I'll Take Your Questions Now

 As I was reading Stephanie Grisham's memoir I'll Take Your Questions Now - What I Saw at the Trump White House (#1,262) I couldn't quite figure out what Ms. Grisham's point was in writing this book: revenge? self-justification? guilt? money?  Maybe a blend of all of the above?

Did I learn anything new from this book?  Not really.  Just that Melania Trump sleeps a lot and can't be bothered with anything that doesn't directly forward her own interests.  Apparently, Donald Trump is just as mercurial and angry as he has been portrayed by the mainstream media, despite Ms. Grisham's claim that they don't give him credit for all the good work he's done.

Power and money.  That's all anyone in Trump world cares about.  I'm sorry the sale of this electronic copy contributed to Ms. Grisham's pockets.

A Most Agreeable Murder

I had been saving Julia Seales' debut novel A Most Agreeable Murder (#1,261) as a special treat.  Reader, I was most disagreeably disappointed.  It promised a Regency romance style murder mystery with an enticing cover.  The contents, sad to say, did not quite measure up.

I think Ms. Seales tried too hard.  The results came across as "cutsie" rather than tongue in cheek with "fainties" and "squelchies" in a fairytale setting.  A younger sister as an unidentified werewolf?  The only weather in the village was rain and violent hailstorms?  A proper young lady whose sole ambition was to solve murders?  The parents as caricatures of the senior Bennetts?  It was all a bit much for my taste.

It might be perfect for some readers, but I am not one.

The Paranormal Ranger

I read Stanley Milford Jr.'s book The Paranormal Ranger - A Navajo Investigator's Search for the Unexplained (#1,260) with a great deal of interest.  Acting as a law enforcement officer, Milford and his partner were assigned to investigate incidents and complaints in the Navajo Nation which could not be explained by normal methods.

Being raised by a Navajo father in the summers and receiving a traditional Western education where he lived with his mother enabled Milford to embrace both sides of his cultural heritage including the acceptance of a spirit world.  He writes about the Navajo creation myth and its influence to explain some of the uncanny things he came across.  That is really the part of the book I found most interesting.  It built on bits and pieces I have learned about the Navajo way of life from the popular Tony and Anne Hillerman novels.

Some of what I read surprised me - I knew about witches and Skinwalkers, but I had not realized that Big Foot and UFO sightings were not uncommon in this part of the world.  Since Stanley Milford Jr. had had a number of these experiences himself, it put him in a position to respond to similar sightings across the vast Navajo Nation and take these occurrences seriously.  He was in a unique position to make these people reporting odd things feel heard and seen.

It's a thoughtful presentation of one man's experiences with the unknown from a culturally different perspective.  Definitely worth a read with an open mind.