Lora Terrill

Thank you for joining me here!   I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.

Book #1:

The Glass Wives by Amy Sue Nathan (Length: 306 pages).   This is a cute little novel that I picked up a few years back at a Friends of the Public Library book sale. It’s not fantastic in terms of writing quality or plot, but the character development was strong enough to keep me wanting to read on, to find out what happens with the main characters (a widow and an ex-wife of a college professor named Glass). The main characters actually share a home after Professor Glass’ death, which is interesting. The main protagonist (the ex-wife) is a bit snotty and then is almost TOO nice, so I couldn’t relate to her at all. But overall, this is a fun, easy read that requires zero thinking, which, to be honest, is nice sometimes!

Book #2:

Life Between Heaven and Earth by George Anderson and Andrew Baron (Length: 240 pages).  I stumbled upon this author/medium on Instagram, of all places, when one of the women I follow mentioned George Anderson as one of the only “legitimate” mediums out there. This particular book of his (I have two) showcases transcripts of nine different readings, preceded by interviews of those being read (the interviews are conducted by Anderson’s partner, and he allegedly isn’t privy to them prior to the readings). I will say that on first glance Anderson does seem to be very legitimate, and there are lots of details one doesn’t usually see in these types of readings. The parts I found most interesting are the souls’ descriptions of the afterlife, and how they arrive (and thrive) there. The souls are very obviously not fans of the organized religions they left behind on earth, as in the afterlife, while there is a “Divine Presence” there is no connection to Christianity (and all of its attendant guilt, rules, punishment, etc). Instead, the souls talk about light and love, and learning from their time on Earth. Another interesting tidbit the author mentions is that the souls very much appreciate when we rescue animals (versus purchasing from breeder, etc). They look out for those of us who rescue animals a bit more–so karma is a real thing! This is a really fascinating read, worth picking up for sure.

Book #3:

Things my Son Needs to Know About the World by Fredrik Backman (Length: 208 pages).  This is a non-fiction memoir of sorts that one of my favorite authors has penned and contains lot of random and poignant advice for his son in the form of funny parenting stories. This is very witty, heartfelt and well-written, which are all hallmarks of Backman’s writing. (If you haven’t read any of his novels, what are you waiting for? They’re amazing!) Before I read this, I enjoyed Backman as a writer, but now I also like him as a person–he’s open-minded, caring, self-deprecating and is a good human.

Book #4:

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson (Length: 447 pages).  Wow. This is an incredible book. It is very difficult to read at times, but it is a MUST read for all Americans (and East Indians for that matter). The author provides vivid examples and a close examination of caste, using three different societies: the American South/slavery, India and Nazi Germany. As horrifying as some of this is to read, I found it also inspiring to read how we can change our individual perceptions of others, and how to empathize with those who are different from us through nothing more than where they were born, their religion and/or the color of their skin. Please read this–you won’t regret a minute!