Labfs39 lumbers along in 2015

Currently reading:





The cybrarian's web 2 : an A-Z guide to free social media tools, apps, and other resources by Cheryl Ann Peltier-Davis

Read aloud with my daughter:

November:

28. Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia by David Greene (NF, 4*, )

October: 706 p.

27. Tisha: The Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaska Wilderness as told to Robert Specht (F, 5*, 342 p.)
26. The Farm by Tom Rob Smith (F, 3*, )
25. The Painter by Peter Heller (F, 3.5*, 364 p.)

August: 903 p.

24. Baba Yaga Laid an Egg by Dubravka Ugrešić, translated from the Croatian (TF, 3.5*, 327 p.)
23. On Call in Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story by Richard Jadick (NF, 3*, 275 p.)
22. Mrs. Ames by E. F. Benson (F, 2.5*, 301 p.)

July: 2471 p.

21. R (F, 2.5*, 561 p.)
20. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan (NF, 3.5*, 266 p.)
19. Lost in Shangri-la : the epic true story of a World War II plane crash into the Stone Age by Mitchell Zuckoff (NF, 4*, 384 p.)
18. HR (F, 3*, 248 p.)
17. RS (F, 3.5*, 589 p.)
16. My Fellow Prisoners by Mikhail Khodorkovsky (NF, 4*, 81 p.)
15. Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh (F, 3.5*, 342 p.)

June: 1205 p.

14. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (F, 3*, 531 p.)
13. Wired for Love by Stan Tatkin (NF, 4.5*, 181 p.)
12. A Symphony in the Brain by Jim Robbins (NF, 4*, 288 p.)
11. The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain (F, 5*, 22 p.)
10. My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor (NF, 4*, 183 p.)

May: 900 p.

9. Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo (NF, 4*, 256 p.)
8. The Unexpected Miss Bennet by Patrice Sarath (F, 3*, 304 p.)
7. Village of Secrets: Defying the Nazis in Vichy France by Caroline Moorehead (NF, 4*, 340 p.)

April: 238 p.

6. KL Auschwitz edited by Kazimierz Smoleń (NF, pictorial, 3.5*, 238 p.)

March: 980 p.

5. Rena's Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz by Rena Kornreich Gelissen with Heather Dune Macadam (NF, memoir, 4*, 264 p.)
4. I am Nujood: Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali, translated from the French by Linda Coverdale (TNF, YA memoir, 3*, 188 p.)
3. The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore (F, 3*, 208 p.)
2. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (F, 3*, 320 p.)

January-February: 190 p.

1. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey (NF, 4.5*, 190 p.)

Reading Globally

A list of books by the author's ethnicity (as decided by me):

Croatian
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg by Dubravka Ugrešić, translated from the Croatian

Poland:

KL Auschwitz edited by Kazimierz Smoleń
Rena's Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz by Rena Kornreich Gelissen with Heather Dune Macadam

Russia:

My Fellow Prisoners by Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Yemen:
I am Nujood: Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali, translated from the French by Linda Coverdale



List of books I've read by Nobel Prize Winners can be found here.

Summary of 2014 Reading:

109 books read

89 fiction
20 nonfiction

17 young adult (shared reads with my daughter)
9 translated fiction
5 graphic novels
5 audio books
3 ebooks

The majority of my reading in 2014 was genre fiction, unlike my usual even split between translated fiction, nonfiction, and fiction. I did read my first ebooks. Although the convenience of downloading a book I really wanted in the moment was satisfying, overall I am not a convert.

Reading (not-so) Globally in 2014:

Australia: 1
France: 1
Germany: 3
Iceland: 1
Ireland: 1
Japan: 1
Netherlands: 1
Poland: 1
Russia: 1
Serbia: 1
Sudan: 1
Sweden: 2

Welcome to my 2015 Club Read thread. I'm afraid my fifth year in Club Read is off to a slow start. I'm in the midst of a divorce, and I have had little time or energy for reading. I didn't want to lose track of the few I have read, so I decided to create a thread, although I'm not sure I'll be around much. I do hope to get to all of your wonderful threads at some point. You are all starred!

1. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

Being from Maine myself, I always love to read books by Maine authors, and this one is a gem.

Elisabeth Bailey was struck down by a mysterious illness while travelling in the Alps. Doctors were unable to explain what was happening to her, although they did discover a change to her mitochondrial function. Lying in bed, too weak to even hold a book, Elisabeth became fascinated with the daily trials and tribulations of a garden snail that a friend had brought in on a violet plant. Over time, Elisabeth became quite an expert on snails, and she shares fascinating facts, discoveries, and observations. Equally compelling are her insights on life at snail-pace, both her own and her companion's. The result is a charming and informative little book that I would recommend to anyone looking for something quiet and contemplative.

Lisa, it's good to see you here!

Yes, very good to see your thread. Hope you can get back into the groove here. I always enjoy your reading comments.

>7 RidgewayGirl: Thanks, Kay! I can't wait to delve into your thread and catch up on your travels and adventures. I'm glad Bloodlands made it onto your list of top reads in 2014. I'm still gushing over it to anyone who will listen.

>8 Poquette: Hi Suzanne, I'm afraid I have nothing erudite or even halfway intelligent to share at the moment, but perhaps listening to you all will turn my brain back on. Thanks for stopping by.

So glad to see you back! Sorry for the personal life turmoil.

>6 labfs39: Her web site has a “book trailer” starring the snail.

>11 qebo: Thanks for sharing the book trailer, qebo. I loved hearing the snail eating, but wish there had been footage of that as well. After learning about how many teeth snails have and how they rotate out, I would love to see one eating. I guess I should look on YouTube. (Once again, YouTube amazes. There are lots of videos of snails eating. My favorites are the ones that show the downward sweep of the mouth over a mushroom.)

A plug for the NYRB Winter Book Sale:

Dozens of books at 50% off during the NYRB Winter Sale, now through March 31.

Spend $50 or more and you’ll also receive a free Literary Greenwich Village tote bag.


Browse the sale books

Hi. It's just nice to hear from you here. Nothing erudite needed. But i enjoyed your thoughts on The Sound if a Wild Snail, even if it brings up geology jokes on boring snails (snails that bore holes into shells). Wishing you some peace and a sanity.

>14 dchaikin: Oh, you geologists and your humor! Hope all is well with you, Dan.

Hi, Lisa. Nice to see you here. I don't dare look at any book sales, tempting as they may be. I must not look....

>16 NanaCC: Hi Colleen, thank you for stopping by!

2. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Longlisted for the Booker Prize, this novel of personal journey and redemption sounded intriguing. It begins with a catchy premise: a recently retired man named Harold gets a postcard from a woman he knew twenty years ago. She writes that she has terminal cancer, and she wants to say goodbye. Harold is struck by the sudden news, scribbles a reply, tells his estranged wife that he is going to post it, and begins walking down the drive. He doesn't stop walking. He becomes convinced that as long as he walks, Queenie will live. The story of his journey and the people he meets along the way comprise the majority of the plot.

I was invested in the story for about half the book, then I began to dislike the way the book was going. Without giving away details, I can only say that Harold disappointed me, as did the story. I'm not sure whether the fault is the story or my own perspective, but by the end I was ready to give the book away. Something I rarely do!

Just catching up, glad to see you hear, sorry about the personal stress.

Just decided this moning to look out for you and now see that you've only recently made a thread. Wishing you all the best at this trying time and hope some good books offer you a bit of relief.
I'll check out the NYRB Winter Book Sale...sigh just what I need.

Just stopping by to say hi - I'm still working my way through many of the threads on this, my first year, in Club Read (and on LT).

I agree with your thoughts on ...Harold Fry. By the time I'd got to the end I felt like I'd just finished a Chick Lit book, which is fine if that's what you enjoy but I expected more.

Look forward to reading your reviews, and I hope some wonderful books provide some respite in your difficult year.

Lisa, it's great to see you back. I'm sorry for what you are going through.

Your opinion of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is consistent with others that I have seen.

Happy to see you back. Keep on reading, no matter what the subject matter.
The snail book sound fascinating, even though I curse every snail I encounter.

>14 dchaikin: Snails do make great fossils.

Good to see you here! The snail book sounds like a really nice read. Sorry to hear about all the RL stress, and hope to hear from you here, either about books or other stuff.

I was wondering where you were (not that I'm here much myself), so am glad to see you have a thread. Hope you're ok.

Keep smiling

3. The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore

I purchased this short novel while in Maine with qebo last spring. Despite the movie tie-in cover, a pet peeve which I will save for another post, I bought the book on the strength of some of Helen Dunmore's other historical fiction. The Siege, shortlisted for the Orange Prize, was a compelling story set during the siege of Leningrad. It's sequel, The Betrayal, was also quite good and covered the fictitious Doctor's Plot, the last purge before Stalin's death.

The Greatcoat is also historical fiction set in World War II, but it is much shorter than the other two, and it is a ghost story of sorts. Normally I don't read paranormal fiction, but the setting and the strength of the author's other works convinced me to try it. Although I enjoyed the bits about the pilots flying sorties from England, I didn't care much for the main plot. A young newlywed and her doctor husband move into a shabby apartment, where the woman discovers a WWII greatcoat and uses it to stay warm. The owner of the coat then beings to make his appearance. A short read, it made for a diverting hour or two, but the book is not one that will stay with me long.

>27 labfs39: Even though I loved The Siege and liked The Betrayal, I've been avoiding this one because of the ghost story aspect of it. Glad to know I haven't missed much.

>27 labfs39: And there it is, in the middle of the stack. :-)



(FYI to others, the mini-meetup occurred last spring when we discovered in a thread conversation that we’d both be in Maine at the same time for family weddings.)

Great picture. Hoping you next book is more rewarding, though.

>20 avatiakh: Hi Kerry, I finally made it to 2015 and, after a slow start, am starting to read more normal books, for me, that is. I just started Village of Secrets: Defying the Nazis in Vichy France last night, and I can tell it's going to be another good one. I though A Train in Winter was very well-done, despite a difficult organizational structure.

>21 AlisonY: Welcome to Club Read, Alison. I hope you stop by again, and I'll be sure to visit your thread soon.

>22 Linda92007: Hi Linda, Sometimes I guess I should listen to the buzz and avoid clunkers.

>23 SassyLassy: Thanks, Sassy. I too struggle with snails in my garden, however, the chickens help with that little problem. We have slugs here, and they do more damage than snails. I had to bite my tongue for three summers while my daughter experimented with snails, trying to get them to breed. The last year about a million baby snails hatched and climbed their way up the sliding glass door near their terrarium. I don't know what they did on the roof, but at least they weren't in my garden, and I thought the birds might pick them off before they climbed back down. After reading Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, I felt a little guilty for my callous attitude toward them.

>24 DieFledermaus: I missed you last year, DieF! I'm glad you are back, and you haven't been shrouded by the Seattle moss. I must tackle your thread and see what wonders you are reading this year.

>25 rachbxl: Hi Rachel. Do you have a thread this year? I still have your 2014 Club Read thread starred, but I haven't been able to find you in 2015. Edie must have just celebrated her first birthday. I can't believe it! I hope she is gnawing her way through lots of good literature. ;-)

>26 baswood: Thanks, Barry. I think of France longingly these days.

>28 rebeccanyc: I am so far behind in your thread(s), Rebecca, that I am intimidated. I need to jump in and not worry about all the wonderful reviews I will have missed, but it's hard for me to be so disorganized! No, you are not missing anything by not reading The Greatcoat. She is a good writer and the passages about the fliers were good, but it wasn't enough to warrant the rest of the plot.

>29 qebo: How fun to log on this morning and see that photo, qebo! Brought an instant smile to my face. That was a fun time. I had such a sunburn after our walk on the beach with my boat-necked shirt. I was at the peeling stage just in time for the wedding.

>30 dchaikin: Thanks for stopping by, Dan. What is your daughter reading these days? Mine (age 11 and 3/4) is into YA dystopias still. I think one of your daughters is a little younger than mine, right?

>31 labfs39: I had to bite my tongue for three summers while my daughter experimented with snails
LOL! You do have a budding scientist, don't you?

>32 labfs39: Do come visit my thread, Lisa, and start wherever you want. I recently started a new one, so you could completely skip the first one.

I do have a thread this year, Lisa, but it's not terribly active!

Yes, Edie will be 13 months old tomorrow - I can't believe how fast it's gone. She loves her books - as objects, in that she loves to take them off the shelves and turn the pages over, rather than for the stories, but I'll happily settle for that for now. If I leave her in her room while I go for a shower, more often than not I'll return to find her sitting happily amid a load of books she's pulled out. We spent a happy few minutes this afternoon sitting on the sofa, me in one corner finishing my latest read, and her at the other end absorbed in Say Goodnight to the Sleepy Animals; it didn't last long, but it was the first time we'd done that, and it was quite magical.

I found you.

I went out to do some weeding in the rain this afternoon (the Morning Glory seems to think it's time to grow) and there were snails in my gardening shoes! Ugh!! I am not a fan of slugs and I kill them with impunity, but I have to say that the snails give me the creeps.

I appreciated your comments about The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. It just has not called to me and this cemented it for me.

I hope you are doing well, Lisa!

>6 labfs39: Catching up on your thread. I had totally forgotten about the "snail" book; I would love to read that one.

Hi Lisa, I'm really pleased to see you back here, though sorry to hear you've been having a difficult time.

I'm interested to see what you think of Guys Like Me. I read another book by Dominique Fabre a couple of years ago and loved it.

As promised, yours is the first thread I visit, coming out of my hibernation (even before my own :-)). I hope you're okay and that life's treating you kind.
>18 labfs39: Too bad The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry didn't work for you, because the premise was promising and it looked like something I would have liked. Now I think I'll save myself the disappointment.
>32 labfs39: I know the feeling about being intimidated by all the threads. It's a struggle but one I like to deliver because of all the excellent book-recommendations (and warnings :-) ).

Hi Lisa - really nice to see you back here. I hope you're feeling ok most of the time.

I'm hardly on here this year but have great intentions of massive catching up in the school holidays. I haven't bought A Train in Winter yet but will do when I see it - I have given up on library books because I never ever get them read these days. Hope you continue to enjoy Village of Secrets.

And I will skip the Helen Dunmore ghost story. I just don't do ghost stories! (but I did go against trend last year by reading a Sooky Stackhouse vampire book and thoroughly enjoying it...)

That's a lovely photo of you and qebo and your daughter upthread!

>33 qebo: I did, now all she experiments with is makeup! How did I end up with a daughter who wears makeup? For passion day today (i.e. dress up for school in a way that depicts what you are passionate about), she dressed as Skye in the Penderwick books (loves science and soccer). To depict science, she brought in some of her best bugs (labelled in Latin and pinned on styrofoam in fruit clam shell containers). I hope they survived the day...

>34 rebeccanyc: I started reading your new thread, Rebecca, but haven't go to the end to comment. Soon!

>35 rachbxl: The story about you and Edie sharing separate reading times on the couch is so precious, Rachel. I looked and couldn't find your 2015 thread. Could you send me the link?

>36 EBT1002: Hmm, I don't think The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is the book for you, Ellen... Weeding in the rain--that's dedication. Although it's true that weeds are easier to pull up in the rain.

>37 avidmom: How odd, avidmom! I had your 2013 Club Read thread starred! Phew, I need to get with it...

>38 Rebeki: Thanks, Rebeki. Did you read The Waitress Was New? I loved it too. Short, but so poignant.

>39 Trifolia: You are so sweet, Monica. I'm slowly emerging from my self-imposed hibernation. I hunkered down for most of the winter and focused on essentials, like my daughter. Spring is bringing with it hope and a renewed interest in reading.

>40 cushlareads: If you like (or can tolerate) collective biographies, Cushla, I think you will like A Train in Winter and Village of Secrets too. {Whoops! Just realized you are the one who recommended Village of Secrets in the first place!} I hope your crazy, busy life is going well. When does your break begin?

>32 labfs39: yes, my daughter is ten. She tends to keep her reading private. Lots of graphic novels, juvenile books. She starts a lot more books then she'll finish. She just read The Fault in Our Stars, I don't actually know what that's about or if it's age appropriate. I hope it isn't.

>32 labfs39:, >42 dchaikin: I just had a look at some of the reviews of The Fault in Our Stars, curious to know what a 10-year old reader is reading. I live (one week in two) with a 10-year old non-reader, my elder stepdaughter; it breaks my heart! I've taken her to the library, to bookshops, I've tried to give ideas, I've refused to give ideas, I've given her free rein ('choose a book and I will buy it for you')...nothing. However, she has recently got into horses, and I have discovered that she will read horsey books, of which the second-hand bookshop near work has an endless supply. She doesn't exactly devour them, but she does at least read them, and I'm hoping they'll open the door to other things later.

Lisa, I'll pop back later with a link to my thread. Incidentally, from little snippets gleaned here and there, I have the most amazing mental image of your daughter - she sounds just brilliant. I love the juxtaposition of make-up and bugs on styrofoam.

>41 labfs39: It wasn't, although that was the book I'd gone into the bookshop hoping to find (I was visiting a friend in Brussels), after reading about it on LT. Instead, I came away with Moi aussi, un jour j'irai loin, which could also be described as poignant. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to have been translated into English.

Hi, Lisa. Just catching up after vacation. I love seeing your budding scientist daughter.

New York Review of Books:

The Devils’ Alliance: Hitler’s Pact with Stalin, 1939–1941
by Roger Moorhouse
Basic Books, 382 pp., $29.99

Monsters Together
John Lukacs APRIL 23, 2015 ISSUE

>42 dchaikin: How funny, Dan, that you hope it isn't age appropriate! I asked my daughter, and she said she's read it. "Good, but sad" was the verdict.

>43 rachbxl: I'm glad you may have found an entrée into reading for your stepdaughter. It's hard when your kids are different than you. I was worried that my daughter wasn't going to be a reader because she didn't read early. Come to find out, she was just soaking up all the read aloud time. Once she did start reading, she fell into it. Not as much as I did as a child, but I lived in the wilds of Maine with nothing else to do! She has kids, activities, distractions galore. Still a reader though.

Yeah! I finally found your thread and starred you!

>44 Rebeki: I should try reading more in French. Perhaps I will remember more than I think. There are so many great French authors who are translated far too slowly!

Small note of parental pride: today my daughter received an honorable mention in a national French exam. :-)

>45 NanaCC: Budding scientist is baking cookies at the moment...

4. I am Nujood: Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali, translated from the French by Linda Coverdale

In 2008, Nujood's father married ten-year-old Nujood to a man in his thirties in exchange for a dowry. Nujood was taken to live with her new husband and his family in a remote village. He repeatedly raped her and when she sought protection from her husband's family was beaten. She finally convinces her husband to take her to visit her parents, who do nothing to help her, so she goes, on her own, to the courts and seeks help.

It was a famous case in Yemen at the time, and Nujood became the first child bride to be granted a divorce. Her story, as told here, reads as though it is a young adult book, but it may be because she is so young. Regardless, it is an interesting glimpse of life in a country where 14% of girls are married before age 15 and 52% before they are 18. One of the things that I found most interesting was that Nujood refused offers of refuge and an education abroad and chose to continue to live with her family, including her father who was brought up on charges during the divorce trial.

How depressing. I just looked up my stats from last year, and I had read 50 books by this time. This year I've read five. Sigh.

(Early Review book read in 2015)

Siberiak: My Cold War Adventure on the River Ob by Jenny Jaeckel

This graphic novel appealed on several levels, beginning with the fact that the author self-published her book, and it did so well that it was picked up by Raincloud Press. An impressive feat in this era of tsunamis of self-published material. I was also intrigued because it is the account of her participation in a grassroots mission of peace to the Soviet Union in 1988 when she was seventeen. I was in college then, studying Russian literature, and the memories of nuclear bomb scares were still fresh in my mind. So her descriptions of growing up with Cold War fears resonated on a personal level.

The artwork is a blocky black and white style with hand-drawn lettering. Americans are depicted as rabbits and Russians as mice, which reminded me a bit of Maus. The story is a combination travel memoir and coming of age story. The author grew up on a commune, so she was a bit of an outsider, even with the other Americans. Her trip to the Soviet Union, then participation in the building of a Kon-Tiki type raft, and subsequent float down the River Ob is described with a shy, innocent voice presumably reminiscent of the author's younger self. Although there are no grand conclusions, I enjoyed sharing this unusual journey at a familiar point in history.

6. KL Auschwitz: Fotografie dokumentalne edited by Kazimierz Smoleń

This book of black and white photographs was published by the Auschwitz State Museum in 1980. The introduction and photo captions are in Polish, English, French, German, and Russian. Although the text is very stilted pro-Soviet rhetoric, typical of the time period, the photos are eloquent. Taken by SS officers, resistance fighters, liberators, and post-war photographers, the pictures range from strictly posed intake photos to journalistic candids to blurry, surreptitiously taken snapshots. Many of the photos were taken at the subcamp, Birkenau. Although insignificant as a text, the book as documentation is chilling. Recommended for people already familiar with the topic, as limit context is provided.

It was still very Soviet-oriented when I was there in 1993.

>52 rebeccanyc: Interesting. I've never been to Poland, but I have been to Dachau and Theresienstadt. I don't remember a strong Soviet orientation at either of those.

I say it was Soviet for two reasons. First, they had a monument to the heroic Red Army which liberated Auschwitz (and which served as the motivation for directing busloads of extra good vacationing workers there), and secondly, and more importantly, because there were a series of maybe 12 or so buildings, each of them devoted to a differently nationality, but only one of them to Jews, so the Soviet visitors never would have known that Jews were far and away most of the killed.

Finally, in Krakow, where I stayed, there is what is said to be the largest market square in Europe. It was super hot, and in any western country, for example, Italy, there would have been multiple carts selling water, ices, etc. Nothing. No sense of free enterprise at all.

Well done to your daughter for her French exam - that's brilliant!

>54 rebeccanyc: I think you'd be surprised by Poland today, Rebecca. It's a dynamic, vibrant country where private enterprise thrives (to be fair, in 1993 there was almost no possibility for it, but the spirit was always there - though having spent more summers than I care to remember in that oppressive Krakow heat, I don't like to imagine it without water and ice-cream freely available!) Auschwitz has changed too - by 2003 when I went the Jews were the main focus.

>55 rachbxl: That's good to know, Rachel. Thanks.

>54 rebeccanyc: It's interesting how nations interpret history for their own ends (not excluding the extremely interpretive USA). I've read a bit about the role of memory in nation building and found it fascinating. When the Soviets were the primary visitors at Auschwitz, there was one interpretation, and now that American Jews have discovered Holocaust tourism, there is another. Didn't Timothy Snyder have some thoughtful comments on this topic?

>55 rachbxl: Thanks, Rachel.

From what I observed in 1988 and 1991, Hungary was early on the capitalist bandwagon with Czechoslovakia following. I didn't visit Poland, but I could see it taking a bit longer there.

>57 labfs39: I'm a fan of Timothy Snyder but my mind is like a sieve. Do you remember where he wrote that? And where have you read about the role of memory in nation building? I might want to read something about that.

>58 rebeccanyc: My mind is prone to gross acts of forgetting, which is why I am so glad I took notes of Bloodlands book. My memory of what Snyder says about memory are based on the notes of the last chapter in the book and the conclusion:

When an international collective memory of the Holocaust emerged in the 1970s and 80s, it rested on the experiences of German and West European Jews, minor groups of victims, and on Auschwitz, where only about one in six of the total number of murdered Jews died. (p. 377)

Both Hitler and Stalin envisioned utopias, were compromised by reality, then implemented mass murder on those blamed for their failure. "Mass sacrifice was needed to protect a leader from the unthinkability of error." (p. 388) Hitler and Stalin kept revising their utopias so were always victorious. Hitler lost the war but claimed victory because he succeeded in killing the Jews.

"No major war or act of mass killing in the 20th century began without the aggressors or perpetrators first claiming innocence and victimhood." (p. 399)

"I believed because I wanted to believe."

"Our contemporary culture of commemoration takes for granted (presumes) that memory prevents murder." (p. 401)

This transcendent value in the victim's deaths becomes nationalistic; for example, Americans calling WWII "The Good War". Memory becomes an "international competition for martyrdom". Both sides manipulate the numbers to prove victimhood. The Yugoslav wars of the 1990s began, in part, because Serbs believed more of them had been killed in WWII than was the case. Competing national memories bolstered by numbers...

And from the introduction:

"The Nazis and Soviets both had a powerful story about who was to blame for the Great Depression (Jewish capitalists or just capitalists) and authentically radical approaches to political economy."

This idea of collective national stories fascinates me. How are these stories created and propagated? Are their origins organic or preconceived? How do rational, thinking citizens fall prey to these stories? Through misinformation? The desire to believe? Group-think? Certainly the Nazi and Soviet stories were perpetuated through fear, but how did the initial buy-in develop? Was it gradual or was there a tipping point?

As for other sources of my preoccupation with memory and national identity, I will need to look through my books and see if any of them sparks recognition! I know some of it was from research I did as a grad student, and that was a long time ago.

Wow, Lisa! Those are great notes you took. Thank you. Of course, I read and greatly admired Bloodlands too, but alas I have forgotten a lot of the details.

And your questions are thought-provoking too, especially thinking about the US and our many competing national stories.

1941: The Year That Keeps Returning is a stunning book about the mass killings in what was then Yugoslavia and how they reverberated in the wars of the 1990s.

>46 labfs39: – That was an interesting article – might have to look for the book.

I started to read Bloodlands last year and thought it was very informative and clearly written, but then it had to go back to the library and I had an extended “no depressing books/Nazis/Communists” period. Might need to try to pick it back up again along with 1941: The Year that Keeps Returning.

Thank you to DieF, for alerting me to this article on Lyudmila Ulitskaya, the author of Daniel Stein, Interpreter. The article has made me even more eager to read more books by Ulitskaya.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/06/weight-words

Lisa, good to see your thread. I have been pretty inactive for several months, but am trying to get back in habit of posting occasionally.

Sounds like it's a roller coaster of a year for you. Wishing you calm and grit; hope that combination makes sense.

Ardene

Lisa I'm glad to catch notice of your thread! I'm so sorry to hear of your stress. I too liked The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating and thought of it recently when I saw this from The Paris Review:

http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/07/28/flower-voyeur-a-comic/

>63 markon: Hi Ardene. Thank you for stopping by. I am afraid inactive doesn't begin to describe my reading life this year, but I am hoping that fall will be the inspiration to return to my books. September reminds me of returning to school and new beginnings. Perhaps my reading year will finally begin.

>64 detailmuse: Thank you, MJ. The piece in the Paris Review is lovely: both in sentiment and visual appeal. Do you typically read the Paris Review online?

I chose this book because as a former EMT and ambulance attendant, I have always found emergency medicine and trauma fascinating. I appreciated the author's desire to "do" something and not just wait for the wounded to come to him.



23. On Call in Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story Richard Jadick with Thomas Hayden

Richard Jadick was an ex-Marine and a Navy doctor when the war in Iraq began. He could have remained stateside, because at thirty-eight, he was too old to be called up. But once a Marine, always a Marine. Jadick wanted to be part of the action and go where he was needed. In addition, during Jadick's former deployment to Liberia, 44% of the Marines in his care had developed malaria. Although he was absolved of blame (the soldiers had refused to take the required precautions), Jadick didn't want his career to end on such an ignoble note. There was a shortage of military doctors, and since the Navy provides medical care for the Marines, as well as their own soldiers, Jadick volunteered to accompany the First Battalion, Eighth Marine Regiment (the "1/8") to Iraq.

Leaving behind his wife and four-day-old daughter, Jadick shipped out with the 1/8 to Haditha Dam. There he spent his days training his corpsmen, improving their living conditions, and performing the administrative duties of his position, such as negotiating with his Iraqi counterpart about the most hygienic ways to use the portable toilets. Not exactly urgent medical emergencies. But then word came down that the 1/8 was going to take a lead role in the upcoming Battle of Fallujah.

Soon after arriving at Camp Fallujah, Jadick was out on a reconnaissance run, four days before the battle was due to begin, and came to a startling realization. His Marines were charged with taking the city center and any casualties would be evacuated to Checkpoint 84, the regimental ambulance exchange point, which was located more than two kilometers north of the city. From there, the wounded would be transported to the base hospital at Camp Fallujah, a forty-five minute ride away. That was simply too long. If his Marines were not treated within ten to fifteen minutes of being wounded, their chances for survival would drop dramatically. Granted, there were corpsmen embedded with the troops, but their resources were limited. If Jadick were going to make a difference, he needed to be closer, much closer, to the battle.

His plan? To create a Forward Aid Station (FAS) as close to the battle as possible. If he could stabilize the wounded quickly enough, their chances of surviving the trip to Camp Fallujah would improve drastically. So for the next eleven days, Jadick and his team of corpsmen lived and worked right in the heart of the battle. Often under sniper attack, the medical personnel worked in hellish conditions. Their story is generously told by Jadick, as are the stories of the wounded. It makes for compelling reading. After the battle, official estimates would credit Jadick and his team with saving thirty lives, Marines that would otherwise not have made it to the base hospital, and treating 150 more. After returning home, Jadick would receive the Bronze Star with a Combat V for Valor for his courage and perhaps for his vision to see what needed to be done differently in order to make a difference.

Great review of On Call in Hell, Lisa. I can't help but wonder what his wife thought about leaving her and their newborn baby behind, though.

I can't imagine. Jadick praises his wife Melissa and talks about their great relationship. I know that men have been leaving their families behind in order to go to war for centuries, but a four-day-old baby? Wow. His wife was induced, so that he could be there for the birth, and she ended up having a C-section.

Once he gets back from Iraq, Jadick leaves almost immediately for a urology residency and job with the VA. I assume his family went with him, which would require a quick move. He does talk about how family has become more important to him now.

>67 kidzdoc: What Darryl said!

Checking in for your rare appearance... Skimming back, I'm currently reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry for a local book group. Left to my own devices I would've Pearl Ruled it (well, actually, I probably wouldn't've started it), but I feel obligated and thankfully it's short.

>69 rebeccanyc: Thanks, Rebecca!

>70 qebo: I hear you, qebo. I was so frustrated with that one.

I need to pop over and check out your garden thread. We had a terrible windstorm this weekend, and I've been trying to get the yard cleaned up. Lots of downed limbs, wayward pine cones, and clogged gutters that had to be cleaned. Because of the drought this summer, I welcome the rain, but it was a lot for our parched gardens and dry conifers to take all at once.

Spilled tea all over my keyboard yesterday. I tried taking it apart and drying all the components, but I'm afraid the "a" key is stuck in the on position. Wherever I put my cursor, an endless stream of a's pours out. Thankfully I had kept my old wired keyboard, so I'm up and running without too much angst, although I did love my Bluetooth keyboard...

Oh, that's frustrating. I spilled coffee on one laptop, dried it out and ended up with a computer that worked sometimes but not others. I eventually replaced it, but it did teach me patience.

patience and maybe not to have the tea or coffee quite so close to the keyboard or computer. :). I think we've probably all been there. When I was working, I had a "spill proof" cup for my coffee. But I hate drinking out of covered cups.

Nice to see you posting, Lisa.

>74 NanaCC: not to have the tea or coffee quite so close to the keyboard or computer
This is a quality of life issue.

>75 qebo: oh, I didn't mean out of arm's length. I'm addicted to coffee.... :)

My 12-year-old daughter said, Well, mom, I guess you shouldn't be allowed to drink tea at the computer. This is the second time you've done this...

I started reading Baba Yaga Laid an Egg (a retelling from the Canongate Myth series) and am thoroughly enjoying it. Dubravka Ugrešić's language, and the translation, are delightful, and the story is charming. The novel is organized in three sections. The first, Go There-I Know Not Where-And Bring Me Back a Thing I Lack, is about a declining eighty-year-old woman and her writer daughter. The story is about language and how the mother's usage of language is changing with her illness; about the relationship between adult women and their mothers; and about women growing old. It's sweet and funny, not maudlin, and I look forward to continuing my reading.

>77 labfs39: How long is your daughter grounded for making that comment, Lisa?

I just finished the second of the three stories in the Baba Yaga book. I didn't care for it as much as the first one, but it was still interesting. Starting the third, which appears to be commentary on the Baba Yaga myth itself...

Can't wait to start The Painter!

>80 labfs39: I thought Baba Yaga was Russian; is Ugresic writing about the Russian one or was there a Croatian one too?

Baba Yaga is a common myth throughout most of the Slavic countries, including Poland, Czech Republic, and the Balkans, as well as Russia. There are variants depending on the time period, the storyteller, local influences, etc., but the basic elements are fairly consistent: one leg (wooden usually), hut on chicken legs in the forest, flying in mortar, etc. The third section of Ugresic's book is ostensibly written by a folklore expert who is comment on a novel (the first two sections) written by someone else. This piece of metafiction gives a lot of legitimate history on the Baba Yaga myth, as well as a feminist deconstruction and commentary on the novel as written in the first two sections. I'm curious: do the other Cannongate myth books have this type of explanation within them?

Thanks for the explanation. There were a lot of Baba Yagas in Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov so I associated them with Russia.

Interestingly there is an island off Croatia whose people believe that Baba Yaga floats across the ocean in half an eggshell rather than fly in a mortar.

If you live in the Seattle area, or plan to visit, be sure to visit Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum. It is opening in January, and promises to be an exceptional place to browse, read, write, and discuss books. Lots of book events and book discussion groups will be happening. Very exciting to have a haven for Club Read-type bibliophiles here in Seattle. The website is at http://www.folioseattle.org/

Folio looks lovely!

Going way, way back upthread, Siberiak looks good. The author's the same age as me and 1988 was my first year at university.

And a very belated congratulations to your daughter. Was it one of the Alliance Francaise exams like the DELF?

Baba Yaga Laid an Egg sounds interesting and I really enjoyed the previous books by Ugrešić' that I read - will pretty much read anything by her.

I'll have to check out the site in >85 labfs39: - hadn't heard of it before.

I had set my lunch hour aside to catch up on various bits of admin, so I've been catching up on your thread instead.

Glad you enjoyed Baba Yaga Laid an Egg; I did too, though it's been a while so I don't remember if I liked some parts more than others (I reviewed it for Belletrista). I heard Ugresic read from it in London just before the English translation was published; that was a treat.

How are you? Hope you and your daughter are doing well.

Hello Friends,

Sorry to have gone AWOL again, but I have exciting news. I have been hired as librarian at Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum. I will be helping to create the library from the ground up: policies and procedures, layout of collections, and even choosing the catalog we will use. Three guesses... Yes, LibraryThing! And Folio will be an inaugural user of the TinyCat OPAC. I am thrilled to be part of Folio and will be sure to keep you updated as we move toward our January launch.

Cheers!

Congratulations, Lisa. Your news sounds very exciting.

That's great news, Lisa! Congratulations.

Wonderful news for you.

>89 labfs39: Oh wow! Congratulations!

What wonderful work... Congratulations.

Sounds awesome Lisa!

Congratulations, and I can only echo what everyone said (exciting, wonderful, awesome)!

Sounds like a dream job - good luck!

That sounds like a fantastic job! Congratulations!

Clicked on the link it looks like a great project - well done

Wow, congratulations!

Lovely News, congratulations. Looks amazing - I'd love to have something like that here.

After a long, very hectic week at work and home, I was in serious need of a pick-me-up. So after dropping my daughter at a Halloween party, I went to Third Place Books, my favorite local bookstore. I never buy myself new books, usually I hit the used shelves, but I had this gift credit, and as I say, it was a bad week. So, I bought myself two wonderful new books:

(don't you want to start browsing those shelves?)

The House of Twenty Thousand Books by Sasha Abramsky



and A Memoir of the Warsaw Uprising by Miron Bialoszewski and translated from the Polish by Madeline G. Levine.

As soon as I finish Midnight in Siberia by David Greene, I'm going to dive in. But to which? Lovely dilemma to have...

>102 labfs39: Midnight in Siberia
I just read this for one of my local book groups, chosen in part because he lived here for a time, when his mother was a college professor and he was in high school (Lancaster PA made the index!).

But to which?
I vote for the library.

I have been eyeing A Memoir of the Warsaw Uprising, as it would normally be right up my alley, but I have been reading easier books recently. As for Midnight in Siberia, I loved Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier and this sounds similar, but with more of a focus on the politics.

Hi Lisa. I thought I would swing by and see how you're doing. Sorry to read that you had a tough week but I'm glad TPB was there for the rescue. :-)

Waiting to hear about these two books, both of which are on my mental wishlist.

>103 qebo: How interesting to have a local connection! Yes, Greene, mentions Lancaster a few times. Did your book club colleague add much perspective to Greene's account?

>104 rebeccanyc: Travels in Siberia sounds like an fascinating look at the history of Russia, whereas, yes, Greene's book is more political, i.e. why hasn't democracy taken root in Russia and why do the people accept Putin? Midnight in Siberia felt like reading NPR stories, but a bit more connected (no surprise since David Greene was the Moscow correspondent for NPR for three years). Although I enjoyed the book, I didn't feel as though I gained any special insight, more of a general feeling of sympathy for the complexity of the Russian people's experience and mindset. As Greene kept saying, history and culture do matter when trying to understand their choices.

>105 EBT1002: Thank you for stopping in, Ellen. Long time no see! I hope that once Folio opens in January, you'll swing by and check us out.

>106 SassyLassy: My reading rate is so snail-like at the moment, I'm afraid you may be waiting a long time, Sassy! I will start one of them today (I'm leaning toward The House of Twenty Thousand Books, but as a hardcover, it's a less convenient commuting book...)

Odd, I typed in The House of Ten Thousand Books, instead of twenty, and it linked to... Madame Bovary!

I'm very excited about Folio opening early in 2016....
eta: and I just learned that you'll be working there! Very exciting.

>107 labfs39: One of the book group members was in Russia for the 2014 Paralympics, as... a photographer/reporter? She had Things To Say, not positive, about Russia's attitude toward disability (she has a chronic illness that doesn't show on the outside, at least when she presents herself in public, but that can be painful and incapacitating).

>109 qebo: Yeah, there are a number of wonderful things about Russia/Russians, but, the treatment of those with any sort of differences, is sadly not one of them. They haven't yet moved past the lock them away out of our sight in institutions mentality. :/

>110 .Monkey.: Yeah, she said they essentially told her "we don't have people with disabilities" so there's no need to accommodate.

>108 EBT1002: I hope Folio becomes the sort of serendipitous browsing/booklover hangout that Elliot's Bay was when it was in Pioneer Square. Except members can check out the books. Some very interesting collections have been donated to date (about 12,000 books), and more are arriving all the time. It's crazy busy trying to build a library from scratch in ten weeks, but I'm getting there thanks to some fabulous volunteers!

>109 qebo:, >110 .Monkey.: I'm not surprised, given things I've read, but it's still shocking. Best not be different, in any way, if you live in Russia. And yet, we keep waiting for democracy to burst forth. Such a paradoxical situation.

First lines from The House of Twenty Thousand Books in which the author hears his father cry at the passing of his father:

There is no sound on earth like that of a quiet man, a dignified man, exploding in primal grief. Nothings compares to it — not fingernails scraping on a blackboard, nor the whir of a dental drill through enamel. Nothing. It is the howl of absolute horror, a keening black hole of noise that sucks in everything else. It pulls you into the abyss — extraordinary, out of character, it brooks no dissent. This, the sound announces, is about forever.

Two summers ago, I took my daughter to Shakespeare & Co. bookstore in Paris to buy a copy of Harry Potter in French. Friday, the store played a very different role:

20 People Found Refuge In A Famous Paris Bookstore During Attacks

Lisa--It's great to see you posting again. I hope all is well with you and Katie. It sounds like you've landed a dream job!