How the Bible Came to Be

A History of the Bible: The Story of the World's Most Influential Book by John Barton
Publication Date - June 4, 2019
🌟🌟🌟1/2



I have always been interested in the question or who wrote the bible so I grabbed this lengthy history tome off of NetGalley.  The author is an engaging writer and I learned a ton about the history and research of the Bible.  He did include quite a bit of direct passages from the Bible which I kind of get, but I also just skimmed over which tells me that it wasn't really necessary.  Overall, this is an interesting history and one that enhances my own understanding of the Bible.  I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Race to the Moon

Chasing the Moon: The People, the Politics, and the Promise That Launched American into the Space Age by Robert Stone and Alan Andres
Publication Date - June 4, 2019
3 stars

As I have an unhealthy obsession with all things space travel, I have read many of the recent books published about the space race in the 1960’s.  This book is a companion book to a television series (which I unfortunately have not yet watched).  This book had all of the relevant information but was much duller than other books on the same subject.  There is not the same sense of urgency and it doesn’t quite capture the character of the major players in the space race.  I feel like that since this is a companion book, that it may be better in physical form, with color pictures, and such.  Overall, it is definitely a good primer on the birth of the space program and NASA but there are more interesting books out there.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Weekend Review

A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa
By Alexis Okeowo
5 stars

This book profiles different individuals from four different African countries and how they fight against religious extremism in their own way.  I especially like how the author, after telling each story, inserts herself and her own reactions into into the story.  It is an extremely well written and enlightening book.  I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Alien Music

The Vinyl Frontier: The Story of the Voyager Golden Record by Jonathan Scott
Publication Date - May 21, 2019
4 stars



4 stars

Music obsession and space travel have to be two of my favorite things to read about, so when I received an invitation to read an early copy of this book I realized how accurate such metrics must be.  In the midst of the Voyager missions, it occurred to Carl Sagan that a way to communicate to alien life outside of our solar system would be to install a musical disc on the spacecraft.  This book details the people and the process involved in such an undertaking.  This is not something that I had heard about prior to reading this book so I found it all immensely fascinating.  The argument over what music to include feels very outdated (this was done in the 1970’s) but it was still an interesting endeavor to ponder and I enjoyed reading about the prospect.  I received a digital copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tudor Life Reimagined

Anna of Kleve: The Princess in the Portrait by Alison Weir
Publication Date:  May 14, 2019
🌟🌟🌟1/2



Anna of Kleve, to me, has always been the most intriguing of Henry VIII's six wives.  She somehow managed to escape the marriage and live her life in peace and good relations with the mercurial king.  This is part of the fictional series that Weir is writing on the six queens.  As it is fiction, the author takes some liberties that I am not one hundred percent on board with, which made this not quite as enjoyable as her prior novels.  She admits in her author's note that not everyone will agree with her propositions.  Still, I liked imagining Anna using common sense to escape court politics and live out her remaining years.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Thriller Review

If She Wakes by Michael Koryta
Publication Date - May 14, 2019
3.5 stars



There is a lot going on in this thriller.  Tara is a college student who gets in a serious accident while chauffeuring a mysterious man around, leaving her in a coma but fully cognizant.  Abby is a former stunt driver, current insurance investigator, who finds herself in a cat and mouse chase with a sociopathic teen assassin.  And there is an arrogant woman who claims to be a federal investigator.  All are focusing their attention on a strange phone so important that it holds several layers of security to unlock.  I enjoy Koryta’s writing and his ability to develop interesting plots.  This is probably not my favorite of his books, and I really dislike his partiality of including chapters from the villains point of view but overall this is another enjoyable read.  I received a digital arc of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.