Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival by Laurence Gonzales

Come with me. Honor those heroes and survivors of Flight 232 and remember those who were lost on this 30th anniversary of the disaster in Sioux City, Iowa.

Title: Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival
Author:  Laurence Gonzales
Publish Date: July 13, 2015
Genre:  non-fiction
Source:  Purchased by reviewer

Publisher’s Description:  As hundreds of rescue workers waited on the ground, United Airlines Flight 232 wallowed drunkenly over the bluffs northwest of Sioux City. The plane slammed onto the runway and burst into a vast fireball. The rescuers didn’t move at first: nobody could possibly survive that crash. And then people began emerging from the summer corn that lined the runways. Miraculously, 184 of 296 passengers lived.

No one has ever attempted the complete reconstruction of a crash of this magnitude. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of survivors, crew, and airport and rescue personnel, Laurence Gonzales, a commercial pilot himself, captures, minute by minute, the harrowing journey of pilots flying a plane with no controls and flight attendants keeping their calm in the face of certain death. He plumbs the hearts and minds of passengers as they pray, bargain with God, plot their strategies for survival, and sacrifice themselves to save others.

Ultimately he takes us, step by step, through the gripping scientific detective work in super-secret labs to dive into the heart of a flaw smaller than a grain of rice that shows what brought the aircraft down.

An unforgettable drama of the triumph of heroism over tragedy and human ingenuity over technological breakdown, Flight 232 is a masterpiece in the tradition of the greatest aviation stories ever told.

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Ruby Lee says…

 

On a humid, hot, and sticky July day, countless lives were changed forever when a crippled DC- 10 airplane drunkenly made its way to the airport in Sioux City, IA.   On July 18, 1989, an odd series of mechanical events, that some in the aeronautics world had labeled improbable, crippled the plane over Alta, IA.  By another odd series of events that many label a miracle, the plane was able to make it to the Sioux Gateway Airport but crashed on landing.  The crash tore the plane in pieces and exploded into a fiery projectile.  The film of the crash has been played innumerable times on local and national TV in the last 30 years.  It was the first time a crash of a jumbo jet had ever been recorded.  The miracle is that because of the efforts of the flight crew and the preparedness of the people of Siouxland, a 185 people survived that day

As the 30 year anniversary of the crash of Flight 232 approached, I felt drawn to read this book.  Thirty years ago today, I was in Sioux City with my mom and brother.  The 12 year old me was getting the last of what I needed for the Church camp I would be attending the following week in Okoboji, IA.   We spent much of the day in the Southern Hills Mall which is located only a few miles from the airport.  As we started the 45 minute drive home, we began to see ambulances, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles racing to Sioux City.  My mom and I read out loud the names on the side of each vehicle which matched the name of a local community.  We wondered what could have possibly happened to cause the need for that many emergency personal.  We didn’t know that the flight tower had called an “Alert Three” which mobilized 80 pieces of emergency equipment from 40 different communities to the air field.  When we arrived home, the 3 TV channels that we could receive back then were filled with the horrible images of a crashing plane with the beautiful blue Iowa sky in the background.

Laurence Gonzales wove this story together masterfully.  Somehow, he was able to tell a 100 small stories inside one impressive book that flowed together seamlessly.  The amount of research and interviews that he did is almost unimaginable. The attention to even the smallest details brought this story to life. This book made me feel like I know many of these people personally despite the fact I have never met them. He also tells the story of the defective part of the engine from the day that it was made, to the day it brought down the plane, then to the Alta, IA field where it was undetectable until it was found by a combine during the harvest, and finally to the research area of “Cell 10” at GE where it was analyzed on the micro level and a cause was found.

The audiobook is also remarkable.  I listened to half this book while traveling and finished the story by reading it on my kindle. Either way, I feel that you will find this book as amazing as I did.

Other recommendations…

…you might try Invisible Heroes of World War II: True Stories That Should  Never Be Forgotten by Jerry Borrowman.

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Nell’s Gossip and book hunt 10/13/18

Welcome to my Sunday book hunt and author gossip.  Keep coming back for updates on book releases and news from favorite authors.

Ruby Lee and I went to Sioux Falls, SD this weekend to see the authors participating in the Fall Into Books Event hosted by On The Run Book Reviews.

Ruby and I didn’t know what to expect since this is the first ever of a hopefully every other year event.  We got to Sioux Falls in time to hear through the grapevine that there was going to be an informal meet and greet that evening.  After settling in we ventured out. Lo and behold, as we were walking out of our room, here was author Terry Maggert battling the ice machine like it was some ancient demon.  You know, writers are pretty tough cookies…

Around 6 pm, we went to see if we could crash the meet and greet event.  Ruby sat next to Jane Ashley Converse who wrote Backroads that released July 19, 2018.  It’s now in my TBR pile.

Title:  Backroads
Author: Jane Ashley Converse
Published:  July 19, 2018
Description:  A detour is what she needed.

Holly:

I was living the life I always thought I wanted. Good job, rich fiancé, and a glamorous social life. But in a blink of an eye it was all taken away. With nowhere else to go, my aunt offers me a job on her ranch. I didn’t know I’d be forced to work alongside her gorgeous ranch hand Chase. Instead of getting my old life back, I’m finding he’s a distraction I didn’t see coming.

Chase

I’ve spent years running from my past. Don’t stay in one place too long, don’t make long-lasting friendships, and most definitely don’t fall in love. The day I met Holly, I was done running—I just didn’t know it yet. Those heels, that skirt—all wrong for the country, but perfect for her. Her past is keeping her from trusting me. But I’m going to show her she’s more than worth the wait.

For a bit (because she fluttered around from person to person like a super hostess) I got to sit and visit with Annaliese Murine.  She flies through this world like a bullet on crack.  Her On The Run Book Reviews is perfectly named.  Annie knew that I was super stoked to meet Kris Michaels – the author that, as she walked into the room, the sky opened and angels sang.  Okay, that’s maybe a bit dramatic, but I was very excited to meet her.  Kris writes The Kings of Guardian series, The Guardian Security Shadowland series and she’s also taking part in the Silver SEALs series.

Annie sat me next to Kris Michaels who was super nice and very modest.  “I’m no celebrity” she says.  Uh huh.  Right.  In my book, she definitely is a celebrity. While we sat visiting, her husband sent her a picture of the sunset overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, where Kris lives.  It was an warm and inviting photo not only because it was picturesque, but because it had snowed in Sioux Falls that day.

I got to ask questions of all the authors that were there but the thing I had always wondered was how Kris got so in depth with her characters and well, it’s a complicated process.  In my opinion, she is a great writer because of all the research and effort she puts into creating her books.  If you haven’t read them, stop over to your local ebook store and check them out.

On my other side was Mira Lyn Kelly.  She was another author that had a lot of insight as to how the book world worked as she should because of all the books she has published.  She’s also now on my TBR pile.

ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT – Saturday.  Ruby and I stood in line so we could be one of the first 50 to get swag bags.  After we were admitted, there was so much to see that I didn’t know where to start.  That turned into a no brainer since Kris Michaels was practically inside the door.  We kind of felt like Norm on the tv show Cheers.  It made us both feel all warm and fuzzy inside to be recognized. I went from table to table looking at book covers trying to decide if they were my genre or not.  Either way you look at it, my TBR pile multiplied.  There are a lot of great authors out there, we just don’t know them yet!

Ruby’s holy grail meeting was E.J. Whitmer who wrote Iowish Roots.  According to Ruby it was amazing, so I think that endorsement alone should warrant a wander over to your ebook store and check it out.

Title:  Iowish Roots
Author:  E.J. Whitmer
Published:  December 15, 2017
Description:  After suffering a devastating loss, Violet Monroe needs a fresh start. Billybog, Ireland is the ideal place to open a coffee shop and finally live the life of her dreams. With her Instagram-famous dog in tow, she says goodbye to Iowa and runs toward her next adventure.

Pub owner Aidan Donovan is the epitome of a wounded soul. Jaded by his last relationship, he’s dedicated his life to never giving his heart to anyone again… then, he meets “Lettie”, Billybog’s newest resident. She’s beautiful, funny, and an American, and that makes her too much of a risk. While he does everything he can think of to keep her at a safe distance, her quirky American sensibilities and irresistible nature prove to be more difficult to resist than he imagined.

Will Lettie find her new home in the arms of a brooding Irishman, or will his tortured soul keep them from the happily-ever-after they both deserve?

Here comes the picture of the haul that Ruby made.  I was thrilled with the books and swag I got too.  I just want to say, if you ever come across a book signing of authors that are not known – take a risk and check them out.  They are worth it. 

Now, let me talk quick about the logo below.  Stitches Embroidery had these very cool screen prints available on just about anything.  I ordered the reading team in a sweatshirt, hoarding books in a tshirt and I got the audio nerd in a coozie.  I am positive that if anyone out there wants to order something, the proprietor would be more than happy to accommodate. Contact her through her website or she also has a page on Facebook.  As a reader, I love to promote my habit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Recap of KISSCON, Kansas City

Join me for a recap of the activities at KISSCon sponsored by Rainy Day Books, Avon Books and Harper Collins publishers.

This was an amazing experience. I’d never been to an intimate setting and book signing like this before. Woodneath Library in Kansas City, Mo, was the location of this event. Chairs and a stage were prepared for 9 authors and about 300 people. This was a free event.

Ok…let me start at the beginning of the day. Ruby and I decided it would be a great idea to support the bookstore that was sponsoring this event. They are called Rainy Day Books and they are a small book store that isn’t a corporate conglomeration.  This was a true floor to ceiling-books everywhere-all genres represented bookstore. They had very nice staff that wanted to help, point out their favorite books and explain up-coming events they have planned. These ladies knew their stuff and were happy and helpful with a heaping bit of make-you-smile. I enjoyed myself immensely.

Next thing on the agenda was the meet and greet of these 9 lovely authors.  Marie Tremayne is the author of Lady in Waiting (watch for the upcoming review here on One Book Two) was the newest member of the panel having only one book pubished at the moment. She also has one in edits and one she’s currently working on.

Lenora Bell and Cathy Maxwell are also historical romance writers except they have lots of books out there waiting to be read. Currently, I’m in the middle of reading What a Difference a Duke Makes (watch for the review here coming soon). While I read Cathy Maxwell in the anthology, Four Dukes and a Devil, I picked up her latest A Match Made in Bed.

The authors that Ruby Lee went to see were Jill Shalvis, Lori Foster and Jodi Thomas.  These ladies all write contemporary romance. Along with these contemporary artists are Lori Wilde, Linda Howard and Alisha Rai.  Granted,  I have never read the works of the contemporary artists, but there were 300+ people sitting in the audience that obviously were huge fans.

After a couple of introductory rounds, the panel were subjected to rapid fire questions.  Some put the authors on the spot by asking them to reveal their secrets if they answered yes to questions that started with “Never, have I ever…”. Audience members laughed at the panelist answers because along with the characteristic of great story teller was the fact they all are great entertainers.

When the speaking part was finished, everyone that wanted a book signed waited patiently in line for their chance to speak with their favorite author.

The final part of the event was the ticketed portion. Ruby and I splurged on VIP tickets to see what that would entail.  We each got a goodie bag (pictured above) and a glass of wine with a side of cheese, crackers and the best darn cupcakes I have ever ate.

All in all, it was a great experience and definitely worth driving 5 hours to attend.  Thank You to all those great authors for making our day memorable.

 

KISS con in Kansas City, baby!

I am so very tickled to report that One Book Two is going to Avon Romance Books Kiss Con in Kansas City, MO.  Don’t know what KISS con is?  Well, read on!!

 

Avon Books is a subsidiary of Harper/Collins publishing house.  Avon Books represents works in the romance genre with a ton of authors, but TODAY there is an event in Kansas City, Missouri put on by Rainy Day Books.  This event will showcase 9 romance authors and all of them are superstars AND WE GET TO GO!!!  It will be a treat to visit with:

 

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis writes warm, funny, sexy contemporary romances and women’s fiction. An Amazon, BN & iBooks bestseller, she’s also a two-time RITA winner and has more than 10 million copies of her books sold worldwide.

 

Photo by Alexander Petrenko / alexstudio.ch

Lenora Bell is a USA Today bestselling author of historical romance novels with Avon Romance/HarperCollins. Her writing has won numerous awards including the 2014 Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® Award for Historical Romance and the 2016 RT Book Reviews Best First Historical Romance award. She recently found out that she’s a finalist in the 2018 RWA RITA contest for published authors in the Historical Short category!

A teacher with an MFA in Creative Writing who has lived on five continents, Lenora currently shares an old farmhouse in the Pacific Northwest with her carpenter husband and two tiger-striped rescue kitties named Dorian Gray and Percy Shelley. She loves hearing from readers! Sign up for her mailing list to hear about new books, sales, and giveaways!. She loves to hear from readers!

 

Lori Foster first published with Harlequin in January 1996. Her second book launched Temptation Blaze and her 25th book launched Temptation Heat. Since those early days, Lori has routinely had 6 to 10 releases a year. She’s a Waldenbooks, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author with over 100 titles published through a variety of houses, including Berkley/Jove, Kensington, St. Martins, Harlequin and Silhouette.

Lori also writes as L.L. Foster publishing books written as Urban Fantasy with a little bit of romance.

 

Linda S. Howington is an American best-selling romance author writing under the pseudonym Linda Howard. After 21 years of penning stories for her own enjoyment, she submitted a novel for publication which was very successful. Her first work was published by Silhouette in 1982. She is a charter member of Romance Writers of America and in 2005 Howard was awarded their Career Achievement Award.

Bestselling novelist Cathy Maxwell, a storyteller since childhood, embraces her writing romance as a way to express her belief that “loving well is the greatest adventure of all,” and to explore her fascination with the Regency period.

The author of twenty-five historical romance novels and four novellas Cathy’s latest THE SEDUCTION OF SCANDAL, the fifth of her Scandal and Seduction novels, has just been published. The others, also set in the Regency period, are quintessential Cathy Maxwell—traditional historicals with a contemporary sensibility and a touch of humor. They are A Seduction at Christmas, The Marriage Ring, The Earl Claims His Wife, and His Christmas Pleasure. Each has appeared for multiple weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.

 

Alisha Rai writes award-winning emotionally complex contemporary romance novels and is frequently sought as a speaker on a range of topics covering romance and media.
She is the first author to have an indie-published book appear on Washington Post’s annual Best Books list. Her books have also been named Best Books of the Year by NPR, Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Amazon, Kirkus, Bustle, and Cosmopolitan Magazine and her novels have won the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for erotic and contemporary romance. When she’s not writing, Alisha is traveling and tweeting.

 

With millions of books in print, Jodi Thomas is both a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over 40 novels and 13 short story collections. Her stories travel through the past and present days of Texas and draw readers from around the world.

In July 2006, Jodi was the 11th writer to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. With five RITA’s to her credit, along with National Readers’ Choice Awards and Booksellers’ Best Awards, Thomas has proven her skill as a master storyteller.

Honored in 2002 as a Distinguished Alumni by Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, Thomas enjoys interacting with students at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, where she currently serves as Writer in Residence.

Marie Tremayne graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in English Language and Literature. While there, a copy of Pride and Prejudice ended up changing her life, and she decided to study the great books of the Regency and Victorian eras. Now she enjoys writing her own tales set in the historical period she loves.

Lady in Waiting is Marie Tremayne’s debut romance novel and was a finalist in the GSRWA’s 2014 Emerald City Opener Contest. Its sequel, The Viscount Can Wait, was a finalist in the 2015 ECO Contest. Marie lives with her family in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

New York Times and USA Today best selling author, Lori Wilde has sold seventy-eight works of fiction to four major New York Publishing houses. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Texas Christian University and a certificate in forensic nursing from Kaplan University. She is a member of the Internal Association of Forensic Nurses.
Her first NYT bestseller, the third book in her Twilight, Texas series, The First Love Cookie Club has been optioned for a television movie.
A popular writing instructor, Lori is a three time RITA finalist and has four times been nominated for Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. She’s won the Colorado Award of Excellence, the Wisconsin Write Touch Award, The Golden Quill, the Lories, and The More than Magic. Her books have been translated into 26 languages and excerpted in Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Complete Woman, and Quick and Simple magazines. She lives in Texas with her husband, Bill.

 

One Book Two staff that will be in attendance.

Ruby Lee and Nervous Nellie Justice