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Hurricane Helene Support

I’m from and still have my permanent home in Asheville, NC, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene. My family, close friends, and I were fine but if you’re able, I hope you’ll consider donating to a relief organization or shopping online at some of our local small businesses. If you’re unable to support my community financially, please keep us in your thoughts and/or prayers. It’s going to take years to recover from this.

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Suicide Prevention

A graphic reading 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 24/7 Call, Text, Chat

Please, if you need help, reach out to someone. Read about why this is an important topic to me in my Suicide Prevention post.

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My friend owns this small business offering editing, indexing, and coaching services. If you need help with a writing project, I hope you’ll reach out to her at Blue Legend Manuscript Services!

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Instagram Feed. Introverted Reader book blog. Quietly Reviewing Books Since 2007. Traveling the US in my RV and reading on my Kindle. Permanent home in Asheville, NC.
Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell's 1869 Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell's 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon by Edward Dolnick: Book Review--4 Stars. Full review at the link in my bio.John Wesley Powell caught my attention when my husband and I visited the Grand Canyon in 2013. I would periodically think that I should read a book about him and then I would forget about it. When we visited Lake Powell and Horseshoe Canyon in Page, AZ a few months ago, I decided that it was finally time to learn more about this explorer.I will never raft the Colorado River, and especially not the section through the Grand Canyon. That was my biggest takeaway. The descriptions of the rapids and the power of the water were terrifying.But this was a truly interesting book. I honestly couldn't wait to read more about Powell and his crew every night. The fact that the first European team to raft the Grand Canyon was led by a Civil War veteran with only one arm and practically no experience on the water is mind-boggling to me. The entire group was made up of novices! Sure there were some "mountain men" who were used to living off the land but that knowledge doesn't lend itself to reading rapids and finding the best way through them.The author takes a lot of tangents on the river journey. I'm a tangential thinker and storyteller myself so it didn't bother me but his style might not be for everyone. There were sections about the Battle of Shiloh, where Powell lost his arm, that segued into the state of medicine and infection control at the time. There were interviews with today's river guides who know the river like the backs of their hands. There was some history of the areas they were passing through and some then-current events.If you like reading about explorers doing the seemingly-impossible, this book is a great choice. But if you're planning a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon and you're feeling a little hesitant about it, maybe wait until after your trip.
Check out what I've been reading, reviewing, posti Check out what I've been reading, reviewing, posting, and doing on Introverted Reader in my weekly update for March 23, 2025! Full post at the link in my bio.Books finished last week:The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald, illustrated by Arthur Hughes–4 StarsThe Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James, read by Kirsten Potter and Brittany Pressley–4.25 StarsDown the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell’s 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon by Edward Dolnick–4 Stars
Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B. B. Alston, Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B. B. Alston, read by Imani Parks: Book Review--4 Stars. See my full review on my blog at the link in my bio.I dinged book two of this series for being a little too reminiscent of Harry Potter. I still see direct parallels between a lot of the plot points in this book and The Wizarding World but I must not have cared as much this time around.It’s been two years since I listened to Amari and the Great Game and I’ve forgotten a lot of what happened. There weren’t a lot of clues to remind me. That can be both good and bad. Too much synopsis in a series book feels like a book report but not enough leaves readers who don’t want to re-read the previous books a little lost. That’s kind of where I was but I just rolled with it.Amari and her friends are a great group to spend time with. They have enough disagreements to feel real but you can also tell that they genuinely care about each other.The ending wrapped up so neatly that I wasn’t sure if it was the end of the series. It looks like at least two more books are in the works though.Imani Parks does a good job with the narration in this series but she reads too slow even for me, and I say that I speak slow and hear even slower with my Southern accent. I sped up the playback a bit, which I almost never do.I highly recommend this fun, diverse series.
I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unma I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever by Barbara Rae-Venter: Book Review--4 Stars. Full review at the link in my bio.It is amazing to me that the author and her team tracked down this man who had evaded capture for 40-some years in 63 days. Days. She is quick to point out that law enforcement kept this cold case alive and laid the groundwork for his eventual identification and prosecution. She just happened to be in the right place with the right skills at a time when technology finally provided the tools to track this man down.She describes some of his crimes a bit, so this book isn’t for the faint-hearted.There’s only so much she could write about her role in finding the Golden State Killer though and it was not enough to fill a book. She decided to write about the first criminal case she solved as a volunteer investigative genetic genealogist. She also wrote about a different serial killer and a few of her other complex criminal cases as well.I am generally more oriented toward words than visuals, but I have to admit that I wish there were some graphics. I followed along well for the most part but the last case she details is so complex, I don’t really have any idea how she found the guy. Readers who rely on visuals more than I do may struggle.She alludes several times to the ethics of using someone’s DNA on a genealogy site to solve a criminal case. She doesn’t really dig into that topic until the last chapter and even then she doesn’t have a lot to say. This topic could (and probably does) fill a book on its own. I’m glad she included it but part of me wishes there had been a more in-depth discussion. That isn’t her purpose in writing this book though.True crime fans should definitely give it a try. I can even see it being a good fit for the right book club. I feel that it could lead to some fascinating discussions.
Check out what I've been reading, reviewing, posti Check out what I've been reading, reviewing, posting, and doing on Introverted Reader in my weekly update for March 16, 2025! Full post on my blog at the link in my bio.Books finished last week:Mairelon the Magician (Mairelon #1) by Patricia C. Wrede--3 StarsThe Bookshop on the Shore (Kirrinfief #2) by Jenny Colgan, read by Eilidh Beaton--4 StarsRiver of Teeth (River of Teeth #1) by Sarah Gailey, read by Peter Berkrot--3 Stars
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