The Oregon Book Report - Book News from Oregon

NW ballerina in a surprising Gothic mystery

Review of Ballet Noir by Oregon author Caroline Miller
By Christine Webb,

I’ve just had the pleasure of reading the 4th and latest novel written by Portland, Oregon author, Caroline Miller. It’s a most fascinating and suspenseful read, highlighting Europe’s major concert halls, ballet and a touch of the paranormal. The story centers around Tara Bentley who is a lovely and gifted prima ballerina performing on-tour with a small, Pacific NW ballet company and she wants little more than to dance. She’s also bright, beautiful, witty, a bit cautious, and determined to fulfill her dream to dance her way through the major cities of Europe and beyond. But it’s difficult at best for her to stay focused on her goals when someone else wants her dead. Buffeted by three suitors, loyal friends and an entire ballet troupe, Tara struggles to solve mysteries of the unknown in this quickly paced and well researched gothic mystery that is filled to the brim with the unexpected, a multitude of very well developed characters, European architecture, landscapes and scenarios at their best. In addition to guiding its readers through European cities and mysteries of the unknown, this intriguing love story is beautifully written and one I think readers everywhere will enjoy time and time again…

So You Want to Be a Fashion Designer…

Oregon author book review:
Project Runaway by Anne Hendren
Ring of Fire Publishing, LLC

Book Review by Leona Grieve

In Project Runaway, author Anne Hendren opens a window into the cutthroat world of the high fashion industry, replete with professional jealousies, heartbreaks, and dashed dreams.

When Idaho-born Karin Ohlsson is hired by a high-powered New York atelier under the wing of owner Anna Seton, she believes she has found her niche. She soon learns, however, that what appears to be a glamorous life in fashion design is, in reality, little better than working in a sweatshop, with Seton stealing designs created by her talented staff and labeling them as their own.

The ultimate design behind our lives

Book Review: The Grand Weaver by Ravi Zacharias
Review by Emily King
emilyking.net & roses-and-thorns.com

As unique individuals, each of our lives is woven, as the author puts it, like an elegant Indian wedding sari. The pattern is known solely by the weaver who holds the threads in his hands. Only when all six yards of the garment have been finished is the superb craftsmanship of the weaver displayed. In The Grand Weaver, Zacharias explains how God works His purpose and plan into each of our lives. With thoughtfulness and insight, the author explores the question of how much God is involved in the events of our lives, from the mundane to the miraculous, from tragic to thrilling.

A new look into the afterlife

After We Die – An Extraordinary Description of the Afterlife
By: Colin Ingram
Robert D. Reed Publishers
P. O. Box 1992
Bandon, Oregon 97411

Reviewed by Richard R. Blake,

A Fascinating Consideration of Man’s Existence in the Afterlife

Meditation teacher and prolific writer Colin Ingram considers answers to specific basic questions frequently asked regarding the hereafter, heaven, bliss, eternal life, and salvation in his book “After We Die – An Extraordinary Description of the Afterlife.”

Ingram offers the reader the opportunity to explore fundamental questions in a logical coherent approach. These questions are probing and provocative providing interesting insights in a mixture of information, and revelation for personal contemplation.

Lady WWII pilot shares her story

Review of “My Piece of the Sky” by Oregonian, Anna Louise Flynn Monkiewicz, a WWII aviator.

Review by Naomi Inman,

Anna Louise Flyyn Monkiewicz grew up outside of Boston, MA in the smaller town of Natick, MA. She had two sisters and a brother. Anna remembers the day she first wanted to fly. She was 8 years old and Charles Lindbergh had just made his historic flight.

“I decided way back then that I wanted to fly,” she remembers. “I told my family that I wanted to fly, and they all thought I was a little crazy.” Mom and Pop answered, “You’re not old enough and you’re not rich enough.”

Oregon’s unique charm of driftwood forts

BOOK REVIEW: “Driftwood Forts of the Oregon Coast” by author James Herman
Review by By Patrick Newson

(Watch out!) The rain washes timber downstream, through the forests and seaward to churn and polish construction material for James Herman’s new book, Driftwood Forts of the Oregon Coast. Within, beach detritus, as a subject and medium, exists as a playfully utilitarian opportunity to showcase years of collective architecture known as forts—those temporary structures people keep building, rebuilding and sharing. Each fort is a unique amalgam of “found” material and intention. But there are rules (guidelines, at least for contests): use what you have; fasten it together naturally; tide and time must have touched the material; work together: all elements Herman has employed not only in the construction of a master ten-year (tenure) fort, but also in the composition of his book.

Meet the mind-blowing poet

By Michal Ann McArthur, Bend
Author of Choking on a Camel
Her blog

Book Review: “Delights & Shadows,” a collection of poetry by Ted Kooser

I had never heard of Ted Kooser, but he intrigued me one night as I listened to him read his poetry on National Public Radio. His poems were gritty, homespun, down-to-earth. I liked that. I only found out later that he was Poet Laureate of the United States from 2004-2006 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for “Delights and Shadows.” Not bad for a man who spent much of his adult life working as a life insurance executive.

I like a poet who doesn’t mince around among unicorns and daffodils. I want to read lines that are arresting, thought-provoking, even mind-blowing, that skewer me with sharp insight or leave me breathless with wonder. When I read a poem, I want feel as though a film over my eyes has been removed and for the first time, I can SEE. Kooser’s poems do that for me.

Review of Killing Jesus

Michelle Barnhart reviews “Killing Jesus” by authors Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard.

How in the world did a working class kid from a mediocre town in an obscure corner of the Roman empire end up getting himself executed for treason? In this book, Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard look at the historical setting into which Jesus was born, as well as the religious and political climate of the day, and how those aspects played into Jesus’ life and death.

Although the authors are both Catholic, they aren’t trying to prove whether or not Jesus was the promised Messiah; instead they focus on the historical record of his life. And they don’t just tell what happened; they also explain why it happened, how it took place, and often the deeper significance of the event.

Mormon girl meets Apache boy in SW love novel

Dan Rehwalt reviews “Fish in a Bird’s Nest” By author F. Elizabeth Hauser
Lizzard Press 2014

A Mormon girl of fifteen and an Apache boy of nineteen were less than desirable marriage partners in the early 1900’s, especially in the Gila Valley of Southeastern Arizona. F. Elizabeth Hauser weaves a tale that confronts issues existing to this day, and does it with superior skill.

Emmaline Cluff was the daughter of James and Elizabeth, Mormon pioneers to the Gila Valley, who farmed hay and cotton. Ransom Henry was the son of William and Frances, Apache farm laborers, who were employees of the Cluffs since the time Ransom was three. Cluffs and Henrys lived as neighbors and the two children were together every day.