Semmant by Vadim Babenko is the story of a genius who finds it hard to live in a world of ordinary humans (reminded me of Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory). He has a tough time connecting with others in a sincere, meaningful way. So he creates a computer program that is self aware, Semmant. He enjoys observing Semmant as he develops almost like a parent/child relationship, but also like an externalized version of himself. Meanwhile, our hero goes on looking for love in all the wrong places until the climax when both he and Semmant have to decide how they will answer true love's demand for complete honesty.

The author is a genius. His prose is beautifully written. This is a very cerebral read, and even though I felt a large portion of it went right over my head (as I'm no genius myself), I still enjoyed it and felt I was peering into a true lover's soul.

However, this book is rated R. Sex is one of the ways the main character searches for love, and the sex scenes are explicitly detailed. If this makes you uncomfortable, this book might not be for you.

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World (Dewey Readmore) by Vicki Myron, Bret Witter (Contributor)

This is the sweet and charming story of a cat named Dewey Readmore Books, abandoned as a kitten in a library return shoot and adopted by the library. He formed bonds with people far and wide and had great effects on the citizens of the small town of Spencer, Iowa, and especially on his "mom," the librarian (and author), Vicki Myron. The book is actually the memoirs of the librarian, including her personal and family history of hard times and how she managed to pull through them. Also, it is the history of the town of Spencer and how its enterprise has changed over the years and how its citizens always manage to bounce back.

I enjoyed all of the book, but the one change I would suggest is to incorporate into the name the other people the book is about, maybe Dewey Readmore Books and the Lives He Touched. I felt a little misled by the title as it stands. I thought the whole book would be just the cat's story. (Maybe that was naïve on my part.) Nevertheless, it is very positive and entertaining, and I did enjoy listening to it on audio. I would recommend this book to all animal lovers, especially cat lovers, but I suspect the cover picture alone probably already enticed anyone who loves cats to pick it up and read it.

God's Double Agent by Bob Wu

God's Double Agent by Bob Fu is the exciting memoir of a man who grew up under the Communist regime, became a Christian and evangelist and finally escaped from China and dedicated his life to the organization he established called ChinaAid to help other Christians and political dissidents being persecuted by the Chinese government.

This is a very entertaining story and also one that reminds us of the freedoms we take for granted in this country. It surprised me how willing many of these people are to risk their very lives for their religious beliefs and to help others with similar beliefs. I wonder if I could be so brave under such grueling circumstances.

I received this book free through Goodreads First Reads program.

Mrs. Lincoln's Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini

This is the story of Kate Chase, considered by many to be one of the most brilliant women of her time. She was advisor to her father, Salmon P. Chase, once President Lincoln's rival for the Republican nomination, later his Secretary of the Treasury and finally appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Considered "the Belle of Washington," Kate always seemed to instinctively know how to behave to win over others, with the single exception of Mrs. Lincoln, with whom she shared a bitter rivalry. In Kate's private life, she had a much harder time, as her choice of husbands, William Sprague (boy governor of Rhode Island), dealt her many challenges and humiliations, which she handled with grace and pride.

The author did a magnificent job of bringing the Civil War time to life with colorful dialogues and a perfect blend of true historical facts and imagination.

I received this book free through Library Thing Early Reviewers, the audio version produced by Recorded Books. Listening to it was a pleasure as the narrator demonstrates a wonderful range with her voice and reads with passion.

The Reflections of Queen Snow White by David Meredith is a story written for adults that mixes the old fairy tale with a large dose of realism. About 20 years have passed, and Queen Snow White finds herself widowed and feeling alone and depressed. Her daughter is now getting married, and Snow White is too glum to be a supportive mother. After wandering into her late stepmother's chambers, she comes across the famous mirror. This time, the mirror helps Snow White to explore the truth about her personal story to discover how she can create her own happy ending.

Though at times a little too R-rated for my personal taste, the story does seem believable and is an easy read. I also like the idea that even a fairy tale princess might have a midlife crisis and need to look within for personal strength to carry on and rebuild her life.

This is the story of Elizabeth Keckley, a strong and inspiring woman who, born a slave, worked hard sewing for ladies on the side and saved enough to free herself and her son and then to send her son Robert to school. It's about her determination to not only survive in the world, but to also prosper in her dressmaking business, hiring others and offering assistance to newly freed slaves who were trying to make their own way in the world for the first time. During the Civil War, she cofounded the Contraband Relief Society, personally contributing as much money as she could spare and also teaching the freed slaves sewing skills they could use for their livelihood. In this novel, we also meet the Lincolns through her eyes, as Elizabeth Keckley became the personal modiste of Mary Todd Lincoln and became acquainted with the president's family intimately during her employ at the White House. She became Mrs. Lincoln's closest friend, the person called upon during traumatic events, when Mrs. Lincoln lost a child to illness and later lost her husband at the hand of an assassin. Elizabeth Keckley was always there to comfort Mrs. Lincoln and offer sound advice and wise counsel, a true friend in times of need, often neglecting her other clients and personal needs. I think it is very sad that Mrs. Lincoln was not as loyal to Elizabeth Keckley, as after one embarrassing mistake in the publishing of some personal correspondence as part of Ms. Keckley's memoir Mrs. Lincoln was never able to forgive her.

I enjoyed this novel and would suggest it to any Civil War enthusiast and anyone who enjoys reading about history from a different perspective than we are typically taught about in school. This is not by any means an unbiased account of the Civil War and the issues surrounding those times, but it is likely the way Ms. Keckley might have viewed them. And the relationship between Ms. Keckley and Mrs. Lincoln was a remarkable one, especially considering the differences in their backgrounds and stations in life. I only wish it could have had a happy ending. We can only hope, as Ms. Keckley did at the end of the novel, that their friendship was renewed in the afterlife.

After I watched the NetFlix series based on this book, I decided I wanted to read Piper Kerman's personal account of her prison experience. I found this book, though much less dramatic than Hollywood's version, of course, to be enlightening about the intricate social environment going on inside of prisons. Kerman shares her own insights about how useless time spent behind bars usually is and how desperately our legal system needs to be revamped to offer true rehabilitation to those who have erred in the sight of the law in order to prepare them for return to the outside world as productive citizens instead of repeat offenders. This book also shows how important empathy for others and forming interhuman relationships is to each individual's survival in any situation, no matter how dire. I enjoyed this memoir and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in prisoners' daily lives and routines and what being imprisoned really means in our society.