Fun Facts Friday: Jack London
Fun Facts Friday , Latest Posts / January 12, 2018

Jack London (12 January, 1876 – 22 November 1916) was an American writer and journalist. Some of his most famous works are White Fang and The Call of the Wild. Books by Jack London* 1) He was born as John Griffith London in San Francisco, to Flora Wellman, an unwedded woman of wealthy means. Flora later married John London, a disabled Civil War Veteran. 2) Young Jack was raised by Virginia Prentiss, an ex-slave who was a major maternal figure throughout his life. 3) After moving around and working a bunch of jobs, Jack, a prolific reader, decided that writing would be his best chance to escape the miserable future of being a factory worker. 4) Mr. London became a very disciplined writer, producing over fifty volumes of novels, essays, and short stories. 5) London’s stories about Polynesian and Melanesian cultures were instrumental in popularizing Hawaii as a tourist spot by breaking the taboo over leprosy. 6) As a famous writer, Mr. London used his celebrity to endorse social causes dear to him which included women’s suffrage, socialism, and prohibition. Later he used his celebrity to endorse commercial products. 7) As a supporter of women’s suffrage and prohibition, it is ironic that a caricature of the author…

Book Review: Call Me Zebra by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
4 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / January 10, 2018

About: Call Me Zebra by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi is a novel from this award winning author. This is the author’s second novel. 304 pages Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Language: English ISBN-10: 0544944607 My rating for Call Me Zebra – 4 Buy Call Me Zebra from Amazon.com* More Books by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi Thoughts: I have no idea why I chose to read this novel, I don’t like stream of consciousness narrative mode, and I have very little interest in the troubled minds of 22 year old women. That being said, I found Call Me Zebra by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi difficult to put down. Almost like watching a train wreck happening and you can’t look away. This is a sharp, yet bizarre and demented story. The protagonist is so self-absorbed in her own journey, literature and ancestors that it’s almost laughable. She expects that any moment the rest of the world would embrace her vision of reality and the “truth”. I did enjoy the homages to some of my favorite writers, and some which I appreciate but will probably never read. The dead writers are very real to Zebra, real as any other person who spews wisdom and advice at you….

Book Review: Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan
4 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / January 4, 2018

About: Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan is a novel about the Russian women pilots of World War II known by their victims as the “Night Witches”. Ms. Runyan likes to write about history’s unsung heroes, or at least unsung in the US. 301 pages Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (January 1, 2018) Language: English ISBN-10: 1503946770 My rating for Daughters of the Night Sky– 4 Buy Daughters of the Night Sky from Amazon.com* More Books by Aimie K. Runyan Thoughts: I have heard of the Night Witches before, but I read a lot of history books and novels centered around World War II. When I saw Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan on Amazon’s Prime Reading, I downloaded it almost immediately. First I like to mention that the actual history in the book is a bit sketchy, but the author owns up to that, saying she wrote a novel not a history book. While I do like my historical fiction somewhat accurate (after all, some literary license does have to be taken many times), I appreciated the acknowledgment very much. The novel is about strong women holding their own in a men’s world during a complex time of turmoil. Katya,…

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