Et Cetera

This weekend I read Willy Vlautin's latest novel 'The Horse.' It is a sorrowful yet inspiring homage to the pain that often precedes truly great song lyrics. It appeals to me as both a reader and a music lover. Ann Patchett provides this praise: "Willy Vlautin writes about people overlooked by society and overlooked by literature. In "The Horse," he tells the story of a tenderhearted man who has a steady talent and a crushing addiction.

Adam VoigtsIowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation board memberAs a new school year begins, you and your middle or high school student might be thinking about what happens after high school. Before embarking on one of the most expensive journeys of a lifetime, your student should understand the complete cost to obtain the education needed for a specific career.

Anastasia Allen is a fierce, dedicated, and competitive figure skater at UCMH, determined to make it into the Olympics. Every day, every meal, every practice session, is carefully planned with precision. Until she starts to fall for the captain of the hockey team, Nathan Hawkins. Both have aspirations of making it pro, but they cannot deny their mutual attraction.

You know that a few weeks ago I read 'Before We Were Yours' by Lisa Wingate, and I learned that many of you had read it as well! I needed to know more about the victims and adoption scandals. As an adoptee myself, I could relate to the emotions and feelings of these older adoptees wanting to know their history, where they came from, and possible medical concerns that could be passed down to future generations.

I really enjoy watching documentaries and I stumbled upon 'Six Schizophrenic Brothers.' The title caught my attention, and I watched all 3 episodes in one sitting. If a show, book or event impacts me I have a hard time "letting it go" and need more information. I started searching the 'Six Schizophrenic Brothers' online and found that there was a book written; 'Hidden Valley Road Inside the Mind of an American Family' by Robert Kolker.

What a strange, wicked, and bizarre gem! I waited almost three months on the Libby app for Ottessa Moshfegh's 'Eileen' and was not disappointed! If you fancy thrillers that are also female character studies tackling heady topics such as body dysmorphia, alcoholism, and familial abuse, then this one is for you. Eileen Dunlop is a 24-year-old woman living in a New England town in the 1960's with her alcoholic father wearing her deceased mother's clothes & working as a secretary at a boys' home (which is pretty much a juvenile prison for boys.

This weekend I finished 'Sandwich' by Catherine Newman, and within the first couple of chapters I laughed so hard I spit out my coffee; then the laughter turned to tears, and back again to laughter. The book tells the story of a family of four while vacationing for a week in a rental home in Cape Cod. They've taken this trip every summer since the children were little and have continued the tradition into the children's adult lives.

Halloween is Coming! We have several books just for the coming 'spooky season'! If you and your family aren't into stumbling around in the dark, while wearing an ill-fitting mask, and trying to navigate by flashlight, why not have a Halloween play? Felicia Bond explains how one classroom did it in 'The Halloween Play.' Roger and his school class are practicing for a very special play, with dancing by the light of the moon! Will Roger remember his part? Read this cute book and find out!One of our very newest books is 'Trick or Treat on Scary Street' by Lance Bass.

Fans of Gillian Flynn will certainly enjoy the thriller 'The Kind Worth Killing' by Peter Swanson (#1 in the series), for there is just something wildly entertaining about strangers meeting in an airport bar and then plotting a murder over martinis! Lily Kintner is the kind of dark horse character I enjoy reading about: she exacts revenge when revenge is needed (beginning as a child) but deludes herself into believing she has a moral compass somehow.

Iowa communities could lose billions of dollars in assets over the next decade, according to “Transfer of Wealth Opportunity State of Iowa,” a recent study commissioned by the Iowa Council of Foundations (ICoF). The study estimates that more than $30.4 billion in Iowa assets will change hands in the next 10 years with the passing of older residents.