Read All About It

By Donna Ruth Morgan

October’s book reviews are all new books from 2021 and they all come recommended. There’s something for everyone in this month’s collection, all available at Brunswick County libraries.

The President’s Daughter is a second collaboration between a prolific author and a famous politician. This story melds James Patterson’s expert literary techniques and Bill Clinton’s mastery of political intrigue. The premise of a retired POTUS/USN Seal careening through deathdefying danger requires suspension of disbelief for this good vs. evil narrative. Nutshell review: The 600+ pages might cause some readers hesitation, but the book is a fun, fast read.

Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine outlines the disconnect between consumers and medical experts and the connection between Big Pharma and those same medical experts. Aiming at junk foods and the Standard American Diet, Dr. Robert H. Lustig unpacks lots of scientific data then connects it to daily life. He presents the stark contrast between “the real story of food” and “the story of real food.” Nutshell review: Learn how our eating habits can trigger or prevent disease.

How Stella Learned to Talk: The Groundbreaking Story of the World's First Talking Dog is a fascinating story of an author/dog owner/ speech-language pathologist who uses a special device to “talk” with her pet. Client children who learned to communicate inspired Christina Hunger to teach her pup through a process she explains in meticulous detail. Nutshell review: Chapters end with instructional “Takeaways for Teaching Your Dog” for ambitious owners who want to communicate with their canine companions.

Golden Girl is classic Elin Hilderbrand with a supernatural twist, multiple perspectives, and a plot that highlights Nantucket and its culture. Love, tragedy, forgiveness, and (of course) romance abound in a novel that reads like a farewell after its 26 predecessors! It was released as a summertime beach read, but fans will enjoy an autumn evening warmed by this everyloose-end-tied-up mystery. Nutshell review: Ignore the distraction of the author’s clumsy insertion of social justice topics.

Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night.