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Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Book Review: A Delightful Little Book on Aging by Stephanie Raffelock ~ Lone Star Literary Book Blog Tour

A DELIGHTFUL LITTLE BOOK ON AGING
by
Stephanie Raffelock
Genre: Inspirational / Spiritual / Essays / Self-Help 
  Publisher: She Writes Press 
  Publication Date: April 28, 2020 
  Number of Pages: 119 pages 
  Scroll down for the giveaway!


All around us, older women flourish in industry, entertainment, and politics. Do they know something that we don’t, or are we all just trying to figure it out? For so many of us, our hearts and minds still feel that we are twenty-something young women who can take on the world. But in our bodies, the flexibility and strength that were once taken for granted are far from how we remember them. Every day we have to rise above the creaky joints and achy knees to earn the opportunity of moving through the world with a modicum of grace.  Yet we do rise, because it’s a privilege to grow old, and every single day is a gift. Peter Pan’s mantra was, “Never grow up”; our collective mantra should be, “Never stop growing.” This collection of user-friendly stories, essays, and philosophies invites readers to celebrate whatever age they are with a sense of joy and purpose and with a spirit of gratitude.

PRAISE for A Delightful Little Book on Aging:
“Where are the elders? The wise women, the crones, the guardians of truth here to gently, lovingly, and playfully guide us towards the fulfillment of our collective destiny? It turns out that they are right here, in our midst, and Stephanie Raffelock is showcasing the reclamation of aging as a moment of becoming, no longer a dreaded withering into insignificance. A Delightful Little Book on Aging lays down new and beautiful tracks for the journey into our richest, deepest, and wildest years.” – Kelly Brogan, MD, author of the New York Times bestseller A Mind of Your Own
“A helpful, uplifting work for readers handling the challenges of growing older.” – Kirkus Reviews

CLICK TO PURCHASE:   Amazon ┃ IndieBound  
   


I am the right demographic for this slim, "delightful" book, so I was pleased to have an opportunity to read and review it for a book blog tour. At 56, I am headed downhill rather than uphill in life, but it doesn't mean that my life is any less significant or that I have less to offer the world. As a matter of fact, the wisdom that comes with aging is a positive in my life; as Stephanie Raffelock writes, "you gain things even as you lose youth."

Filled with pithy sayings, thought-provoking prose, and short autobiographical essays, A Delightful Little Book on Aging is quintessentially quotable and contains numerous ideas about "peering over the precipice of older age" and deciding to live life as fully engaged as one can.

The author contemplates aging through the lens of 4 areas: Grief, Reclamation, Vision, and Laughter, and the structure of the book follows these four sections in examining the aging process. It's hard not to quote the whole book, but here are a few thoughts that really resonated with me.

Grief: "...the threshold of loss is only the beginning of a remarkable journey. It is a journey that must be claimed for oneself, lest we get stuck in mourning what once was."

Reclamation: "Saying no doesn't mean I don't care about others; it means I'm a human being with limitations, and I'm willing to take care of myself in order to live a life of balance."

Vision: "The vision of the older years belongs to a wiser, deepened soul, steeped in wonder and delight for life."

Laughter: "Aging is a strange new journey, a time of humbling and a time to laugh, a time to be wise and a time to remember childlike wonder."

Reading this book caused me to frequently pause and ponder, relating the words to my own life of love and loss and longing. I'm left with a feeling of encouragement, and even anticipation, for what the future holds. I want to view the next part of my life the way the author does. She says, "I hold this season of life as a time when I am becoming everything that I was ever intended to be - more loving, lovable, creative, engaged, and joyful" and wanting to "live it to the very end, with feeling and gusto."

This book will be on a gift list for some of my friends and family. It will be a blessing to them.

Five Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐




Stephanie Raffelock is the author of A Delightful Little Book on Aging  (She Writes Press, April 2020). A graduate of Naropa University’s program in Writing and Poetics, she has penned articles for numerous publications, including the Aspen Times, the Rogue Valley Messenger, Nexus Magazine, Omaha Lifestyles, Care2.com, and SixtyandMe.com. Stephanie is part of the positive-aging movement, which encourages viewing age as a beautiful and noble passage, the fruition of years that birth wisdom and deep gratitude for all of life.  She’s a recent transplant to Austin, Texas, where she enjoys life with her husband, Dean, and their Labrador retriever, Jeter (yes, named after the great Yankee shortstop). 
  Website ║ Facebook Instagram ║ Amazon ---------------------------------
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
TWO WINNERS: Signed hardcover copy of A Delightful Little Book on Aging + a set of 50 pocket inspirations ONE WINNER: A set of 50 pocket inspirations JULY 7-19, 2020
(US ONLY)
CLICK TO VISIT THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE 
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY, 
or visit the blogs directly:
7/9/20
Notable Quotable
7/9/20
Review
7/10/20
Review
7/10/20
BONUS Post
7/11/20
Author Video
7/12/20
Guest Post
7/13/20
Author Interview
7/13/20
Review
7/14/20
Review
7/15/20
Podcast
7/15/20
Review
7/16/20
Review
7/17/20
Guest Post
7/17/20
Review
7/18/20
Review
7/18/20
Review
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Friday, July 3, 2020

TV Show Suggestions


What's Worth Watching?


Last week on Twitter I asked for some suggestions for older TV shows I may have missed. I tend to enjoy British and Australian shows, American crime, comedy, mystery, etc.  I received some great responses, so I decided to put them in a blog post. Maybe you will find a new show, too! There are certainly a lot of good ones to choose from, based on titles others suggested. I tried to categorize them by the streaming service which offers them, but I may not have gotten it all correct! So, here goes.

Amazon

Damages
Vikings
The Listener
Leverage
New Amsterdam
Carnival Row
Mad Men
Upload (TV-MA)
Doc Martin
Unforgotten
Scott & Bailey
Bosch
Vera
Loch Ness
The Durells in Corfu
The Capture
The Tunnel
The Missing
Silent Witness
Fleabag
The Marvels Miss Maisel
The Man in the High Castle
Endeavor
Lie to Me
The Americans
Modern Love
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Good Omens
Our Girl
Sneaky Pete
Spirited (Australian)
Love My Way (Australian)
The Secret Life of Us (Australian)
The Expanse
Jack Ryan

Netflix

The Tudors (TV-MA)
Hollywood (TV-MA)
Dead to Me (lots of votes for this one)
Sense8
Bordertown
The Woods
Mr. Selfridge (movie)
Self-Made (based on the life of C.J. Walker)
The English Game
Last Tango in Halifax
Broadchurch
Sherlock
Offspring (Australian)
The Five, Safe, The Stranger (based on books by Harlen Coben)
Kim's Convenience
Hinterland
Bosch
Vera
Loch Ness
Call the Midwife
Designated Survivor
Anne with and E
Never Have I Ever
Virgin River (based on the book series by Robyn Carr)
Pose
American Horror Story
Reign
Schitt$ Creek
Black Spot
Trapped
Sweet Magnolias
Space Force
Madame Secretary
Godless
Shtisel (Israeli)
When Heroes Fly (Israeli) 
Fauda (Israeli)
Heart of Dixie
Wentworth
Manhunt: Unabomber
Narcos
Grand Designs
The World's Most Extraordinary Homes

Hulu
11.22.63 (Stephen King)
His Dark Materials
Taboo (TV-MA - naked Tom Hardy, so I'm told lol)!
The Great (TV-MA)

Acorn

Rake (legal drama)
Brokenwood Mysteries
Slings and Arrows 
Murdock Mysteries

Sundance

Liar

YouTube

Rosemary & Thyme

NBC (Free to Stream with commercials)
Superstore
Life

PBS
Baptiste (7 day trial on Amazon)
World On Fire

BritBox
Shetland

Paramount Network 
Yellowstone
68 Whiskey


Sue Jackson included a couple blog posts with more shows she has reviewed here: https://bookbybook.blogspot.com/p/tv-reviews.html as well as a Summer 2020 Preview here: https://bookbybook.blogspot.com/2020/06/summer-2020-tv-preview.html

Hope you can find something new to watch, when you aren't reading a good book.

Happy Viewing!

Book Review: August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones


Jones, Stephen Mack. 2017. August Snow. New York, NY: Soho Press.
 ISBN 9781616958688. $15.95 U.S.D.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2 stars*

I have a new book boyfriend: his name is August Snow. I met him in June, 2020, when he charmed me with his witty dialogue, snarky attitude, strong moral centeredness, and empathetic actions on behalf of underdogs, or anyone, really, he felt strongly needed help. Luckily he appears in two more books, Lives Laid Away, available now, and Dead of Winter, coming in May, 2021.

August Octavio Snow, half Black, half Mexican, grew up in the Mexicantown area of Detroit. He is a retired veteran and a former police officer with the Detroit Police Department. When he exposes high level corruption within the department and city council, he is fired from his job. A wrongful dissmissal settlement nets him $12 million dollars, and after spending some time traveling, drinking, and escaping his troubles, he settles back into his childhood home, working on updating not only his house, but the neighborhood itself.

When he is asked by a blue-blooded society woman to investigate some shennanigans at the bank she owns, he declines since he is no longer an officer of the law. But when the woman is killed the next day, August's moral center won't allow him to let it go. And as he investigates the killing we are introduced to a wide variety of unique characters and conversations that just make this book sing. In addition, the descriptions and history of Detroit make the setting a character itself in the novel.

Not often do I read a crime novel that surprises me so much with unique characters, captivating prose, and an unexpected resolution to the story.  The last time was probably Matthew Goldman's debut, Gone to Dust. I am also a fan of an Indie author, Jesse Miles, who created a wonderful main character in his Jack Salvo series, which begins with Dead Drop.  Because I am always all about the characters in books I read (along with excellent writing), I tend to appreciate those like August Snow and others who are street-smart, quick-thinking, resolute, and feel morally obligated to do the right thing, even though it's often challenging to do so.

You don't have to accept my opinion and review of the book; August Snow also has the honors listed below:

Starred reviews from Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus and others
Winner of the Hammett Prize for Crime Fiction
Winner of the 2018 Nero Award
Nominated for the 2018 Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel
Strand Magazine Critics Award Best First Novel Nominee
A 2018 Michigan Notable Book.

* This is a 5 star read for me, but one-half star is removed for excessive profanity, which not everyone enjoys. I give 5 stars to books I can recommend without any reservaton whatsover, but do know that some people prefer not to read so much cussin' in their books!

Hope you find something good to read, and if this debut sounds like something you'd enjoy, I hope you will check it out.

Happy Reading and wear a mask!