Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow: Quick-fix recipes for hangry athletes By Shalane Flanagan

     Olympian and marathon runner Shalane Flanagan teams up with chef Elyse Kopecky for the second time to offer new recipes and variations of popular ones from their first book.  Although it is aimed at performance athletes, anyone could benefit from the healthy but tasty offerings.  A variety of wholesome meals as well as pre-race and post-workout offerings are shared for readers looking for food that will sustain.  Color pictures and notes from the authors alongside the recipes make this cookbook engaging for the reader.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

When I first started reading Hank Green's An Absolutely Remarkable Thing I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into. It seemed a little slow, and it was hard to tell what direction this book was going to go. As the pages turned, and the story evolved, the book ended up with a commentary on fame and social media, an alien (maybe) invasion, and a mystery combining the two, which leaves the reader with all questions unanswered and a cliffhanger putting them on hold until a book two arrives.
The book follows the exploits of main character April May and her friend Andy, along with a handful of additional protagonists. One New York City morning at 3 a.m. April and Andy come across a large robot-like figure standing on the street. While Andy films, April investigates the robot, which they end up naming Carl. After going home, Andy posts the video on YouTube and April wakes the up the next morning a social media star.
As the story progresses, April's rise to fame skyrockets, and you find that the New York Carl is not the only one, as they are found in major cities around the world, not moving, not making a sound. One thing the Carls do initiate is a series of dreams being had by people who have been exposed to them. These dreams offers clues, but to what?
Along with trying to decode the dreams, April becomes a spokesperson for the whole Carl movement and what it might mean. An anti-Carl movement arises and puts the dreams, and April in its crosshairs. A violent conclusion to the story offers up more questions than answers. Some of Remarkable Thing's original mysteries are solved, but you will have to wait for a book two to find just what really happened.

The Book of M by Peng Shepherd

One afternoon, a man’s shadow disappears.  It is an inexplicable occurrence, and generates world wide media coverage.  Then it begins to happen around the globe, and people discover that the loss of their shadow also means loss of their memories, be it sudden or gradual.  The scariest part of this phenomenon is that in certain cases, something that a person forgets may also disappear or change form.  Thus some people can talk to animals, some locations vanish from existence, the power grids no longer function — anything can happen, really. 

Ory and his wife Max hide out at a hotel in the hills of Virginia, until Max’s shadow disappears.  Max leaves when Ory is away hunting, and then Ory sets out to find Max.  Many people hear rumors of “The One Who Gathers” in New Orleans, and many groups are heading that way.  The final showdown between shadowed and shadowless factions happens there, and you finally find out if Ory finds Max.

Overall, I liked this book and the questions it poses about what makes a person who they are.  Parts of the book annoyed me, as I felt the author wasn’t consistent enough with her “magical” rules (ie, just because one particular person forgets a place, why does that make it disappear when plenty of other people remember it?)   She never explains.  If you can get past that type of thing, you may like this dystopian debut novel.

Who I am with You by Robin Lee Hatcher

A pregnant widow, Jessica, who lost her husband and daughter in a car crash is reeling in grief and is also harboring secrets about her dead husband's infidelities.  Her marriage was not what others believed it to be and she is isolating herself. When Ridley moves in next door to escape accusations in his work in a political campaign, a friendship develops. Both of them have been betrayed and need to overcome bitterness and find a way to forgive. Jessica's family Bible gives her insight into her great-grandfather's life which brings healing and the story of he and his wife's struggles are included in this novel. I enjoyed this book by one of my favorite authors of Christian fiction.

Spectacle by National Geographic

The subtitle for this book is "Rare and Astonishing Photographs".  I had a lovely evening thumbing through it.  I'm partial to the landscape photos, with curving mountain roads, wildflowers, caves, and the northern lights.  But the wildlife and people photos were great too, and several made me smile.  It was sometimes hard to guess what I was really seeing.

So ignore the "lovely" February weather, check this book out, and transport yourself around the world for a few hours!

Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce

Set in WW II London, Emmeline Lake lamented “War was foul and appalling and unfair.”  She aspires to be a journalist but ends up as a junior typist at Woman’s Friends magazine going over incoming letters for the Problem Page for the stern Henrietta Bird.  Mrs. Bird rejects any letters with “unpleasantness”- questions about relationship are ignored.  Emmy wants to help the troubled readers and does the unthinkable.  As the German planes are making their nightly raids, tragedy strikes Emmy’s best friend Bunty and her fiancé Bill, and their friendship is tested.  The novel is full of heart and gentle humor.  It is a good read.

Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund

     Young Emma has wanted a home and family for some time now. When the steam ship that she and her brother are on, sinks in Lake Huron, they are left with nothing, on the shores of Burnham's Landing. Having come to the United States to escape the potato famine, they had been traveling from place to place finding work where they could. 

     Now Emma is offered an opportunity that in her dire situation she feels she must consider. A local lighthouse keeper with a two year old son has lost his wife. He desperately needs someone to watch his spirited son while he has lighthouse duties. A night job that is quite isolated, he's been struggling being up night and day. It seems the solution, according to their friend, Holy Bill, is right in front of them. So they get married that very day.

     Emma enjoys keeping her new home and taking care of the little boy, even though it is exhausting. Her relationship with Patrick, the lighthouse keeper is complicated. He is a changed man, but has a troubled past that he is reluctant to share with her. Where does he go on certain days when he doesn't say where he is going? What past crimes has he committed? Will Emma stay in her new home?