What are you reading the week of October 21, 2023?

I started Isaac Asimov's robot series. I've finished Caves of Steel and I'm about halfway through The Naked Sun.

I'm almost finished A Beginning At The End by Mike Chen

just finished The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Detrich

Working on Washington's Revolutionary War Generals and Hobbo (which I've actually been working on for awhile). Next up will be Ascension and Empires of the Weak.

It's been a hard week; one of my two cats died this past Sunday, and I have been overwhelmed with grief. I've tried to absorb myself in books and TV. The books I've read have been ones not challenging to the brain, as my concentration has been iffy at best.

I've read Holly, Stephen King's latest, which was excellent. I enjoyed the YA Pride and Prejudice fan-fic book Being Mary Bennet by J.C. Peterson. I'm now in the first chapters of a thriller called All Her Fault by Andrea Mara, which opens with the disappearance of a four-year old boy in Dublin. I've put aside my biography of Mao by Jung Chang until my focus is better.

>5 ahef1963: Sorry to hear about your cat. Our last cat passed away a few months ago and we are trying to decide whether to adopt another one.

>5 ahef1963: I'm so sorry about your kitty. Losing a beloved pet is just devastating.

I just finished Mick Herron's latest, The Secret Hours, which was great and started a Georges Simenon book, Maigret and the Killer.

Lud in the Mist by Hope Mirrlees (1926) This title popped up on TikTok and I remembered someone recommending it about 40 years ago. (Where did all that go?) Thanks, Elaine. Sorry it took so long.

Enjoying this audio via Libby ~

The Spectacular: A Novel
by Fiona Davis

>5 ahef1963: I am so sorry to hear about your loss. Hugs for you in this sad time.

I am determined to make it through The Word for World is Forest for the SFFKit this month (boy, is it a tough one to read!) and make some more progress on Ganymede by Cherie Priest.

I was away for most of the weekend at my 50th HS reunion. Lot's of fun! I did manage to finish John le Carre's first novel, and the first book in the George Smiley series, Call for the Dead. Now I've started Proud Beggars by Albert Cossery who was, as described in the brief bio at the front of the book, "a Cairo-born French writer of Lebanese and Greek Orthodox descent who settled in Paris at the end of the Second World War and lived there for the rest of his life." Cossery wrote this novel, about a murder in the Cairo slum, in French. I'm about 25 pages in and enjoying it so far.

>5 ahef1963: I'm very sorry to read about the loss of your cat. They do burrow into our hearts.

I’m reading Horse by Geraldine Brooks

>5 ahef1963: >6 JulieLill: I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your cats. Losing fur family is so difficult. One of my dogs died last month and even though she was 14 it still came as a surprise and is difficult. Sending lots of love to you both.

Yesterday I finished Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and it's one of my favorites so far this year.
Now I'm back to reading Bitch: On the Female of the Species by Lucy Cooke again. It's very interesting and surprising. Book club is Saturday so it's time to wrap it up.
I'm also reading Just After Sunset: Stories by Stephen King for some Halloween vibes.

I've just finished Call for the Dead, John le Carré's first published novel and the first book of his famous George Smiley series. Although the story is about spies and espionage, it's essentially a murder mystery. I thought it was good fun and a nice brisk read. I'm now interested in continuing on in the series.

I've now started Proud Beggars by Egyptian author Albert Cossery, who lived in Paris after WW2 and lived there until his death in 2008. The novel, written in French, was first published in 1981.

Rules Of Prey – John Sandford
Book on CD read by Richard Ferrone
4****

This is the first book in the Lucas Davenport series. He’s a lieutenant with the Minneapolis Police, and also a creator of computer games which have made him very wealthy. He’s somewhat of a lone wolf, though he has carefully cultivated a wide variety of “sources” over the years. And he’s more than friendly with a number of very attractive women, too.

As the book opens, Davenport’s being shadowed by a couple of undercover cops; he’s on to their surveillance and figures he’ll eventually find out why internal affairs has chosen to follow him, but he doesn’t let on. But all becomes clear after a psychotic serial killer murders his latest victim while the cops are watching Lucas at leisure. The chief soon lets him know that a few previously undisclosed details of the killer’s modus operandi, led some to think the killer might be a cop, and Lucas (of course) fit the limited profile they had. Now he’ll be leading the team searching for this “maddog” killer.

Sandford is really skilled at writing a taut, suspenseful, psychological thriller. We always know the identity of the killer, so it’s not a typical mystery. But, boy oh boy, is this an exciting ride!

Richard Ferrone does a pretty good job of narrating the audio. He has a very low-pitched voice, that tends to be a little gravelly. This works very well for the male characters, but his skills as a voice artist are really tested when women are speaking. I really enjoyed the author notes that explained how Sandford came to write this series.

Once Upon a Quinceañera – Monica Gomez-Hira
Digital audio performed by Terry Donnelly
2.5**

Carmen yearns for her “happily ever after,” but for now she has to make do with a summer internship that has her singing in a ball gown as a Disney princess for children’s parties. And now the company has been hired for her cousin Ariana’s over-the-top quinceañera! To make matters worse, her former flame Mauro has been assigned as her new dance partner.

This is a YA novel full of teenaged angst. Sex, drinking, one-upsmanship, family drama, frustrated dreams … all happening in a sultry Miami summer. All I can say is I’m glad I never let my mom give me a quinceañera party!

Terry Donnelly does a pretty good job of voicing the audio version. She sets a good pace and her diction is clear. There were a couple of times when I got confused about who was speaking; there are a lot of female characters.

I finished the LTER book Charlie Chaplin vs. America. Despite the implications of the title of this book, it is a full biography of Charlie Chaplin's life and work. Each era of his life is presented; his childhood poverty, his films made in America, his harassment by gossip columnist, politicians, and the FBI, and finally, his years in exile. Occasionally the detail seems a bit tedious, but overall an excellent, well researched account.

Started: In the Shelter of Hollythorne House by Sarah E. Ladd
Newly widowed Charlotte Prior discovers her late husband had been preying on others for money and threats remain to her and her very young son. She's surprised to see her first love Anthony Welbourne after his extended absence aboard. He's now been assigned to protect her by a watchmen's group. It's a second chance at love for them. New and 2nd installment in the "Houses of Yorkshire" series

If you read The Letter from Briarton Park, the first book in the series, there's a continuation about the weaving mills and a mention of one of the locations in the sequel.

The Opposite House – Helen Oyeyemi
2.5** rounded up

From the book jacket: This novel explores the thin wall between myth and reality through the alternating tales of two young women. Growing up in London, Maja, a singer, struggles to negotiate her Afro-Cuban background with her physical home. Yemaya, a Santeria emissary, lives in a mysterious somewherehouse with two doors: one opening to London, theother to Lagos. Each woman lives in a world divided by religion and history.

My reactions
I appreciated many of the passages of Oyeyemi’s writing, but the book as a whole didn’t really work for me. The story meandered too much for me to keep track of what was happening; I found myself re-reading sections to get a grasp on it. I am usually a fan of magical realism, but in this case the other-worldly aspect of much of the magical realism simply confused me.

Still, I am glad I read this story of women striving to find their place in the world, exploring their identity and reconciling their faith and traditions with the world in which they are now living.

Echo Mountain – Lauren Wolk
Digital audiobook narrated by Holly Linneman
3.5***

Set during the Great Depression, Wolk’s novel shows the effects on one family when they lose their home in town and are forced to start over in a cabin on Echo Mountain. Life is tough on the mountain, but the family is managing; and then twelve-year-old Ellie’s father has an accident and while he’s confined to bed, the girls and women have to shoulder the burden. Ellie’s mother and older sister take on all the household chores, but it is up to Ellie, who grew to love the woods alongside her father, to fish and hunt game for their food. In this way she comes to really know the mountain, and meets the “hag” (Cate) who lives in a cabin and whom some claim is a witch. But Ellie believes Cate knows the secrets of healing and she’s determined to help her father anyway she can.

This is a lovely adventure story, focused on family, prejudice and discovery. Ellie is a great character – brave, tender, intelligent, resilient, eager to learn, open to new possibilities, and determined. I loved how she conquered her fears and argued in favor of Cate, and how determined she was to help her father heal from the accident. I also loved how nurturing she was … not just with Cate and her father, but also in the way she cared for her little brother, and for her puppy, Quiet.

Holly Linneman does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. I’d give her 5 stars for her performance. She was completely believable as six-year-old Samuel, as Ellie and as Cate.

The new thread is up over here.