The In-Between, A Memoir by a Famous Tik-Tok person

 

I was scrolling through what books had audio versions available to borrow on my library app and I came across this book. I was hesitant, did I want to listen to a book about death, but I decided to give it a go.

The audio version is read by the author Hadley Vlahas who is a hospice nurse. Later I learned she is Tik-tok famous for her hospice-related Tik-toks.   She is young and after I was done with the book, I noticed that many of the less-than-positive reviews seemed to be bothered by her youth.  

I was a little put off when I started the book because I wasn't very interested in a religious-based book on life's final moments.  However, I listened a little bit longer and I found that Hadley Vlahos was pretty balanced. This book is a memoir of Hadley becoming a nurse and then a hospice nurse. She grows into full adulthood over the course of the book.  As the subtitle suggests she shares stories of the last moments of some of her patients over the years.  

Now I wonder, are these amalgamations of patients, or did she have the approval to share the actual details of her patients. I'm going to assume she had approval to share actual details because the stories are all lovely, so I assume these people (or their families) were OK with being included in her book. 

I walked away from this story with a book hangover, the book is hopeful, but sad too. I would actually like to read another book from a hospice nurse or doctor just to compare it to this one, so if anyone has a recommendation, please let me know. 

4 stars!

Possibility of Life, Are We Alone Out Here Or?

If you read or watch and enjoy Sci-Fi in any form, I recommend reading or listening to this book. Jaime Green approaches the big questions of our existence and whether or not we are alone as a scientist who loves to read. The book is filled with what we know from science and how that informs our stories of the possibility of life. If you find non-fiction to be 'dry' give this book a try and I think you'll find it fascinating. I am giving it 5 stars because it will stick with me for quite some time and because she talks about some books that I will now seek out and read. 

Here is what it says on Goodreads about this book:

In The Possibility of Life, acclaimed science journalist Jaime Green traces the history of our understanding, from the days of Galileo and Copernicus up through to our contemporary quest for exoplanets in the "Goldilocks zone," where life akin to ours on Earth might exist. Along the way, she interweaves insights from a long-standing tradition of science fiction writers who use the power of imagination to extrapolate and construct worlds that in turn inspire scientists.

Weaving in expert interviews, cutting-edge astronomy research, philosophical inquiry, and pop culture touchstones ranging from A Wrinkle in Time to Star Trek to Avatar, The Possibility of Life explores our evolving conception of the cosmos to ask an even deeper question: What does it mean to be human?

 

Cook County ICU: 30 Years of Unforgettable Patients and Odd Cases

I chose to read this book because it was included in my Audible subscription.  It's not a book that I would have spend my monthly credit on--those credits are like gold! So I save them for books I *really* want badly. Cook County ICU is a fairly short book and it reads like a collection of columns. As if Cory Franklin had a weekly column in the Chicago Tribune where he shared notable events and people at Cook County hospital-- a Mike Royko or Studs Terkel slice of hospital life column. 

I enjoyed his stories and seeing the perspective of a doctor as someone who has only hand medical experiences as a patient. My favorite stories in the book were when Dr. Franklin talked about the 1995 heat wave we had, I was very surprised to learn that Cook County Hospital didn't have central air in 1995--BONKERS! Can you even believe it?  My goodness. It was so hot that summer.  I need to go see if there is a good book or podcast covering the story of the heatwave. 

Secondly, there was a story about a nurse and I knew early on in the story that this was a case of Munchhausen. Munchhausen is something that fascinates me.  I get why a person might go to those lengths for attention. Now that being said, I don't understand Munchhausen by proxy, hurting someone else to get attention, ick. 

Overall 3.5 stars an interesting read! 

 

Crying in H Mart

 

I don't read many memoirs and have been of the opinion that people under 40 haven't lived enough life to truly write a memoir. Based on this book and I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, I've decided that was a ridiculous opinion. 

Crying in H Mart is a book about food, families, the immigrant experience, and how much cancer sucks.  It's a beautiful book and I'm so glad that Michelle Zauner wrote it. She has a beautiful writing style and it makes sense that she is a songwriter and musician.  I steered clear of this book for quite a while because I didn't want to read about someone dying of cancer. 

However, recently I felt ready to give it a go, and I wasn't super triggered over it. This is because the book is about a daughter who is with her mom as her mom undergoes cancer treatment which isn't successful. If I had lost my mom to cancer, I don't know if I could read this book.  

As I was reading the book Michelle's writing simultaneously made my mouth water with her descriptions of food and cooking, and moments later I was ready to cry with her because of how unfair so much of life can be from one day to the next. 

The story doesn't end with Michelle's mom's death, we see how Michelle works through the grieving process and then how she flourishes as a musician. In the last chapter of the book Michelle talks about a song her mother loved when she was young, and I had to look it up on YouTube.  It's a bop! Listen to it below: 

 

Wanna Know a Fun Fact?

 

If you are a person who likes a good fun fact or likes to play trivia games this is a book you might just want to pick up. It was included with my Audible subscription and as I mentioned, I have a goal to read at least one non-fiction book per month, so here we are this is my February Non-Fiction book!

I listened to this book and what is nice about it is that basically, it's a long list of historical facts, most of which people don't readily know.  Frankly, and I mean this in the nicest way, this is a good bathroom book. 

It covers a lot of historical facts from America and England. I definitely didn't know most of the information related to England. 

When it comes to major historical events, in almost every case, a slight change could have made a huge difference. This book is filled with all the if not for X, X would not have happened. 

Case in point, the title of the book, Napoleon was having a bad morning due to hemorrhoids and didn't get on the battlefield in a timely manner and the battle was lost. 

Or that President Kennedy was wearing a back brace that keep him upright and like contributed to his death. Or that the Eiffel Tower was supposed to be torn down after it was up for 20 years, and the only reason it was kept up was that it had a radio transmitter. 

4 Stars this book is easy to read and is packed with interesting facts about history. 

#TheSundayPost Last Sunday in January!

  

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

We are on the cusp of February. How was your January? We have a few days left if there is anything you'd like to do to button up your month or end it with a bang! Tomorrow I get to attend a cooking demo at my local library. The cooking demos always fill up fast so I set a reminder earlier this month so I didn't forget to register the moment registration opened. 

Later today the last post for the #SIAM will be posting it's the final book in the Night Rebel series Wicked All Night.  I enjoy participating in these #SIAM a trilogy of three books is really manageable for me!

What else am I talking about this week?  We will be starting February

and I have a non-fiction book to share- 

Plus a 5 star book by Charlaine Harris

We *are* all related. A Brief HIstory of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford

 

Here is the blurb for this book from Goodreads: 

This is a story about you. It is the history of who you are and how you came to be. It is unique to you, as it is to each of the 100 billion modern humans who have ever drawn breath. But it is also our collective story because in every one of our genomes we each carry the history of our species births, deaths, disease, war, famine, migration, and a lot of sex.

Since scientists first read the human genome in 2001, it has been subject to all sorts of claims, counterclaims, and myths. In fact, as Adam Rutherford explains, our genomes should be read not as instruction manuals, but as epic poems. DNA determines far less than we have been led to believe about us as individuals, but vastly more about us as a species.

In this captivating journey through the expanding landscape of genetics, Adam Rutherford reveals what our genes now tell us about history, and what history tells us about our genes. From Neanderthals to murder, from redheads to race, dead kings to plague, evolution to epigenetics, this is a demystifying and illuminating new portrait of who we are and how we came to be."

I'm working on reading more non-fiction in 2023, so I saw this book on Audible.com and since I had a bad BRCA2 gene, it appealed to me because it talks about genetics and DNA. I have found that I am much more likely to finish a non-fiction read if I do the audioversion and listen during my runs and general housework. Easier for me to focus.  I listen at 2.0 speed and that helps as well---less mind wandering.

This book is a brief overview of the evolution of humans. I know that we humans are all related at some level, but this book put that idea back front and center.  We all share a common ancestor and as humans have multiplied groups of us can be traced back to various historical individuals, which is pretty neat.  We aren't like cars off an assembly line, a near copy of our parents or our parents' parents, all of our genes and our DNA changes enough in each version of a person that we really are our own person; and our genes do not determine our outcomes.  They may influence some things but there isn't a doomed-gene, an amazing-person- gene, or a you-are-going-to-live-to-a-100-gene. 

What I took away from the book was the important reminder that we are all related and at the same time we are truly one of a kind.

4 stars

Blitzed by Norman Ohler

 No there isn't anything wrong with your eyes, the cover of this book is blurry. When this book came out in 2017 it was a huge bestseller and there are many fantastic reviews of the book on Goodreads. This is a non-fiction book that read like fiction.  I listened to the audioversion so it's not correct to say that I couldn't put this book down, but I can say I was riveted from start to finish. 

The book starts with the history of drug creation in Germany. Did you know that crystal meth was created by German pharma? Yep. Wild, the Nazi Regime was riddled with meth heads. From the head monster himself Hitler down through the rank and file. At the same time pills were given like candy to everyone in the military and government, the Nazis were publically very anti-drug with strict punishments for those caught using. This is to say, no surprise Hitler et al., were a huge bunch of hypocrites. 

Much of the book focuses on the relationship between Hilter and his Doctor, and you learn that Hilter had all sorts of physical and mental ailments which probably help increase his dependency on all the drugs. It's good to know that Hilter suffered while alive, a small consellation for all the lives he took and people he destroyed.  Too bad he didn't die of an overdose earlier in the war. 

5 stars for this haunting read. 

How Do You Stop A Determined Assassin?

If you enjoy watching thrillers,  if you enjoy stories set with the backdrop of the white house, if you have seen the movie Air Force One; you'll likely find Carol Leonnig's book Zero Fail a compelling and fascinating read.

How do you keep a President safe?  Especially in this 21st century where there are drones, and Havana Syndrome, and 3-D printers able to print plastic guns. This book examines the decades-long struggle of the secret service to protect the President of the United States, their families, and candidates for office.  The push and pull of trying to protect a highly visible person, one who wants and needs to interact with the citizens of the United States as well as travel the world spending time with foreign leaders and dignitaries, is a real sticky wicket. 

I listened to the audio version of this book while I was out running over the last week or so. It was very interesting to learn about failures on the part of the Secret Service that may have played a part in the shooting of JFK, a near-miss with George HW Bush as well as the shooting of Ronald Regan.  In each case, one small slip, one lack of imagination, or too much deference to the person being protected lead to disaster.  And on the other hand, we will never know how many times people or organizations were stopped by one small thing going right. Lack of funding and resources has plagued the Secret Service--with many of those who were part of Presidential details working an untenable amount of hours on a regular basis. 

It came as no surprise to me to learn that often thanks to booze or men not being able to keep their pants on -(be that the President or secret service personnel)  Presidents have been thisclose to being assassinated or compromised by a foreign agent.  And also there is the usual BS you find in any office situation where people are trying to climb the corporate ladder.  I'd been busy with raising kids and I have to say that I completely missed the sex scandal the Secret Service was embroiled in during President Obama's second term--there was a real frat-boy culture. 

 5- stars for Zero Fail from me. This is a very comprehensive look at an incredibly important agency.