Kushtakas were half man-half otter, spirits of those who had drowned. These phantoms appeared to those in danger of drowning and offered to rescue them, but aimed to turn them into kushtakas too. Only those with respect for elders and traditions and a strong will from ascetic practices were able to resist these spirits. The shamans were healers and could see into the future and tried to use their powers against the kushtakas. There are beautiful illustrations at the chapter headings. This is a nice book of native American legends.

Love that this book was selected for the 2018 Community Read! Shirley Jackson's writing style flows dreamlike and makes for a fast, engaging read. The story encompasses many issues, including bullying, individual and group neuroses and the cruelty of mob mentality and attacks on anyone who is different. A perfect read for October!

This memoir is told in fragments, shards of a brutal childhood and racist schools, survival on the margins of society. But it is also about the southwest landscape, Navajo stories and spirits. The language is both poetic and sometimes almost stream of conscious. Nasdijj is a fascinating and unusual writer.

This is a great heartwarming book about friends and sticking up for yourself.

This Cookbook Nook Mystery featuring bookstore owner Jenna Hart is a rather formulaic cozy. The author does include some appealing recipes (including gluten free ones) in the back of the book for those who like to cook.

This memoir by a woman who feels herself a bit of a misfit finds her calling training horses. She is asked to help out at a ranch for prisoners finishing off their sentences, most of whom have been drug dealers and addicts. By teaching the residents patience with training the horses, she finds a number of them react with love and care for the horses and overcome many of their personal difficulties.

This is a fast paced political thriller. The survivor of a car crash that killed the president's wife suspects that it was no accident. Pursued by mysterious men determined to make sure she can't talk, she begins to fear everyone. There are lots of chase scenes and some romance.

Subtitled "Two Literary Sleuths and Their Shared Passion," this book is a joint memoir of two friends, authors, and rare book dealers. They were the ones who uncovered the blood and thunder potboilers of Louisa May Alcott published anonymously or pseudonymously and published collections of these stories, which threw a whole new light on the author of "Little Women." They enjoy their research and their special rare book finds.

This is the first in a new mystery series (A Georgia B&B Mystery) featuring owner Nina Fleet. Her license to operate a B&B is suddenly agreed to by the mayor if she will take in a contingent of displaced nuns. The characterization is good and the plot moves along. A good summertime read.

I would recommend this book because it was both quick to read but also because the events of the story move quickly as well. The author does an excellent job characterizing the main 7 throughout. There are certain times when you have to be familiar with Shakespeare to get more out of the scene- for example, important references/parallels are made with both Hamlet and Pericles (among others). The Hamlet themes are easier to pick up on, since nearly everyone has read it, but with a more obscure show like Pericles I ended up googling a lot of information that effected the events of the book. But if you have ANY interest in Shakespeare (or found family dramas) then you'll probably really enjoy this book.