Romanov by Nadine Brandes

Every once and while you hear a claim made by an elderly woman that she is the long lost Anastasia Romanov. It was even a joke of Betty White's character Elka on "Hot In Cleveland".  I had a childhood friend who claimed to be Anastasia's granddaughter (she wasn't--I knew both sets of her grandparents, and they were 100% Italian.).

So who exactly was Anastasia Romanov? 
Read here from Wikipedia:

"Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (Russian: Анастаси́я Никола́евна Рома́нова, tr. Anastasíya Nikoláyevna Románova; June 18 [O.S. June 5] 1901 – July 17, 1918) was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna.

Anastasia was the younger sister of Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, and Maria, and was the elder sister of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia. She was murdered with her family by a group of Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918.

Persistent rumors of her possible escape circulated after her death, fueled by the fact that the location of her burial was unknown during the decades of Communist rule. The abandoned mine serving as a mass grave near Yekaterinburg which held the acidified remains of the Tsar, his wife, and three of their daughters was revealed in 1991. These remains were put to rest at Peter and Paul Fortress in 1998. The bodies of Alexei Nikolaevich and the remaining daughter—either Anastasia or her older sister Maria—were discovered in 2007. Her possible survival has been conclusively disproved. Scientific analysis including DNA testing confirmed that the remains are those of the imperial family, showing that all four grand duchesses were killed in 1918.^[1][2]

Several women falsely claimed to have been Anastasia; the best known impostor is Anna Anderson. Anderson's body was cremated upon her death in 1984, but DNA testing in 1994 on available pieces of Anderson's tissue and hair showed no relation to the Romanov family."

So despite proof of Anastasia's murder, stories that she survived and fled to Siberia or America persist.  

This was a very easy read I finished in a day.  It's a romanticized tale that had a few eye roll moments for me.  Not really my cup of tea. 

A better question though is I have absolutely no idea how I got this book or how it made it's way to my to-read shelf.  It's not pre-cataloged, so it didn't come from Follett.  It's not a Scholastic edition, so it didn't come from the annual warehouse sale. It's not in my Amazon order history.

Maybe Anastasia wanted me to read this version of her story?

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson

Lizzie Borden took an ax
Gave her mother 40 whacks
And when she was done
Lizzie gave her father 41...

While the old jump rope rhyme isn't totally accurate, it solidifies the picture of a young woman who brutally murdered her parents in every child's playground memory.

The Lizzie Borden murders are a fascinating story, an unsolved mystery in a quaint New England town at the end of the 1800s.  The Borden house still stands, operating as a haunted bed and breakfast.  The same goes for the home she'd die in later.  Halloween in Fall River brings paranormal investigators, amateur sleuths, and macabre tourists.  And me. (Let's not neglect to mention the phenomenal Portugese bakeries all over the city!!!!)

Mr. Lupoli, the Carrigan Band Director, recently went on a "Babymoon" as he and his wife await the arrival of their son.  His Facebook album basically planned my itinerary to Fall River/Newport/Providence.

In preparing to visit, I wanted to brush up on my Lizzie history. 

I'll be honest, I have not seen the most recent movie on the murders, because Kristen Stewart?  Then again, I was shocked at Stewart's amazing portrayal of Joan Jett (see my post about Neon Angel).

So when this appeared as a suggestion for our Library collection, I jumped on it.  Again, box-unpacker perk hehehe.

There are a lot of theories about who really killed Andrew and Abby Borden (Abby was Lizzie and her sister Emma's STEPmother).  Certainly could've been Lizzie.  Her maternal uncle visiting?  A recently fired employee of Andrew's?  The housemaid Bridget?  A would-be thief? 

As a final note, and something I learned in reading this book---Lizzie's lawyer locked up her file as it confidential under attorney-client privilege.  The law firm still exists.  And Attorney Robinson's file cabinet is still there.  Locked and under the watchful eye of the firm's current partners more than 125 years later.

Coming up in early Spring, the Connecticut Association of School Librarians annual Share2Learn UnConference.  One of the sessions is Readers' Advocacy.  We have to bring 5 books to share, and this is one I'll be bringing!
Among the others reviewed here:
A Craftsman's Legacy
The Toll
The Grace Year
Nightingale

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

This book was recommended to me by our book vendor, Follett, as a "top selller" in nonfiction.  One of my goals is to update our nonfiction holdings (still hovering in 2002/3 for our average age).  Now, the Dewey Decimal System is kinda weird (OK, let's be honest here, it's outdated, misogynistic, racist, and just plain dumb in some respects); things Library related are in the very first set of Dewey--027.  So that's where this was placed.  True, it does have a lot of Library stuff in it. For example, as topics are discussed, their Dewey numbers are included. Also how Libraries work and how this has changed as the American concept of "Library" has developed, how materials are processed and moved, the various jobs of the staff in a system holding millions of volumes (we hold about 9,000 for comparison), the relevance of Libraries today.  But also History, specifically American/California History tied to literacy, suffrage, urban planning, war, poverty, philanthropy, and politics.  And a lot about fire--how fire burns, how it spreads, and its suppression.  There is also a fair amount of personal autobiography and reflection.  It would be interesting to poll a bunch of Librarians and ask where they'd put it.  I think there'd be a wide spread based on age, location, and level of the Library and Librarian!  If I was going to teach a class or guest speak in a Librarian preparation program, I'd definitely be requiring at least an excerpt from this book and holding an exercise in cataloging.  Maybe something you might see some day?  #wink

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Three Sad Nos From Me

I sometimes struggle with negative reviews.  I know how badly it hurts to have someone put down your work.  I can only imagine being an author and reading a bad review over the book you consider your baby.  Many times I do not even bother to write a poor review and just move on.  But I feel like I owe it to my blog readers/vlog viewers/library kids to explain these over the past two weeks.

So, first, a bad review for School Library Journals.
As most of you know, I moonlight as an SLJ reviewer.  I've read some awesome up and coming books, some eh, and now one I could not finish.  Due to my non-disclosure agreement, I cannot write too much here about said book, but I was horrified.  Child abuse, religious indoctrination, animal abuse.  I nearly threw up halfway through.  I emailed my editor and politely declined to read a sentence further.  Thankfully, she understood and gave me a pass on that review.

Second, a Stephen King book.
Wait, what?  Yeah, I had no idea what I was in for here.  I of course grab anything King the moment we get it (perk of being the person who unpacks the boxes hehe).  I absolutely despised Elevation.  The first thing I noticed here was how tiny this book is.  It's more classified as a novella.  And it's a happy, make the world better novella.  It's NOT horror.  It felt ridiculously preachy, as King's personal Twitter have been leaning as of late (hey, I'm not a Trump fan either, but that's not why I follow you HORROR AUTHOR!).  I rolled my eyes several times.  I am 100% pro-marriage for all, love is love, don't care who or what you do in your bedroom.  This was too "let's all be friends".  WHERE IS THE KING OF CARRIE AND CHRISTINE?

Third, a sequel to one of the funnies books I ever read.
I reviewed Denton Little's Death Date on this blog.  If I remember correctly I said I nearly peed myself.  I laughed so hard out loud people stared at me.  I was so hoping for more of the same.  But even stoner Paolo couldn't make me laugh the way he did in the first one.  I gave up halfway through.  It just wasn't funny.

So why bother writing this?  I guess to remind you it's OK to put down a book you really just can't even with.  Whether it goes against your personal beliefs (I will not read about animals being harmed), grates on your nerves (live and let live y'all) or just doesn't meet your expectations (humor was lacking), it's OK to say I need to put this down, whether just for now or indefinitely.  The cool thing about books, is that there are more out there (or on the to be read shelf).  So let go and find something else without guilt.

See you in a few days peeps.

Happy New Year!

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

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Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars by Clifton Collins, Jr. & Gustavo "Goose" Alvarez

Amazon recommended this to me.  I really enjoy quirky memoir-style cookbooks that tell a story along with the recipes.  You can read my review of Bruculino, America on this blog.  I ordered it when it popped up in my recommendations. 

Now, first off, I'm not a Ramen eater.  I find the stuff gross.  And I LIKE salt.  For a chunky former smoker, my blood pressure is super low, so I can enjoy my salt.  Ramen? Ick.  But for some unknown reason, Ramen is like the IN food right now.  The restaurants are popping up all over and recipes using Ramen as a base are all over social media.  Again, a no from me.

But for inmates, Ramen is better than state cafeteria food.  It's also much more filling.  With a little creativity and assorted condiments from the prison commissary, one can actually make a lot of variations.

This book is written with either a celebrity arrest story or a specific event from the authors' pasts as inmates.  My personal favorite celebrity story was Slash's (the guitarist from Guns N Roses). 

But the real stories, those of the former inmates, were harsh, real, and emotionally tough to read.  Ramen, meaning non-prison food, was a source of hope.

Find this on display soon as January's theme is NEW YEAR, NEW BOOKS!

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

Thunderhead and The Toll by Neal Shusterman

First, I want to apologize for being MIA!  I had the Connecticut Association of School Librarians Conference, then the American Association of School Librarians Conference in Kentucky.  I was so excited to represent West Haven at this national event!  But I ended up with a really bad case of food poisoning!  I also had not one but two assignments for School Library Journal.  Add in the end of football season for Band and Color Guard and Thanksgiving, and, well, all of a sudden it's December!

When I logged in to write these reviews, I found my last review was "unpublished" as a draft.  I don't know what happened there, but it's up now.

So, the sequels 2 and 3 to Scythe.

I read these back to back, immediately ordering The Toll after finishing Thunderhead. I just could not wait!  Luckily, book 3 was released the day I ordered it.  I read The Toll on the plane rides and during my personal time in Kentucky.

Scythe was incredible.  Thunderhead was better.  And The Toll is the best!

I do not want to spoil ANYTHING!  Just know there will be LOTS of emotions!

Find both of these back on the shelf today!

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

The Conspiracy Book by John Michael Greer

I really wanted to love this book, but alas, I'm only going to call it okay.

The cover is absolutely stunning and the topics are fascinating.  It's the set-up that annoyed me.  It reads like an encyclopedia.  There are short entries on each topic, with "see also"s for connected information and a picture or two relating.  Each entry is no more than a page.

I had such high hopes for this, but I gave up half-way through as I wasn't really learning anything new.

Now that being said, if you're new to conspiracy theories or secret societies, this would be a great place to start for some introductions and connections.

For those of us who dabble in the subject on a regular basis, it is way too beginner.

Find this on display late next week for Non-fiction November.

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.