Darlene's Digest

You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

The next afternoon Captain Fletcher told Mr. Bryant to muster the crew and Charley joined them, standing apart from the ranks of seamen. When they were all assembled, he looked out over the assortment of Yankee privateers and their British doctor and said, “Men, I have news from home.” He waited for the murmurs to die down. “I received correspondence on St. Martin that I wish to share with you. Last August, while we were at sea fighting for the rights of sailors and free Americans, the British burned our nation’s capital, Washington City.” Now the mutters from the men were angry as they shifted their feet and looked at one another. The Americans had burned York in Canada, and Great Britain might be justified in saying it’s tit for tat to burn the Americans’ capital, but Charley just scratched her ear and wisely refrained from pointing that out. Plus, Captain Fletcher was still speaking. “But take heart, men, just as your countrymen did! America cannot be frightened into submission!” H

Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman by Abby Chava Stein My rating: 5 of 5 stars I read this powerful biography in one sitting over Shabbat. Stein tells a story that's all too real, of someone who comes close to losing her religion, but finds solace and companionship with an understanding community of Jews who are open and accepting. She portrays a Hasidic community that's both beautiful in its celebrations and family connections, and ugly in its rejection of those who don't fit in. It could have been a tale of any closed religious community and belief system, whether in Williamsburg or Wyoming or Iran. All communities are multi-faceted and multi-layered, and kudos to Stein for telling her story with love and an appreciation for what she had, what she left behind, and the life she's created for herself now. View all my reviews

“If I climbed I could gather more gourds, and some fruit also.” He looked at her sternly. “There will be no climbing.” Daphne stopped smiling and straightened her sore back, because she had been thinking about this all day. “I am not sure I should have to always do what you tell me to do, or not to do, Dr. Murray. I know you are a natural philosopher and learned, but in America they let men vote equally, the stupid ones as well as the clever. Not that I am stupid, I am just not as learned as you are. While we are here on this island, just the two of us, we should be voting as equals, don’t you think?” He looked at her in astonishment, setting down the gourd. “I am amazed, Miss Farnham, that a properly brought-up Englishwoman would take the riff-raff in America as her model for appropriate behavior. No, this is not a situation calling for some anarchic form of democracy. Your vote is not equal to mine. “Our situation here is akin to being aboard ship where there is a commander. I am he.

Unlikely Heroes by Carla Kelly My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

The Beast of Blackmoor by Milla Vane My rating: 3 of 5 stars View all my reviews

The List by Gregg Andrew Hurwitz My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

America's Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today by Pamela S. Nadell My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Stages of the Heart by Jo Goodman My rating: 3 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Fifteen hundred dollars worth of coffee coming in duty free meant a tidy profit. A simple plan, but one that worked all too well given the poor state of the Revenue Marine. The revenue cutters couldn’t begin to cover all of the coast, not when the ships were spread thin with surveying, rescue operations, and winter cruising between Charleston and Key West. Underfunded, understaffed, looked down on by the regular navy, despised by the merchants who paid the tariffs, the Revenue Marine was no one’s darling. Well, except maybe Alexander Hamilton. He’d loved his revenue cutters that brought money into the Treasury, but look what happened to him, Rand thought. Irritate the wrong people and there you are, worm food. --SMUGGLER'S BRIDE The United States Coast Guard, aka the Revenue-Marine, aka the Revenue Cutter Service was founded on this day in 1790 by US Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. Happy Birthday, Coast Guard! You can read more about the role of the Revenue Marine in Territ