Shalini Boland

“The Best Friend” by Shalini Boland

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Mare Trevathan did a good job narrating this psychological friendship story. Surely you’ve heard: If it’s too good to be true; it probably isn’t true.  And of course: With a friend like you, who needs an enemy.

   Boland plied the craft to heighten the suspense and plot twist to perfection.  

A few take-aways:

–You may think we live in a civilized society…We’re all just animals fighting for survival.

From: https://shaliniboland.com/

British author

Shalini Rachelle Boland  aka

Shalini Rachelle Nagarkar

Shalini Nagarkar

Born November 1969

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The best friend DB104650

Author: Boland, Shalini

Reading Time: 7 hours, 28 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Mare Trevathan

Subjects: Psychological Fiction, Suspense Fiction

Louisa Sullivan’s little boy has made a new friend and he is asked over for a play date. When Louisa takes him over, she meets Darcy Lane, the new friend’s mother. Darcy seemingly has everything and becomes Louisa’s new friend. But Darcy hides secrets. Violence and strong language. 2018.

London : Bookouture, 2018.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Her dark lies” by JT Ellison

“Her dark lies” by JT Ellison

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Brittany Pressley did a good job of narrating this tantalizing story. It has all the right elements of a haunted castle, underground tunnels, spectacular panaramas, glorious people when they’r at their most casual moments, not to mention, whoever is killing the family and servants.

A few take-aways:

–Memory: echoes of realitytwisted and molded into what we want to believe.

–We all want to be remembered for something.

–Some of want to make those marks as vivid as possible.

–Self-defense: don’t hesitate, Don’t draw back before they realize what’s going to happen, Plow ahead.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.jtellison.com

J. T. Ellison is a New York Times bestselling American author. She writes domestic noir and psychological thrillers, the latter starring Nashville Homicide Lt. Taylor Jackson and medical examiner Dr. Samantha Owens. She also pens the “A Brit in the FBI” series with #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter. With over a million books in print, Ellison’s work has been published in twenty-eight countries and sixteen languages. She is also the co-host of the Emmy Award-winning television series, A Word on Words,[1] which airs on Nashville Public Television. Ellison is also the founder of Two Tales Press,[2] an independent publishing house, and The Wine Vixen,[3] a wine review website. She lives with her husband in Nashville, Tennessee.

Background[edit]

Ellison was born outside of Orlando, Florida and moved to rural Colorado when she was two, then to Washington, D.C. at the age of fourteen. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College with a double major in Politics and English Creative Writing and a minor in Economics, then received her master’s degree from George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management. Ellison was a presidential appointee and worked in The White House and the U.S. Department of Commerce before moving into the private sector to work as a financial analyst and marketing director for several defense and aerospace contractors.[4]

Writing career[edit]

When Ellison’s college advisor told her that her writing wasn’t good enough to be published, Ellison changed her plan to get a Master’s of Fine Arts and, instead, went into politics. Eight years later, while living in Nashville, Ellison was recuperating from a back injury when she first read the PREY series by John Sandford and rediscovered her love of storytelling.[5]

Ellison began to research her hidden passions: forensics and crime, and was compelled to begin writing down her stories. To research her books, she has worked with the Metro Nashville Police Department and the FBI, as well as performing autopsies and studying survivalists.[6]

Ellison is perhaps best known for her Lt. Taylor Jackson series, which features Nashville homicide detective Taylor Jackson. Ellison successfully spun-off the series with Jackson’s best friend, Medical Examiner Dr. Samantha Owens, as she begins her life in Washington, D.C.[7] In 2012, Ellison teamed up with #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter to co-write a new FBI series. The first book, The Final Cut, released in September 2013 and hit every major bestseller list. The series continues with The Lost Key, The End Game, The Devil’s Triangle and The Sixth Day; the newest installment is The Last Second.[8] Ellison published her first standalone novel, No One Knows, a Nashville-based domestic thriller, in 2016 with Gallery Books.[9] and followed with a second standalone, Lie to Me, in 2017 with MIRA Books. Her third standalone, Tear Me Apart, released in 2018. Good Girls Lie in 2019, and Her Dark Lies in 2021. Her latest standalone, It’s One Of Us, is set to release February 28, 2023.[10]

She also has co-written with Erica Spindler and Alex Kava on two anthology collaborations: Slices of Night and Storm Season.[11]

Ellison is a co-founder of Killer Year, an interactive society composed of 13 debut crime/mystery/suspense authors whose books were first published in 2007, creating an active online community and teaming authors with mentors from among the most established authors within the genre. The group was dedicated to furthering the writing, publishing and marketing goals of its members and the highly popular community involved readers, reviewers, and publishing professionals. A collection of short stories by the graduating class, including comments and contributions from seasoned vets such as Lee Child and Allison Brennan, was published to acclaim as Killer Year: Stories to Die For…From the Hottest New Crime Writers. Killer Year became the model for the International Thriller Writers debut author program, which Ellison helped develop.

Ellison also was one of the original members of, and a contributor to, the Anthony Award-nominated crime fiction blog, Murderati, which ran from 2006 to 2012 and is now an archive. She also contributed essays in volumes published by Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers and regularly blogs about the writing business on The Tao of JT.

She also writes under the name Andrea Ellison overseas (France and Holland/Belgium)[12]

Ellison is an active member of several professional writing organizations, including International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America and Romance Writers of America.

Ellison’s books have been published in: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom.

Personal life[edit]

Ellison lives with her husband and twin cats in Nashville.[19]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Her dark lies DB108289

Author: Ellison, J. T.

Reading Time: 11 hours, 57 minutes

Production: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, Library of Congress

Read by: Brittany Pressley

Subjects: Psychological Fiction, Suspense Fiction

Downloaded: 04/26/2026

“Fast-paced and brilliantly unpredictable, J. T. Ellison’s breathtaking new novel invites you to a wedding none will forget–and some won’t survive. Jutting from sparkling turquoise waters off the Italian coast, Isle Isola is an idyllic setting for a wedding. In the majestic cliff-top villa owned by the wealthy Compton family, up-and-coming artist Claire Hunter will marry handsome, charming Jack Compton, surrounded by close family, intimate friends… and a host of dark secrets. From the moment Claire sets foot on the island, something seems amiss. Skeletal remains have just been found. There are other, newer disturbances, too. Menacing texts. A ruined wedding dress. And one troubling shadow hanging over Claire’s otherwise blissful relationship–the strange mystery surrounding Jack’s first wife. Then a raging storm descends, the power goes out–and the real terror begins… You won’t be able to guess what happens in the end!” — Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada : Harlequin Audio, OverDrive, [2021]

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