Good Vibrations

by Mike Love

Mike Love’s Good Vibrations is his story of his life as one of the founders of the Beach Boys, a band best known for classics like Good Vibrations, Surfin’ USA, and Help Me Rhonda. Most people’s impression is that they are a fun-loving, goofy band. And a lot of the time, they are!

For people who dig a little deeper into the history of the band, though, they know that while the music was fun, their personal lives were a lot more complicated: Brian Wilson suffered from serious mental illness, Dennis Wilson was taken advantage of by Charles Manson, and the whole family was in an abusive family situation with the Wilsons’ father. These complications made the band’s internal situation especially complicated: Mike Love didn’t always appreciate the musical direction of the band. He wanted hit after hit, and he believed that the formula worked. Write surf songs. Get on the charts. Make money. Live the rock n’ roll lifestyle. Ignore all those other issues for the sake of a hit.

All this paints an ugly picture of the man: Love knows how many of his statements and behaviours are on the public record, including a rant at the Beach Boys’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when he bad-mouthed a whole series of rock legends and stars. He sued Brian Wilson for control of the band and tried to get a larger financial stake from Wilson’s rights to the music he wrote. Mike Love claims everything he has said and done was out of Love for his family, about his deep respect for Brian and was only trying to protect him from himself.

Good Vibrations is a fascinating look at a man trying to reclaim his reputation. Mike Love doesn’t really come across as a sympathetic figure, even in his own words. As much as he knows that no one seems to respect him that much, he doesn’t seem to really understand why he comes across as the villain in the Beach Boys’ story, as a man who resisted the band’s efforts to grow and move ahead of the times.

Great North Road

by Peter F. Hamilton 

In Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton humanity has discovered the ability to travel around the galaxy through “portals”. The North family has found great riches as the discoverers and exploiters of the technology. The Norths are special, though: each generation is a clone of the last. Generations of this has created genetic mental and physical flaws, with each branch and generation in an escalating rivalry with the rest of the family. But even with all this, the family is huge and powerful. So when one of these clones is murdered, it’s a huge, public scandal. 

Detective Sidney Hurst trying to understand the killing and why it’s so similar to a murder 20 years prior for which a young woman was convicted. Despite the scope of the crime, the politics and power of the North family makes the investigation a complicated quagmire. 

Angela Tremelo is the woman charged with the old murder and has now been released from prison. She insists on her innocence and is convinced a malevolent alien force is responsible for new murders. She’s now working with an expedition to the wild lands of the North world of St. Libra, but danger is following them as members are being picked off one by one. 

Peter F. Hamilton’s world building is very thorough. Every facet of the universe is deliberately plotted, each little detail is created explicitly to tell part of the story, even if it doesn’t actually contribute to the plot. Compare it to the set dressing in films like Blade Runner or Minority Report. Everything you see (or read, as in this book) is there to give you a feeling, a sense of the world, one that colours the story and steers your imagination where Hamilton wants it to go. 

One thing to remember about Peter F. Hamilton: he doesn’t know how to write a short book. This is not a criticism, mind you. If you are a fan of space opera it’s part of the appeal. It’s a compelling mystery in a richly detailed universe. Think in terms of the scope of Game of Thrones and the sci-fi of The Expanse mixed with the gritty (and moral questionable) police of Luther.

Notre-Dame : A short history of the meaning of cathedrals

by Ken Follett

On April 15, 2019, Notre-Dame was burning. The historic cathedral, a landmark in human consciousness, that has sat on the banks of the Seine for most of our modern history was engulfed in flame and the people of Paris, and the people of the world could do nothing more than watch. This is a snapshot in time, barely a blink in the life of this cathedral, and yet it is one that had a monumental impact.

This book begins in 2019 and from there, Ken Follett takes the readers on a whirlwind trip through time. The book promises ‘a short history of the meaning of cathedrals,’ but we only explore the one, Notre-Dame. From 2019 we go back in time back to a point that vaguely resembles the beginning, the year 1163. Though there were churches that stood on this before came to be as we know it. Follett does not get into the details, but rather brief moments in time to inspire curiosity. The bishop that ordered the new cathedral, the architects that designed it, the etchings on the tracing room floor, the masons that built it. A hundred years pass in the blink of an eye to bring the cathedral to what we remember it to be.

Stepping into 1831 Victor Hugo appears and with him the popularization of Notre Dame. The book that Notre-Dame inspired Hugo to write, titled Notre-Dame de Paris, or, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame helped form the perception of the church in the hearts and minds of people who would never lay eyes on it themselves. Blink and you’ll find yourself in 1844 to the construction of the spire that comes crashing down in 2019. And follow Charles De Gaulle’s historic march down Champs-Élysées to Notre-Dame in the aftermath of the Second World War.

This book is not very long and does more to inspire curiosity and further research than fill in the gaps. That being said, if you’ve ever found yourself wanting to know more about gothic

cathedrals, Notre-Dame, or perhaps architectural history Ken Follett’s, Notre-Dame, is a great place to start.

Forgotten Garden

Forgotten Garden

By Kate Morton 

In times of uncertainty, I gravitate towards books that are familiar and comforting, like a steaming cup of tea on a rainy day. The Forgotten Garden is my cup-of-tea book, reminiscent of The Secret Garden combined with the coziest mystery that has the reader questioning, at every moment, “what’s next?”. 

As Nell Andrews takes her last breaths, she reveals to her granddaughter, Cassandra, a family secret that leaves Cassandra floored. Stranger still is the cottage that she leaves to Cassandra, nestled in a small Cornish village a world away from Cassandra and Nell’s home in Australia. Add on the revelation that Nell was a foundling, found waiting, alone, at the age of four with neither mention nor memory of who she was. Armed with little more than a deed to the land, no past to return to and a mysterious book of fairy tales, Cassandra embarks on a whirlwind journey to answer the question: who was Nell, really? 

Back up a century. Eliza Makepeace, newly orphaned and having recently lost her twin brother Sammy, lives in a ramshackle attic above a pawn shop in London. Within her she carries the courage that her mother bestowed upon her before passing – along with a warning to always watch for a bad man who is certain to carry Eliza down a cursed path. When a strange man in pince-nez glasses arrives to take Eliza to Blackhurst Manor, she knows this is the man her mother had warned her about – but anything is better than where she is now, right? 

Alternating between present-day England and the England of nearly a hundred years before, Morton weaves a tale that transports the reader to a time that, though different from our present-day reality, carries ongoing themes of love without measure, of the ties that bond, of what really makes a family, of the meaning of home. I return to this book regularly and every time, I discover something new. 

Beautifully written with detail that draws you immediately into the story, this book provides an escape that ultimately leaves the reader feeling completely at home.

Careful What You Wish For

by Hallie Ephron

Emily has chucked in her teaching career to start a de-cluttering business with her best friend, Becca. Emily has rules about the decluttering, stipulating that in any case she works on only the owner of the stuff can allow it to be decluttered. Applying this rule to her own marriage may be what has kept it alive, albeit strained, after all these years. Emily’s husband, Frank, is a hoarder and continually adds to his collection from weekly yard sales. Emily would love nothing more than to get rid of all the junk he brings home.

Emily Harlow is a professional organizer who helps people declutter their lives; she’s married to man who can’t drive past a yard sale without stopping. He’s filled their basement, attic, and garage with his finds.

Like other professionals who make a living decluttering peoples’ lives, Emily has devised a set of ironclad rules. When working with couples, she makes clear that the client is only allowed to declutter his or her own stuff. That stipulation has kept Emily’s own marriage together these past few years. She’d love nothing better than to toss out all her husband’s crap. He says he’s a collector. Emily knows better—he’s a hoarder. The larger his “collection” becomes, the deeper the distance grows between Emily and the man she married.

Luckily, Emily’s got two new clients to distract herself: an elderly widow whose husband left behind a storage unit she didn’t know existed, and a young wife whose husband won’t allow her stuff into their house. Emily’s initial meeting with the young wife takes a detour when, after too much wine, the women end up fantasizing about how much more pleasant life would be without their collecting spouses.

But the next day Emily finds herself in a mess that might be too big for her to clean up. Careful what you wish for, the old adage says . . . now Emily might lose her freedom, her marriage . . . and possibly her life.Emily Harlow is a professional organizer who helps people declutter their lives; she’s married to man who can’t drive past a yard sale without stopping. He’s filled their basement, attic, and garage with his finds.

Like other professionals who make a living decluttering peoples’ lives, Emily has devised a set of ironclad rules. When working with couples, she makes clear that the client is only allowed to declutter his or her own stuff. That stipulation has kept Emily’s own marriage together these past few years. She’d love nothing better than to toss out all her husband’s crap. He says he’s a collector. Emily knows better—he’s a hoarder. The larger his “collection” becomes, the deeper the distance grows between Emily and the man she married.

Luckily, Emily’s got two new clients to distract herself: an elderly widow whose husband left behind a storage unit she didn’t know existed, and a young wife whose husband won’t allow her stuff into their house. Emily’s initial meeting with the young wife takes a detour when, after too much wine, the women end up fantasizing about how much more pleasant life would be without their collecting spouses.

But the next day Emily finds herself in a mess that might be too big for her to clean up. Careful what you wish for, the old adage says . . . now Emily might lose her freedom, her marriage . . . and possibly her life.Fortunately, Emily has two distractions that keep her mind off her own decluttering issues- two new clients have just reached out to the company for help with their own messes. There’s Mrs. Murphy, an elderly widow who has just discovered that her husband had a storage unit and Quinn, a young wife who is not permitted to move any of her stuff into their new house.

Mrs. Murphy’s storage unit is filled to the brim with antique books and maps, that are of questionable origin. Much of the collection is in disrepair since the humidity control unit seems to have failed.
When visiting to assess Quinn’s situation, Emily joins her in a glass too many of Prosecco and shares much more that she intended about her strained marriage, and both women fall into a conversation about how much better life would be without their respective spouses. 

However, upon waking the next morning, Emily hears that Quinn’s husband has gone missing and thus a series of events ensue that cause Emily’s life to become such a mess that even she may not be able to clean it up.

The two client’s cases intertwine when Quinn’s husband’s body shows up at Mrs. Murphy’s storage unit. How is it possible that these two clients are connected? Will the Decluttering business survive? Will Emily?

This book is a good read for mystery fans, and if you like this one, Hallie has many more mysteries for you to solve.

If I Fall, If I Die

by Michael Christie

At age 11, Will Cardiel thinks his life is pretty normal.  His mother Diane is agoraphobic and Will has grown up believing that the Outside is full of danger.  He lives life indoors, painting “masterpieces” and opening the door for the delivery men that help Will and his mother maintain their lifestyle.

When the day finally comes that Will decides to venture into the backyard, he encounters Marcus, a daring boy who’s attempting to steal their garden hose.  This chance meeting changes Will and he soon begins spending time outside on a regular basis.  Before long he’s attending school, leaving his panic-stricken mother lost to her own terror, a.k.a. the Black Lagoon.

At school Will becomes entranced by Jonah and his skateboarding skills.  Although Jonah never speaks at school, Will manages to befriend him and soon the two of them are skateboarding all over Thunder Bay.  But the town is full of dark secrets, including Marcus’s disappearance.  Determined to find him, Will and Jonah become embroiled in the grim lifestyle of the waterfront, which is filled with lost souls who are addicted and down on their luck.  All the while, Diane worries terribly for her son but is completely helpless and unable to intervene in his activities Outside.

If I Fall, If I Die explores the moment when a child separates from his parent and finally becomes an individual.  Will is constantly torn between his mother’s neediness and his own desires.  He is angry that she has lied to him about the dangers of Outside, but loves her deeply.

The novel is also an ode to skateboarding, and explores the idea that the very act of skateboarding can turn the ugly city into something beautiful.  It can make the alienated kid feel capable, assertive and graceful.  It is a world most often misunderstood by adults, but embraced by the youth who participate.

There were a few things in this novel that didn’t add up or that didn’t seem believable, but I enjoyed this weird and wild novel enough to let those things go.   Michael Christie has crafted a coming of age story with a dark and suspenseful twist, partly based on his own life.  Enjoy!

The Water Knife

by Paulo Bacigalupi


Depleted aquifers, drought, and dust storms in the American Southwest bring out the worst in people and their politics, allowing gangs and militias to run rampant, loosely controlled by the remaining city-states. Each city is struggling not to dry up completely, everyone trying to score enough water to stay alive for another day.

Angel Velasquez is the Water Knife in this frighteningly plausible near-future thriller. In a world where the US states have closed their borders to each other, and water supplies are dwindling, his job is to make sure Las Vegas gets enough water, by any means necessary, and usually that means cutting off the water supplies of other cities and states.

Lucy Monroe is a journalist in Phoenix, tracking the disintegration of society despite her sister begging her to come to Vancouver, the promised land, where water still comes from the sky. She knows the dangers but takes more and more risks to chase down the stories that powerful people do not want told.

Maria Villarosa is a migrant from Texas, another desperate refugee among tens of thousands trying to find a way to a better life. Her life is a day-to-day struggle against gangs, rich predators, and water that may cost more per litre than she can make in a week. But Maria is smart enough to have a plan that just might work.

Rumors of a vast new source of water surface, and the three characters' lives become entwined in a fast-paced mystery as they all race to find the water and stay ahead of killers trying to make sure they never do.

It's a frightening story because it feels like it could have been ripped out of next year's news. Brutal and almost too realistic, it had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. This novel will give you a lot to think about in the real world long after you finish reading.