Aunt Marge and the kids read in 2017

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Aunt Marge and the kids read in 2017

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1auntmarge64
Modifié : Déc 28, 2016, 10:19 pm

I'm back with various nieces and nephews for 2017. They love the challenge among themselves and check in regularly to see standings and to send me titles and ratings for books read. We range in age from 16 to 68 and have been doing Club Read together for several years.

Our 2016 Club Read thread
Our 2015 Club Read thread
Our 2014 Club Read thread
Our 2013 Club Read thread
Our 2012 Club Read thread
Our 2011 Club Read thread
Our 2010 Club Read thread

Chronological Breakdown of my own 2016 Reading

1900s - 1
1920s - 1
1960s - 2
1970s - 2
1980s - 1
1990s - 3
2000s - 13
2010s - 92

2auntmarge64
Modifié : Jan 1, 2018, 11:12 am

Margaret
1. Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood *****
2. The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly ****
3. Bill Clinton: The American Presidents Series by Michael Tomasky ***
4. The City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett ****
5. Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel *½
6. To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey *****
7. Moonstroke by Blaine C. Readler ****
8. The Book of Etta by Meg Elison ****½
9. The Golden Hour by T. Greenwood ***½
10. Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton *****
11. March: Book Three by John Lewis *****
12. The Memory of Mars by William F. Jones **½
13. The Furies of Mars by William Stamp ***½
14. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke ***½
15. Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey ****
16. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan ****
17. Caliban's War by James S. A. Corey ****
18. Cibola Burn by James S. A. Corey ***½
19. Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey ****½
20. Babylon's Ashes by James S. A. Corey ****
21. The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the Fram, 1910-1912 by Roald Amundsen ***½
22. Borne by Jeff Vandermeer *****
23. New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson ***
24. Prelude to Dystopia by John Lyman ****
25. The Slip by Mark Sampson ****
26. Rama II by Arthur C. Clarke ***
27. The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin ****½
28. Planetfall by Emma Newman ***½
29. Gutenberg's Apprentice by Alix Christie ***½
30. Dog Stars by Peter Heller *****
31. Space Agent and the Isles of Fire by Angus MacVicar ***
32. The End of the World Running Club by Adrian Walker ****½
33. The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney ****
34. The Equilateral: A Novel by Ken Kalfus ****
35. Silence: A Novel by Jan Costin Wagner **
36. Mountains of Madness: A Scientist's Odyssey in Antarctica by John Long ****
37. At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft ****
38. Star Trek Cats by Jenny Parks ***½
39. What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear by Danielle Ofri ****
40. Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith ****
41. The Case for Impeachment by Allan J. Lichtman ****
42. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz ****
43. River of Ink by Paul M. M. Cooper *****
44. Artemis by Andy Weir ***½
45. American War by Omar el Akkad ****½
46. Lullaby Road by James Anderson ****
47. Down the Common: A Year in the Life of a Medieval Woman by Ann Baer *****
48. Far North by Marcel Theroux ****
49. Abaddon's Gate by James S. A. Corey **** (read earlier in the year)
50. Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty ***½
51. The Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks ****
52. The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne ***½
53. Axis by Robert Charles Wilson ***½
54. The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono ***
55. Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson ****½
56. The Judgment of Richard Richter by Igor Štiks ****
57. Little Boy Lost by J. D. Trafford ***
58. The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen ***½
59. The First World War by Michael Howard ****
60. Julian Comstock by Robert Charles Wilson ****
61. Ironclads by Adrian Tchaikovsky ***½
62. Machine Learning by Hugh Howey ****
63. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher ****
64. An Odyssey by Daniel Mendelsohn *****
65. A House Among the Trees by Julia Glass ****½
66. Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden ****½
67. Golden Prey by John Sandford ****
68. The Theater of War: What Ancient Tragedies Can Teach Us Today by Bryan Doerries *****
69. The Midnight Line by Lee Child ****
70. Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly ****
71. All That You've Seen Here Is God: New Versions of Four Greek Tragedies Sophocles' Ajax, Philoctetes, Women of Trachis; Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound
72. All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai ****
73. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey ****½
74. News of the World by Paulette Jiles ***½
75. Imagining Argentina by Lawrence Thornton *****
76. Matthew Bourne and His Adventures in Motion Pictures by Alastair Macaulay ****½
77. Deep Freeze by John Sandford ****
78. Broken River by J. Robert Lennon****
79. Gateway by Frederik Pohl ****

Caitlin
1. The Long Walk by Stephen King ****
2. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan ****
3. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger *****
4. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur *****
5. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines ***
6. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini ****
7. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen *****
8. This is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp ***
9. Love Her Wild: Poems by Atticus *****
10. In My Hands by Irene Gutopdyke *****
11. Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum *****
12. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller *
13. Oedipus Rex ***
14. Leonardo's Shadow by Christopher Grey ****
15. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson *****

Kristen
1. A dog's purpose: W. Bruce Cameron 5 stars
2. The girl on the train: Paula Hawkins 4 1/2 stars
3. The secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham 4 stars
4. Capital Gaines by Chip Gaines ****
5. The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines ****
6. Natural Disaster By Ginger Zee 5 stars

Ian
1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss ****
2. Hero by R.A Salvatore ****1/2
3. Red Rising by Pierce Brown *****
4. Golden Son by Pierce Brown *****
5. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline ***1/2
6. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss *****
7. Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey ****
8. Star Wars Aftermath: Life Debt by Chuck Wendig ***
9. Star Wars: Empire's End by Chuck Wendig ****
10. Star Wars: Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston *****
11. The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley ****

Amy
1. Cold Days by Jim Butcher ****
2. The Magnolia Story by Chip Gaines ****½
3. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick ****½
4. The Companions by R. A. Salvador ****
5. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith *****

Margaret's 2017 Reading by Original Year of Publication:

1912
The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the Fram, 1910-1912 by Roald Amundsen ***½

1936
At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft ****

1953
The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono ***

1962
Space Agent and the Isles of Fire by Angus MacVicar ***

1973
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke ***½

1977
Gateway by Frederik Pohl ****

1987
Imagining Argentina by Lawrence Thornton *****

1989
Rama II by Arthur C. Clarke ***

1996
Down the Common: A Year in the Life of a Medieval Woman by Ann Baer *****

2001
Mountains of Madness: A Scientist's Odyssey in Antarctica by John Long ****

2002
The Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks ****

2003
The First World War by Michael Howard ****

2004
The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin ****½

2005
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden ****½

2006
The Judgment of Richard Richter by Igor Štiks ****

2007
Axis by Robert Charles Wilson ***½

2009
Julian Comstock by Robert Charles Wilson ****

2010
Far North by Marcel Theroux ****

2011
The Memory of Mars by William F. Jones **½
Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey ****
Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson ****½
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher ****
Matthew Bourne and His Adventures in Motion Pictures by Alastair Macaulay ****½

2012
Caliban's War by James S. A. Corey ****
Dog Stars by Peter Heller *****
The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen ***½
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey ****½

2013
The Equilateral: A Novel by Ken Kalfus ****
Silence: A Novel by Jan Costin Wagner **
Abaddon's Gate by James S. A. Corey ****

2014
The Furies of Mars by William Stamp ***½
Cibola Burn by James S. A. Corey ***½
Gutenberg's Apprentice by Alix Christie ***½

2015
Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey ****½
Prelude to Dystopia by John Lyman ****
Planetfall by Emma Newman ***½
The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney ****
The Theater of War: What Ancient Tragedies Can Teach Us Today by Bryan Doerries *****
All That You've Seen Here Is God: New Versions of Four Greek Tragedies Sophocles' Ajax, Philoctetes, Women of Trachis; Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound

2016
The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly ****
To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey *****
Moonstroke by Blaine C. Readler ****
Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton *****
March: Book Three by John Lewis *****
Babylon's Ashes by James S. A. Corey ****
Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith ****
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz ****
River of Ink by Paul M. M. Cooper *****
News of the World by Paulette Jiles ***½

2017
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood *****
Bill Clinton: The American Presidents Series by Michael Tomasky ***
The City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett ****
Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel *½
The Golden Hour by T. Greenwood ***½
The Book of Etta by Meg Elison ****½
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan ****
Borne by Jeff Vandermeer *****
New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson ***
The Slip by Mark Sampson ****
The End of the World Running Club by Adrian Walker ****½
Star Trek Cats by Jenny Parks ***½
What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear by Danielle Ofri ****
The Case for Impeachment by Allan J. Lichtman ****
Artemis by Andy Weir ***½
American War by Omar el Akkad ****½
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty ***½
The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne ***½
Little Boy Lost by J. D. Trafford ***
Ironclads by Adrian Tchaikovsky ***½
Machine Learning by Hugh Howey ****
An Odyssey by Daniel Mendelsohn *****
A House Among the Trees by Julia Glass ****½
Golden Prey by John Sandford ****
The Midnight Line by Lee Child ****
Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly ****
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai ****
Deep Freeze by John Sandford ****
Broken River by J. Robert Lennon****

2018
Lullaby Road by James Anderson ****

3auntmarge64
Déc 23, 2016, 9:46 am

I read a lot more fiction in 2016 than I usually do, and I also got caught up reading books from Netgalley, which increased the percentage of recent books. I rather think this year may be similar, although I'd like to get back to reading more books off my shelves. I've been working through Roald Amundsen's The South Pole, just meandering along. It doesn't have the drama of, say, The Worst Journey in the World, but I've read enough about Antarctica by now to just enjoy it as it is.

I do like that Netgalley, though.

4The_Hibernator
Jan 1, 2017, 9:07 pm

5auntmarge64
Modifié : Jan 1, 2017, 11:11 pm



Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood ***** 1/1/17

A delightful retelling of "The Tempest". A play within a play within a play, as a betrayed theater director takes steps to revenge himself while directing a production of, you guessed it, "The Tempest", with a motley group drawn from within a medium security prison. A brilliantly-plotted page-turner.

6arubabookwoman
Jan 2, 2017, 6:51 pm

I've been interested in reading Hag-Seed (and the other Shakespeare-related novel series), so I'm glad you liked it so much.

7brodiew2
Jan 2, 2017, 6:54 pm

Happy new year, auntmarge64! I look forward to following you again in 2017. I hope all is well with you!

8bragan
Jan 3, 2017, 2:11 am

>5 auntmarge64: Hag-Seed is going to be my first book for the new year, too! I'm enjoying it.

9kidzdoc
Jan 3, 2017, 5:35 am

I'm glad that you liked Hag-Seed, Marge. I'll add it to my wish list.

10auntmarge64
Jan 3, 2017, 7:34 am

To be honest, I was hesitant to try Hag-Seed because The Handmaids' Tale left such a bad taste (and this from someone who loves post-apocalyptic tales). I know, I know, most people loved it. Anyway, this is the first Atwood I've read since, so maybe I'll give her other books a try again.

11valkyrdeath
Jan 4, 2017, 6:17 pm

Looking forward to following your reading again this year.

12auntmarge64
Jan 5, 2017, 7:39 pm



The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly ****

Sterling suspense, although unnecessarily cluttered by the main character's personal life.

Detective Hieronymus Bosch is back. After being forced to resign from the LAPD and winning a lawsuit against them, he's working as a PI and volunteering his time to a detective squad in a neighboring town. He comes up against interesting cases in both lines of work: a dying billionaire hires him to find out if he ever had any heirs, while he searches for a serial-rapist targeting Latinas.

As usual the action works well, as we look over Harry's shoulder to observe his thought processes. But the diversion into his personal life, as he makes frequent phone calls to meet up with his college-age daughter for a meal, are quite irritating. The don't advance the story at all, and who cares anyway? Still, if you're a fan of the Bosch novels or TV series, this one's for you.

13auntmarge64
Jan 11, 2017, 12:28 pm



Bill Clinton: The American Presidents Series by Michael Tomasky *** 1/11/17

Brief by design, as are all the entries in the American Presidents Series, this even-handed overview will be useful to students or to those seeking just the outline of Clinton's tenure. The main impression with which I was left, though, was less of Clinton himself than of the groundswell of opposition activity and early development of the Republican effort to do everything, whatever the cost to the country, to discredit anyone of the other party. It's pretty dispiriting to read, especially given current events.

14auntmarge64
Modifié : Jan 16, 2017, 7:08 pm



The City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett **** 1/14/17

The final volume in the Divine Cities trilogy. If you haven't read the first two, this book won't have nearly the impact, since previous events weigh heavily here.

Sigrud the Dreyling has been hiding for 13 years, ever since the Battle of Bulikov, where his daughter was killed and he went on a murderous rampage. Now he learns that Shara Komayd, who saved him from the prison in which he'd been tortured for years and guided him in their espionage work, has been assassinated. He kills the assassin but learns that the instigator was a semi-divine being who means to destroy the world. He also finds a message from Shara asking him to protect her adopted daughter, Tatyana, who is missing. Sigrud is the main character here, with some very vibrant secondary characters. Are the gods all dead? Who are these semi-divine creatures, and how is it that Sigrud has not aged at all and is able to survive battles with them, albeit grievously injured? And can he keep Tatyana safe?

A fitting end to the trilogy, with an unexpected ending which brings things to a satisfying close. Here's to more from Bennett in the future.

(To be published in May, 2017. Review copy courtesy of Netgalley.)

15bragan
Jan 16, 2017, 10:48 am

>14 auntmarge64: Ooh, is that out now? I'm trying to buy fewer books lately (with the usual lack of success), but that one is a must-have for me.

16auntmarge64
Jan 16, 2017, 7:07 pm

>15 bragan: - Sorry, I should have said in the post that it's coming out in May. I had a review copy from NetGalley.

17bragan
Jan 17, 2017, 10:27 am

>16 auntmarge64: Good, that just means I didn't miss it!

Actually, I see it's offered from ER this month, so maybe I'll manage to score an advance copy, myself.

18auntmarge64
Jan 17, 2017, 8:09 pm

>17 bragan: Excellent! Good luck!!!

19auntmarge64
Jan 17, 2017, 8:23 pm



Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel *½ 1/17/17

What a disappointment. I loved the first in this series (Sleeping Giants, four stars), but the author just has no real followup here. Although a rationale is given for why humans are able to find a solution for their problems, it makes no sense. The characters are incredibly irritating. Yes, they're mostly the same characters as in the previous book, but here they spend whole chapters just babbling, sometimes while they are dealing with crises, and all it does is highlight the lack of serious sequel material. The story continues, but it's all over the place, with little of interest and lots of filler. If you liked the first book, just remember it fondly and move on to something else. Truth be told, I finished this book several hours ago, and each time I considered it and thought about my review the more irritated I got and the lower I ranked it.

20auntmarge64
Jan 20, 2017, 9:57 pm



To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey ***** 1/20/17

Epistolary fiction of the highest order, told entirely in reports, diaries, magazines articles, photos and letters.

In 1885, an Army colonel leads a small expedition of soldiers, prospectors and natives to explore a remote river in Alaska. They risk their lives and sanity as they face starvation, supernatural occurrences, and a hostile wilderness. At Fort Vancouver, the colonel's young wife faces her first pregnancy without him and fills her time learning the art of naturalist photography, much to the disapproval of most of the wives at the fort. In the present day, a great-nephew of the colonel's, now elderly himself, corresponds with the curator of a small museum in the area explored by the colonel's party, hoping to interest him in the journals, diaries and artifacts from the expedition.

21RidgewayGirl
Jan 20, 2017, 10:03 pm

I'm glad you liked To the Bright Edge of the World. I really loved that book.

22auntmarge64
Jan 20, 2017, 10:47 pm

>21 RidgewayGirl: Now I have to go get her first book....

23valkyrdeath
Jan 21, 2017, 6:11 pm

>20 auntmarge64: I love epistolary fiction and this one sounds really good. I'm sure I saw it on another thread recently too and forgot to note it at the time. Another book for the list!

24auntmarge64
Jan 21, 2017, 7:03 pm

>23 valkyrdeath: Oh, I love epistolary fiction too! I'm not generally drawn to historical fiction, but if it's epistolary I'll give it a shot. Some, like His Bloody Project, leave me cold, but this one is truly enthralling. It helps that there's a strong woman character.

25auntmarge64
Modifié : Jan 21, 2017, 11:26 pm



Moonstroke by Blaine C. Readler **** 1/21/17

It is 12 years since a massive solar storm stopped all Earth-Moon communication, and a small American industrial base on the far side of the moon limps along, still hoping for rescue. Only four adults survived the storm; the rest were caught out on the surface during a normal work day. The deceased left numerous children, and they have been trained to continue working the platinum mining operation. A decision was made at the time to teach them very little about Earth, in order to avoid disruption and hope, and the two managers and two scientists who survived keep a tight reign on activities and knowledge. The station's manager also has a daughter, who was five years old and visiting from Earth at the time of the incident, and for a large part she has been kept separate from the other children and educated thoroughly in the belief that one day she will assume her father's mantel or, if possible, return to Earth, which she remembers. At the time of this story, the surviving children range in age from about 14 through the early twenties. The adults work hard to keep them fed and motivated and the remaining equipment from failing entirely.

Although meagerly educated, these teenagers are nothing if not curious, and one day they break into the communications room and hear voices on the radio. When few of them get suited up and go outside they find a battered rover from a distant Chinese installation broken down near the base - with bodies inside. Soon thereafter some sort of ship comes over the horizon.

This was a well-written and exciting story. The adults and teens alike are interesting characters, and their predicament raises all sort of questions about how a small and powerless group of adults could organize the survivors to stay alive and hopeful with such an open-ended future. There is a too-convenient problem with one of the adults which leads to much of drama as the book progresses, but the story still had me rooting for a good ending and more-than-willing to stay up late to find out what happens.

26brodiew2
Jan 24, 2017, 5:27 pm

Good afternoon, auntmarge64! I hope all is well with you.

Excellent review of Moonstroke. Sounds interesting.

I'm about to start a re-read of Clarke's Rendezvous With Rama? Have you read it? Have I already asked you? :-P

27auntmarge64
Jan 25, 2017, 10:01 am

>26 brodiew2: Moonstroke is available for automatic download if you belong to Netgalley, and it's also available as an inexpensive ebook on Amazon.

No, haven't read Rendezvous with Rama. (You haven't already asked me.) :) Should I read it?

28auntmarge64
Jan 25, 2017, 1:04 pm



The Book of Etta by Meg Elison ****½ 1/24/17

In this sequel to the wonderful Book of the Unnamed Midwife, a century has passed since a virus killed most women. Those who survived and later got pregnant usually died. The Unnamed Midwife did what she could to spread birth control, disguising herself as a man most of the time to avoid captivity and rape, the typical fate of unprotected women. In Nowhere, a fort in the Midwest where the Midwife finally settled, women are now divided into Mothers and Midwives. Those who choose and survive pregnancy are revered, but all women are highly valued. Most residents of Nowhere live in hives: collections of men who form a family with one woman. Women and men all take part in decision-making and work, and the town council always has a majority of women.

Etta, the "living daughter" of one of the elder women, has chosen to be a raider, someone who travels from the town in search for old-world items which can be used for trade. Etta also has a secondary goal: the rescue of abused girls and women and the death of their captors. Etta seems to be in her early 20s. On the road she disguises herself Eddy, having shaved her head and learned male body-language. But it's obvious Etta has experienced a profound trauma in her raiding, and it's not too hard to figure out what that entailed. Her Eddy identity is slowly edging out Etta's, and her fury over what's happened to her alienates her from her mother and the other women with whom she's close. Eventually she determines to leave Nowhere and try to find San Francisco, the Midwife's original hometown. Her journey brings her into contact with a variety of towns which have solved the woman shortage in quite diverse ways, some reverential, some cruel and hopeless.

Etta is a complex and difficult character. She's not particularly likable, but it's a very difficult world in which she works. It's hard to tell if she's truly having a sexual identity crisis or is so damaged by what's happened to her that she's almost a split personality. Either way, the author's portrait of the future continues in this entry to be profound, sometimes appalling, and always surprising. I sincerely hope there will be another sequel.

(Review copy courtesy of Netgalley. To be published in February 2017.)

29brodiew2
Jan 26, 2017, 7:28 pm

>27 auntmarge64: I'll look into Moonstroke on my Kindle.

Given what you were reading last year and this year as well, you should ABSOLUTELY read Rendezvous With Rama. It is a Hugo and Nebula winning novel. It is an excellent novel about the exploration of alien artifact/ship. I loved it 20 years ago and am rereading it now as part of the Reread challenge over the 75ers.

30auntmarge64
Jan 26, 2017, 9:21 pm

>29 brodiew2: OK, thanks. I've downloaded it - free on Kindle Unlimited. Will let you know....

31auntmarge64
Modifié : Jan 28, 2017, 9:51 am



The Golden Hour by T. Greenwood ***½ 1/27/17

First of all, this is NOT a suspense novel. I say this because I thought it would be a psychological suspense thriller. There IS suspense, but this is a book about the life and emotional turmoil of one woman facing the lies she told as a child and trying to find the courage to do what she knows she must. Fine with me: I like both kinds of stories, just saying because I requested it from Netgalley thinking it was more thriller than character study.

As a young teenager, Wyn Davies was raped and stabbed in the woods near her home. Her attacker, another 13-year old, was sent to prison. Now, 20 years later, the Innocence Project is trying to get him a new trial, and Wyn knows she's going to have to face up to the fact that the whole story has never been told. The author slowly reveals the complete story, although it's not too hard to figure out long before that. Running from the threats she regularly receives advising her to "keep her part of the bargain" and not tell the truth, Wyn retreats to an isolated island off Maine where she uncovers another mystery: 30-year old rolls of film which tell the story of the house's previous owner, long-ago disappeared.

Although Wyn feels bound by a deal she made at the time of the rape, it's unclear why as an adult she wouldn't understand why that deal was not binding and that the police could protect her if she came forward. She's never told anyone: her husband, best friend, or parents. I did enjoy the description of life on an out-of-the-way island as Wyn renovates a long-deserted house sitting on a cliff over the Atlantic. And her child, Avery, is delightful. But the book doesn't work in its entirety, partially because Wyn's adult reactions to the rape seem too much like a plot device to provide a reason for everything else she does. The book also ends rather abruptly, just when the reader is expecting to enjoy a satisfying description of how things turn out rather than just assumptions.

32auntmarge64
Modifié : Jan 28, 2017, 10:17 pm



Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton ***** 1/28/17

A lone researcher in the Arctic and six astronauts returning from a mission to Jupiter's moons find themselves without contact with others on Earth. No answers on radio or satellite, no Mission Control. And no idea what has happened or what awaits them.

The parallel stories come together in a surprising and moving way, told in one of the most exquisitely plotted books I've ever read. Each fact that's revealed seems essential to the story and is dropped in at exactly the right moment. The characters are real, and their responses to possibilities they can only guess at seem true and so human. I can't recommend this book enough: for the writing, the story, and the gorgeous way the author brings the book to a close. Just - superb.

33brodiew2
Jan 30, 2017, 11:17 am

Good morning, auntmarge64!

>34 auntmarge64: I've heard of this one recently and your high praise has inspired me to add it to my wishlist!

34auntmarge64
Jan 30, 2017, 10:00 pm



March: Book Three by John Lewis ***** 1/30/17

Lewis is a civil rights icon. Injured numerous times and almost killed by police for trying to get blacks registered to vote in the 60s, he now serves as an important voice in the House of Representatives. This is his riveting conclusion to the graphic novel trilogy about his experiences as a leader in the early civil rights movement.

I found this volume to be the most gut-wrenching of the three, as violence against peaceful protesters turned more and more hateful and gruesome. Some of the personal stories are gut-wrenching, perhaps especially that of Fannie Lou Hamer, who lost her job for trying to register to vote, and then had family threatened and was beaten and arrested numerous times by police. Her televised account was a major factor in the consciousness-raising that took place in the U.S. during that time. Lewis also illustrates the reluctance of the federal government to get involved and the work done to convince LBJ to force through civil rights legislation (part of which was gutted by our Supreme Court just last year). Lewis is not shy about showing the infighting the occurred between black civil rights groups, mostly as to tactics, timing, and how much to depend on outsiders. But the main story here is the tremendous courage it took for people to fight for their rights in the face of a vicious and antagonistic police and government in the southern states.

John Lewis is one of my heroes, and these books show why. He has spent his entire adult life working to benefit those without full civil rights, often risking his own life and future. Here is a man who is a role model for how America is supposed to treat it's own citizens and others in need of protection. It would be nice if those in power here in early 2017 would take a look at their own souls and notice the comparison.

35auntmarge64
Jan 31, 2017, 10:59 pm

Two novellas with Martian themes:



The Memory of Mars by William F. Jones **½ 1/25/17

A man becomes suspicious when his wife dies and it appears she wasn't human. Before her death she talked about a vacation to Mars which he can't recall. Creepy sci fi horror.



The Furies of Mars by William Stamp ***½ 1/31/17

A thoughtful novella-length story about the lone survivor of a Mars mission, stranded now for 11 years, with no rescue possible and only intermittent communications with a failing Earth. Can one man find enough meaning or purpose to keep living in such a situation? There's a bit of religion thrown in, which for some reason didn't bother me too much, and some readers might find it adds meaning.

36auntmarge64
Modifié : Fév 3, 2017, 9:47 am

Thanks to brodiew2 for recommending this book!



Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke ***½ 2/1/17

ETA: After several days I find myself wanting to download the next in the series. Always nice to find something new that's appealing.

37RidgewayGirl
Fév 2, 2017, 9:03 am

>34 auntmarge64: I've purchased a set of the March books for the kids to read (they are teenagers) and with the intention of reading it myself. I'd like to get started, but the set has disappeared into my son's room. Excellent review.

38auntmarge64
Fév 3, 2017, 9:47 am

>37 RidgewayGirl: Oh, I've been so interested to know what kids think of the series. Will look forward to your review and your kids' comments.

39brodiew2
Fév 3, 2017, 4:20 pm

>36 auntmarge64: I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed it. It is one of my favorites. I was completely captivated by Endeavor crew's entry into Rama and the initial darkness followed by the immensity of the monolith's interior.

40wandering_star
Fév 11, 2017, 10:19 pm

Some great reading here! I will investigate The Book of the Unnamed Midwife and Good Morning, Midnight for sure.

41auntmarge64
Modifié : Fév 12, 2017, 12:44 pm



Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey **** 2/11/17

Not a formal review - just a note that this first of (at this point) 7 books and a variety of novellas was really entertaining space opera, and I've already picked up the sequel. The series is the basis for the Expanse TV series, now in its second season.

42auntmarge64
Fév 12, 2017, 12:55 pm

For anyone who admires Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, PBS has an hour-long documentary on him which aired on the 10th. It's available on their streaming app, and probably their website, for the next month. It's called "Get In the Way".

43auntmarge64
Fév 13, 2017, 8:44 pm



Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan ****

Lydia is a 30ish employee at a large independent bookstore in Denver. In addition to regular customers, there is a group of aimless man who spend their days at the bookstore and are lovingly called the Book Frogs. As she is closing up one night, Lydia realizes one of her favorite Book Frogs, a damaged young man who reads voraciously on all topics, has not been seen leaving. She finds him hanging from a pipe in the third floor, and peaking out of his pocket is a photograph of her when she was 10 years old. Before the police arrive, she takes the photo. Her investigation into what would have made him kill himself, and how he got the photo, revives painful memories of a crime she witnessed as a child, and so begins a quest that will solve a murder and shed new light on her own history.

This is a compulsive read which moves at an unusual pace. It is not a breakneck thriller, but instead has a constant tension, as well as many more twists and turns than might be expected. Many of the characters are explored in considerable depth, with the bookstore being a character in its own right, and this is the kind of bookstore most bookaholics can only dream of finding. If you love bookstores and atmospheric tales, this might be for you.

(To be published in June, 2017. Review copy courtesy of NetGalley.com.)

44bragan
Fév 15, 2017, 12:14 pm

>43 auntmarge64: That one does sound like it's for me! Onto the wishlist it goes.

45valkyrdeath
Fév 15, 2017, 6:20 pm

>36 auntmarge64: I've been meaning to read Rendezvous with Rama for many years, ever since I first encountered it via an old computer game as a kid. I really do need to get to that.

>43 auntmarge64: This sounds intriguing. Some way off publication, but I'll keep a note of it!

46auntmarge64
Fév 15, 2017, 8:23 pm

>44 bragan:, >45 valkyrdeath:
Always happy to add to other TBR lists, since you guys are constantly adding to mine. :)

47auntmarge64
Modifié : Août 30, 2017, 3:58 pm



Caliban's War by James S. A. Corey **** 2/19/17

Second in the Expanse series. Kind of addictive: I've already started the third volume. The author has a very interesting idea for humanely keeping a population fed and clothed whether they want to work or not. After childhood, each person goes on "basic", which is a minimal program for food and shelter (no money). If a person wants discretionary funds or more from life, he or she can work at whatever job they can find for two years to prove they really want to contribute to society, earning credits to allow them to pursue further education or other occupational choices.



Abaddon's Gate by James S. A. Corey **** 2/23/17

48Yells
Fév 24, 2017, 4:58 pm

>5 auntmarge64: I just finished Hagseed and quite liked it. It was like The Tempest wrapped in The Tempest wrapped again in The Tempest. She managed to retell the story with many layers - very clever.

49auntmarge64
Fév 24, 2017, 6:49 pm

>48 Yells: That's what I thought: a play within a play within a play.

50auntmarge64
Modifié : Mar 14, 2017, 1:24 pm



Cibola Burn by James S. A. Corey ***½ 3/1/17

Volume 4 of the Expanse series. More action but less-realistic characterization among a certain set of the characters, so only 3.5 stars this time. I broke a bone in my right hand a month ago so have been doing little and reading on the Kindle only. This series is a great way to take my mind off all the things I can't do for the moment.



Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey ****½ 3/6/17

Volume 5 of the Expanse series and possibly the best yet. While the ship is in extended dry dock, the crew takes the opportunity to take care of personal business, with Amos off to Earth, Alex to Mars, and Naomi off doing something she won't discuss. Holden is left puttering around while the ship is fixed. In the end, though, they all become involved with a new and deadly threat within the solar system.



Babylon's Ashes by James S. A. Corey **** 3/12/17

51auntmarge64
Mar 17, 2017, 9:48 pm



The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the Fram, 1910-1912 by Roald Amundsen ***½ 3/16/17

Without a doubt, Amundsen is a giant among polar explorers, having lead the first open-sea voyage of the Northwest Passage and, several years later, the first successful expedition to the South Pole. But there have always been questions about his tactics while racing to be the first at the Pole, and they do dim the glory of his achievement. This book is Amundsen's account of the endeavor, and it leaves some gaping holes; it's also not nearly as enthralling as some other accounts of polar explorers, such as those by Apsley Cherry-Garrard and Douglas Mawson. This is only partly due to the relative ease of his Antarctic adventures compared with theirs.

Amundsen was an extraordinarily prepared explorer. He and his crew, a total of 19, grew up in Norway and skied from a young age. Amundsen felt strongly that the best way to travel over polar terrain was by ski, with Eskimo-dog-drawn sledges carrying supplies. Although he was fund-raising to try for the North Pole, Peary and Cook both made claims before he was ready, so without telling his financial backers or crew, he secretly planned to try for the South Pole instead, knowing that Robert Scott was already planning such an expedition. Only after they were on their way did he let the crew in on his plans and telegraph Scott with the news. Scott was already southward-bound at the time, and Amundsen would have known it would be months before Scott received the telegram, long after he could alter his own plans. This sneakiness, in a world typically governed by gentlemanly behavior, has tarnished his superb accomplishment.

The account is interesting but not particularly gripping. Amundsen left out most problems that arose, especially his falling out with a young expedition member who had been foisted on him by a financial backer; he describes in glowing terms most aspects of their preparations, interpersonal relations, and run for the Pole. The trip was indeed a complete success: Pole realized, crew in good shape, and back early. The dispassionate descriptions of dogs and seals being slaughtered and used for food were pretty disagreeable - especially the crew's enjoyment of dog steaks. But it was a different time, of course.

An essential read for the Antarctic enthusiast, but I wouldn't read this one first. Better to start with some of the more emotionally involving accounts about Scott, Mawson, and Shackleton.

52auntmarge64
Modifié : Mar 26, 2017, 10:58 pm



Borne by Jeff Vandermeer ***** 3/21/17

Vandermeer, the author the Southern Reach trilogy (Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance) has proven again what an extraordinary imagination he has. In a book that I would broadly categorize as post-apocalyptic science fiction horror, Vandermeer creates a multilayered female lead and a fascinating biotech character who went straight to my heart. Once past the first few pages, necessary for getting one's bearings in this bizarre reality, I think most readers will react as I did and be unable to turn to anything else until they've read the last page.

As a child, Rachel survived the inundation and destruction of her island homeland and then many years in refugee camps. Her parents are now dead, and she has been in the City for 6 years. "City" is a euphemism, for little is left of a previously large and inhabited place, devastated by the biotech creations of the Company. This shadowy group unleashed on the City the results of its many failed experiments, some violent and poisonous, ending in the Company's own destruction. Most horrendous of their creations is Mord, a multi-story-high bear-like creature which rampages through the city, or flies over it, eating and destroying whatever he finds. Most water is poisonous and there is little food. Part of the city is run by the Magician, who continues to create biotech in her quest to kill Mord. Rachel lives in a warren of corridors and rooms on a hillside, aided in her survival by Wick, a biotech engineer himself who teaches her to develop ways to hide their entrances from those outside. While Wick works on creating enough food for them to live and medicine so that he does not die, Rachel scavenges in the city's ruins, bringing home anything she finds of interest. One day she comes upon what appears to be a fist-sized ocean plant clinging to the sleeping Mord, whose fur often collects oddities on his travels. Rachel names the thing Borne (and decides it's a male) and refuses to turn him over to Wick, not realizing for a few days that he can move on his own and speak. Borne can also shape-shift, and his growth and learning take place at such an astounding rate that within a few months he's coming and going to the outside world on his own, doing things Rachel cannot discover. He constantly asks for assurance that's he's a "person", never quite trusting Rachel's answers. He eats literally anything (furniture, spiders, other living and inanimate objects). Rachel and Wick's relationship suffers from her attention to Borne and from Wick's antipathy towards him, but events in the City are even more dangerous, as the Magician makes her move against Mord with her weapons and hoards of biotech creations.

The story is full of delightful surprises, but most fascinating is the character of the ever-changing Borne, whose nature is directly opposed to the nurture Rachel provides. Their relationship, and how it affects the future of the City, is what compels the action to a satisfying conclusion that answers many questions and brings the memorable Borne's life work to a dramatic crescendo. Very highly recommended.

(Preview copy courtesy of Netgalley. To be published in April, 2017.)

53auntmarge64
Modifié : Avr 3, 2017, 6:12 pm



New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson *** 3/30/17

I've read many Robinson novels, although nothing has ever come close to the genius of the Mars Trilogy. But let's be honest: Robinson knows nothing about characterization and cares little about action. His characters and plots exist solely to give him a place to hang his ideas. But oh, those ideas! - often thoughtful, creative, and refreshing, as he outlines possible futures for humankind, whether terraforming Mars and the outer planets or, in this case, rebuilding society after a fifty-foot increase in ocean level. This time out, I found I just didn't care enough to keep reading and gave up after a third. I think I got the gist, and besides, I'm really not interested in financial markets and their intricacies, the explication of which form a big part of the narrative here.

54brodiew2
Avr 3, 2017, 11:20 am

Good morning, auntmarge64! I have never been able to access Robinson's writing. I friend of mind recently read one of his and your description of his writing style is spot on to what my friend said. one dimensional characters and very little action, but great imagination.

Have you read any more of the neo Rama series? Rama II?

55auntmarge64
Avr 3, 2017, 6:12 pm

>54 brodiew2: Funny you should ask. I started reading II this morning. I'll let you know what I think.

56auntmarge64
Modifié : Avr 3, 2017, 6:46 pm



Prelude to Dystopia by John Lyman **** 4/2/17

A young reporter with OCD and germ phobias is approached by a man who claims to be an Army general needing Ben's help with averting a world-wide catastrophe. The general makes Ben sign a non-disclosure agreement and then disappears, calling or revisiting every day or two to dangle a few more clues. Being the curious sort, Ben finds himself caught between playing along and giving in to his paranoid nature.

The main character is wonderful. The portrayal of OCD is, to this lay person, very realistic, and it closely mimics the actions of the OCD sufferers I've known. Ben is also a very likable sort. He's done considerable self-analysis and has a good sense of humor about his issues, for all that they cause him endless grief. The general begins by laying out the potential for Earth to react to humanity as if it was a lethal virus, so as someone who shares these concerns, I was interested to continue reading to see what his solution might be. About a third of the way in I became concerned this was going to swerve into hero-on-the-run territory, but happily this was brief. Instead, the story has some very interesting twists and turns, as the general's plans are finally revealed and Ben and his girlfriend have to decide whether to work with him or make their own way. To say much more would be to ruin enjoyment of the book for other readers.

A bit of suspension of disbelief is required here, and I have a few follow-up questions, but this is certainly a page-turner as it speculates on possible approaches to apocalyptic scenarios. Enjoyable and fun.

(Currently available for free via Kindle Unlimited.)

57auntmarge64
Modifié : Avr 7, 2017, 4:32 pm



The Slip by Mark Sampson **** 4/6/17

A warm, amusing look at a disastrous week in the life of self-absorbed philosopher and author Philip Sharpe, who absent-mindedly makes two offensive remarks during a widely-seen interview and can't understand why people are so upset. He thinks they're reacting to the first slip (a philosophical no-no) and doesn't even remember the second, the real gaff: a sexist comment of monumental proportions that is what all the fuss is about. He refuses to read all the ensuing hub-bub so doesn't catch on, and his answers to reporters and others are therefore completely tone-deaf and only fuel the public furor. Narrated in confusion and irritation by the main character, who gives his readers colorful renderings of his background, marriage and career, this tale of the-week-from-hell is really funny. Not guffaw funny, but internal "oh, brother, when will this guy get his act together?" funny. I actually had a hard time putting it down, because I kept waiting for him to figure it out. Recommended.

(Courtesy of Netgalley. To be published June, 2017)

58auntmarge64
Avr 11, 2017, 12:54 pm



Rama II by Arthur C. Clarke *** 4/11/17

Sadly, I found the 2nd in the Rama series fairly boring and will not be reading the others. Stock characters and much too much filler ruined the promise of the original work.

59brodiew2
Avr 11, 2017, 3:22 pm

>58 auntmarge64: Ouch! I get it. Some don't like it and that's ok. I was enthralled with the entire RAMA concept and enjoyed all four books. Thank for giving it a chance!

60auntmarge64
Avr 12, 2017, 2:46 pm

>59 brodiew2: I'm glad I tried it, though, so thanks for the recommendation. Ya gotta try, right?

61auntmarge64
Avr 15, 2017, 5:34 pm



The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin ****½ 4/15/17

A loving and beautifully-realized portrait of a family running a fishing lodge in Maine and their 30-year relationship with a wealthy businessman who arrives for one week each summer. First-person chapters rotate among the main characters and slowly reveal the importance of the connections among the group. Wonderful.

62auntmarge64
Avr 20, 2017, 10:35 pm

I'm an avid Kindle reader and prefer it to my tablet or phone. It's easy to stick in my purse and to hold when I'm lying on my sofa reading, and it's front-lit, so it can be read in the sun.

Anyway, the libraries to which I have ready access use the 3M vendor of ebooks, which doesn't allow download to Kindle, so I was looking around online the other day to see if there was a way to reformat the 3M books for use on the Kindle, which I found may be illegal, and ran across an option I'd never considered: large public libraries around the country with ebooks from the Overdrive vendor, which does have a Kindle option. I found several large collections which allow online purchase of memberships. The largest I've seen are Philadelphia Free Library and Brooklyn Public Library, and I opted to join the latter, which has something like 90,000 ebooks available. Some of these are in the 3M format, but a great majority of the books on my wishlist are available in the Overdrive format, and for $50 a year I'm thrilled. This is so much cheaper than buying directly from Amazon, which I do when the book is long and would be unwieldy in print format, and now I can get rid of many of the to-be-read books on my shelves and read them on my Kindle as I have time. There are several steps to the sign-up process, including providing photo ID by email or text, and while the website says it might take 5 days even for the initial response, and then another couple for completion of the application, I signed up on Sunday and was downloading ebooks by Monday.

63ELiz_M
Modifié : Avr 21, 2017, 7:49 am

>62 auntmarge64: I love BPL! I used to be a once-a-week visitor, but in the past 5 years as their ebook selection expanded my visits have dropped to once a month or so for the rare non-electronic novel. I hope the $50 memberships helps them continue to flourish and expand their services!

I am also fond of recommending ebooks & e-audiobooks for them to purchase. I am surprised at how often they do, in fact, buy the recommendations.

64auntmarge64
Avr 21, 2017, 3:18 pm

>63 ELiz_M: I am also fond of recommending ebooks & e-audiobooks for them to purchase. I am surprised at how often they do, in fact, buy the recommendations.

That's good to know. And I think I'm in love with BPL already. When I was working (not at BPL) the fee for non-resident members was set at about what the average resident taxpayer was charged annually, so hopefully I'm doing my part at keeping them afloat and thriving!

65auntmarge64
Avr 23, 2017, 10:33 am



Planetfall by Emma Newman ***½ 4/22/17

66RidgewayGirl
Avr 23, 2017, 11:05 am

I have a bone to pick with you.

I still prefer physical books, but you're absolutely correct about how easy it is to stick an ereader (I use an iPad mini) in my purse without concern for bent pages or weighing myself down. And I read almost exclusively library books on it. Now here you are tempting me with visions of the collections of other libraries. I don't think I'll be able to avoid looking into this. It's not that I don't already have plenty to read, but the temptation of having more options is not one I'll long withstand.

67auntmarge64
Avr 23, 2017, 11:14 pm

>66 RidgewayGirl: Always glad to help

68auntmarge64
Modifié : Mai 21, 2017, 7:56 am

Ce message a été supprimé par son auteur

69auntmarge64
Avr 23, 2017, 11:37 pm



Gutenberg's Apprentice by Alix Christie ***½ 4/23/17

I have to admit I didn't finish this. I don't usually read fictionalized treatments of historical figures, but I gave this a try and was enjoying it until I happened to look up something about Gutenberg and discovered that the main character, Peter, described in the book as the adopted son of Gutenberg's financial backer, Johann Fust, was actually Fust's son-in-law. In the book, great attention is paid to what Peter owed Fust for taking him in and raising him as his own.

I don't understand why writers don't at least make sure they keep the known facts straight. Anyway, this ruined the book for me, as much as I was enjoying the descriptions of the early printing process and the effect the press had on religious scribes, who thought of their work as glorifying God and considered the printed pages ugly and, possibly, blasphemous.

70lilisin
Avr 24, 2017, 12:08 am

>69 auntmarge64:

In Japan, to ensure businesses stay within "the family" even if there are no sons to pass the business on to, the business will adopt a "son" into their family. Even now, the majority of adoptions in Japan are of adult men who have been adopted into the family to inherit the "family" business.

Could that be a similar case to Fust and the son-in-law/son?

(Source: Japanese adult adoption)

71auntmarge64
Modifié : Avr 24, 2017, 8:33 am

>69 auntmarge64: I don't think so. He's described in the book as having been adopted when he was a young boy. Actually, I don't think much is known of Peter historically except that he was Fust's partner, apprenticed with Gutenberg, and later married one of Fust's daughters. The adoption seems to be wholly fabricated and used to explain why Peter came back from Paris to apprentice, under orders from Fust who, as his father, he couldn't refuse. Historically there seems to be the impression that Peter and Fust arranged the apprenticeship so Peter could learn the printing process and then wrestle the business from Gutenberg, which they actually did in 1456 or so, just as the last of the Bibles were being produced. I'm not sure what the author's point was in introducing the adoption except to give Peter a reason to have given up his Paris career, and the beginning of the book shows a middle-aged Peter telling his story to counter the prevailing story being spread (that he and Fust took the business away from Gutenberg unfairly). The whole thing just rubbed me the wrong way once I read about the lawsuit that stripped Gutenberg of his business and belongings.

72lilisin
Avr 25, 2017, 1:25 am

>71 auntmarge64:

I see. I'm not familiar at all with the behind the scenes of Gutenberg but I can understand how it would be frustrating to learn that you aren't getting the right information.

73auntmarge64
Avr 27, 2017, 7:34 pm



Dog Stars by Peter Heller ***** 4/27/17

A spare, beautifully-written story of a handful of people struggling to survive nine years after a world-wide flu pandemic killed about 99% of the population. At a small Colorado airport, narrator Hig lives in an uneasy alliance with Bangley, who showed up one day with a truckload of heavy weapons. Hig and his dog Jasper serve as an early warning system for Bangley, who handles defense. Hig also farms their garden, hunts, occasionally go into the nearby hills to kill a deer, and makes regular flights in an 80-year old Cessna to check their perimeter or to check in with a small group of Mennonites who live nearby. Several years after he hears a radio message from a city which is farther than his turn-back distance, when invaders into their lives seem to have wound down, Hig decides to investigate, and he discovers examples of both the positive and the negative human reaction to the devastation. Both heart-warming and truth-telling, this tale takes a good look at how a decent man deals with the necessities of continuing to live in such a future.

74auntmarge64
Avr 29, 2017, 9:14 pm



Space Agent and the Isles of Fire by Angus MacVicar *** 4/29/17

Written in 1962, this old-timey science fiction adventure features Martian plantlife arriving on Earth aboard a returning probe and the heroic men (and single spunky, although subordinate, female) fighting to keep the infection from spreading around the world. This a a late entry in a series starring one Jeremy Grant, and here he's accompanied by people with names like Spike and Jock, as well as a stock German scientist and the woman, Eva, who quickly falls in love with Jock and insists on cooking and cleaning during the group's time together. So - really, really old-timey. If that's your thing, you'll love it. Amusing but with very outdated science. Pretty typical for mid-century SF, although perhaps a little old-fashioned even for 1962.

(Courtesy of Netgalley)

75auntmarge64
Modifié : Mai 4, 2017, 11:44 pm



The End of the World Running Club by Adrian Walker ****½ 5/4/17

It happens in a day, with only a few hours' warning: thousands and thousands of asteroids fall, most on the northern hemisphere. Anyone not underground is incinerated, as are most structures and living creatures. Huge tsunamis change coastlines. Near Edinburgh, Ed is one of the lucky few who has a basement, and he barricades his family there while the world burns. They are dug out after two weeks and live in a barracks with a few other families and some soldiers, but one day most are picked up by helicopter and flown to Cornwall, there to be shipped to the southern hemisphere as refugees. Ed and several others are out on a foraging trip and miss the evacuation, and they attempt to find their families by getting to Cornwall within a few weeks: a huge order with no working vehicles, no clear roadways, little food and water, and pockets of very scared and violent survivors. In the end, they decide to try to run the hundreds of miles to hopefully, and against all odds, arrive before the ships leave.

This motley group is comprised of a cross-section of humanity, not with professional athletes, so running, or even walking, for days on end is pure torture. As they move along, Ed narrates his own story and that of his companions', and we see how his mind copes with the fears and hallucinations brought on by starvation and panic. It's unclear until the last few pages whether anyone in the group will survive to become a refugee, and the end, which surprised me a bit, was perfect for this story. The characters are real and clearly drawn, and the action is realistic, frightening, and nerve-wracking. The only issue I had was with some overly-long descriptions of Ed's relationships with his wife and children, and with his tendency to criticize himself. A little of this kind of detail goes a long way, so at times I found myself skipping a few pages. But the impact of the entire story, including Ed's philosophizing with himself and with his companions (real and otherwise) more than makes up for this weakness, and I found myself greatly moved by the Ed's tale.

(Courtesy of Netgalley. This edition to be published Sept 2017, although there are earlier editions.)

76brodiew2
Mai 8, 2017, 4:57 pm

Hello auntmarge64! I hope all is well with you.

>73 auntmarge64: The Dog Stars has been on my radar for some time, but the time has never been right. I read the sample on my Kindle, but never took it further. I agree that the language is beautiful and I will have to take it up again sometime soon.

>75 auntmarge64: This sounds interesting.

77valkyrdeath
Mai 15, 2017, 5:52 pm

>58 auntmarge64: I got a free copy of Rama II years ago with a Rama game I bought, and I found it hard to read back then and never finished it. I believe it was actually mostly written by Gentry Lee, but of course Clarke's name is the biggest one on the cover due to his fame. It certainly didn't read like any of the other Clarke I'd read. I still intend to get to the original book though.

78auntmarge64
Mai 16, 2017, 9:13 pm



The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney **** 5/16/17

A character-driven triple mystery in what I hope will be a new series.

In the summer of 1989, two teenagers in Oklahoma City survive separate tragedies. One is the sole survivor of a mass shooting at his workplace, and the other, a younger girl, is with her lovely older sister at a fair when the sister leaves her for a moment and never returns. Now, 26 years later, each has found clues to possibly solve their individual mysteries.
The man is a private detective who has long ago changed his name and moved to Las Vegas. He reluctantly comes back to town to help a relative of one of his regular clients, whose newly-inherited rock club is being regularly vandalized. The visit brings nightmares as well as some ideas to follow up on in his long quest to understand why he was spared when everyone else with him was executed. The young woman, who has never left OC, is haunted by her memories of her sister, who promised she'd be right back.

Each of these three have interesting backstories and stand out clearly as individuals. Even the secondary characters and the surroundings are well-drawn. And the mysteries are challenging and pull the reader happily along. Just don't go into this thinking it will be one of those tales that wrap up nice and easy - life is messy, after all.

79auntmarge64
Mai 16, 2017, 9:16 pm

>76 brodiew2: - Do try those two. I loved both of them. Neither is typical of the genre, and both have some serious writing chops.

>77 valkyrdeath: Yup, Rama I is the way to go. The writing was quite different in the second, I thought, but then I read the synopses of the third and fourth and decided I didn't like where the story was going. But I'm very glad I read the first.

80auntmarge64
Mai 20, 2017, 4:04 pm



The Equilateral: A Novel by Ken Kalfus ****

In the late 1800s, Giovanni Schiaparelli's discovery of "canals" on Mars has allowed a (fictional) astronomer to fan interest in Mars into worldwide financial and political support for the building of a massive equilateral triangle in the deserts of Egypt. Over three hundred miles to a side, with a paved roadway filled with liquid oil, it is to be set on fire when Earth and Mars are close, in order to alert Martians that the inhabitants of Earth are ready to take their place among the universe's intelligent species. Our intelligence will be demonstrated by various astronomical and geometrical signs, including the timing of the fire, the exact shape of the image, and the directions the triangle points. 900,000 African workers have toiled for two years at the time the book opens, and despite mutinies and thefts, public support is still high and the image is set to be finished more or less on time.

Although these events never happened, of course, the author uses the notions and prejudices of the day to spin a delightful story which leaves today's reader in wonderment at what was believed at the time: that the "canals" indicated a highly developed and ancient civilization on Mars which would recognize the symbolism of the Equilateral and want to contact us. Particularly wonderful here are the portrayals of parallel Western biases which presume to understand the natures of both the Martians and the workers, the latter of whom are considered an underclass, destined to provide labor but incapable of understanding the significance of the endeavor. In fact, the astronomer is certain the Martians have long ago evolved into two species (intellectuals and laborers), to enable works as grand as the canal system to be built, and he is sure they will see the need for force in dealing with the workers as a phase they too will have had in their past. The astronomer thinks a great deal about what Martian society is like and how the two planets can best communicate.

In many ways this seemed to me a companion piece to Arthur Phillips's The Egyptologist, a book I loved and keep on my shelves. Phillips' protagonist is an archaeologist who is determined to prove that a little hillock he's excavating holds as important a burial site as the Tut tomb, which has just been discovered. Madness ensues. The astronomer has a much more willing audience and is not reduced to the same measures, but his quest is still a fantastical undertaking which we of the 21st century can observe with humor and some shaking of our heads. His ability to bring off the political and economic alliances necessary does seem a bit unlikely, but aside from that this is a delightful tale which extrapolates from history to describe an absurd conclusion and jumps off from there. Very entertaining.

81RidgewayGirl
Mai 20, 2017, 4:19 pm

Glad you liked The Long and Faraway Gone. I really loved it.

82auntmarge64
Mai 26, 2017, 11:14 pm



Silence: A Novel by Jan Costin Wagner ** 5/25/17

I liked Wagner's previous book in this series about Finnish detective Kimmo Joentaa, but this one seemed pointless. It's certainly not a thriller and barely a mystery, it's endlessly repetitive, and the conclusions in both murder/disappearance cases being investigated fall flat. Most of the book consists of belly button gazing by the detectives and perpetrators, and there is almost no attempt to describe the actual investigation. The book has many admirers, so I thought it would eventually become more satisfying and kept reading. To be blunt: no.

83auntmarge64
Modifié : Août 30, 2017, 3:52 pm

Two winners with a theme -



Mountains of Madness: A Scientist's Odyssey in Antarctica by John Long **** 6/7/17

Australian paleontologist John Long recounts two fossil-collecting trips to Antarctica, the second of which, in 1991, involved spending several months inland with 3 other scientists. He colorfully describes the training required for acceptance to an Antarctic research program, life on the ice, especially for long periods out in the mountains, and the types of fossils to be found, many of which are also found across all the southern continents, providing further details of how the super-continent Gondwana broke apart into the distinct continents we have today. During the months on the ice, the scientists had regular radio contact with Scott Station (the New Zealand station very close to McMurdo), but they otherwise had only each other for companionship. Rest periods and weather-related confinements were occasions for writing up notes, reading in various scientific fields, playing games, and reading lighter materials, sometimes to each other. One book they shared was At the Mountains of Madness by Lovecraft, which sent me back to reread it myself:



At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft **** 6/11/17

I couldn't recall too many details from a previous reading and was delighted to be chilled anew by this early horror story. Hey, it takes place in Antarctica - that gives it a star or two just for location, right?

84auntmarge64
Modifié : Août 26, 2017, 8:07 pm



Star Trek Cats by Jenny Parks ***½ 8/15/16

A little hardcover, a bit larger but not as thick as a board book. I thought this was going to be disappointing after I received it, because it seemed to have very little substance. Surprisingly, it was pretty entertaining and gave me a few chuckles, being a Trekkie myself. 17 episodes of the original series are alluded to, and I found myself appreciating the little frissons of recognition, from cats holding tribbles to Amok Time and City on the Edge of Forever. Very cute and sure to be a nice little surprise for the Trekkie in your life, especially if they like cats and can appreciate the cat behaviors exhibited. (Just before I read it a neighbor dropped in, saw it, and exclaimed that it was the very thing for Father's Day for her husband - they're both fans of Star Trek and cats. So this copy will have a good home.)

(Courtesy of Early Reviewers.)

85auntmarge64
Modifié : Juin 27, 2017, 6:10 pm



What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear by Danielle Ofri **** 6/20/17

A book for all patients, doctors, and medical professionals in general. Ofri reviews many studies, done by others and replicated in her own practice, which demonstrate the wide disparity in expectations and results for both doctors and patients. She discusses how each is perceived by the other and gives many examples of how communication, and therefore medical success, can be improved.

The first few chapters are the most rewarding for patients to read, and I've already started changing my approach to appointments to help focus a doctor's attention on what is most important to me. Much of the rest of the book will be of more use to professionals, but even there patients can learn a great deal about what goes into having a good doctor/patient interaction and relationship. There is even a chapter on ways for doctors and hospitals to approach situations which might lead to malpractice suits, therefore enabling them to possibly satisfy patients with less pain for everyone.

Really, really helpful - and thanks to Darryl (kidzdoc) for recommending this so highly last year!


Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith **** 6/26/17

86auntmarge64
Modifié : Juil 4, 2017, 9:37 am



The Case for Impeachment by Allan J. Lichtman **** 7/2/17

Lichtman, who had correctly predicted the previous eight presidential elections, applied his usual model to an analysis of the 2016 election and, two months before the election, predicted that Trump would win. But he went further and analyzed "Trump's past and proven behavior, as well as the history of politics and impeachment in our country" and concluded that while Trump would be elected, he would also be impeached. This book lays out Lichtman's rationale. It includes events through April, 2017, so the events of recent months (meetings in Europe, Comey and the special prosecutor, and the withdrawal from the Paris climate accord) had not yet occurred.

Other than his prediction for November, I was unfamiliar with Lichtman when I picked up this book, but whatever his actual political affiliation, he is a committed critic of Trump. Whether a Trump supporter would ever read this I can't tell, since factual evidence has seemed so suspect to them, but the book is very heavily footnoted, so if they'd like they could double-check and weigh each piece of evidence Lichtman provides.

There is one aspect of Trump's behavior and its possible repercussions that was completely new to me: the possibility of the International Criminal Court becoming involved because of the "crime against humanity" of environmental damage, recently added to their remit.

The book will give Trump adversaries mixed feelings. First: here's a book about what we hope will happen!!! The first few chapters present the cases of the three presidents who have been threatened with impeachment: Andrew Johnson (Lincoln's successor, acquitted by the Senate), Bill Clinton (acquitted by the Senate), and Richard Nixon, who resigned before proceedings began after he was informed by Congressional leaders that he would be both impeached and convicted. But then there is the rest of the book, which lays out Trump's history and his first few months as President, and it is a thorough, and thoroughly depressing, read. There is just so much to choose from, and for myself, I found it overwhelming that he's been able to proceed this far without being really threatened with impeachment or sanction. It's one thing to follow the news day by day, but to see it all laid out in one place is to realize how much one person with power can thwart morality, the Constitution, and the American ethos. On the other hand, as pundits continue to tell us, preparing for impeachment can take years, and at least people like Lichtman are keeping a record. I just hope it proceeds quickly enough to avoid permanently changing our institutions past the point at which they can be repaired.

There is one awkward chapter towards the end: a letter to Trump about what he needs to do to avoid impeachment. Considering that it's well known that Trump hates to read and loathes criticism, it seems affected to use this format.

To Trump supporters I'd say, read this to see what the fuss is about. For his foes, read it to give yourself hope.

87auntmarge64
Juil 4, 2017, 9:08 am



Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz **** 7/3717

A book within a book, a mystery within a mystery. Quite good mysteries, although the change between narratives wasn't as smooth as I would have liked. Well worth the read for lovers of British mysteries.

88dchaikin
Juil 4, 2017, 10:00 am

>86 auntmarge64: could use some hope overhere. Thanks for this review.

>83 auntmarge64: I was interested in Long's description, but it seems to have gotten hidden.

89auntmarge64
Juil 4, 2017, 12:36 pm

>88 dchaikin: re: Long's book, I've rewritten the post to be more obvious. I meant it to point to the book I reviewed just below, Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness.

re: Impeachment - Glad to give you some hope. There was an article in the latest New York magazine that might help too: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/06/frank-rich-nixon-trump-and-how-a-pr...

90kidzdoc
Juil 4, 2017, 8:44 pm

Nice review of What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear; I'm glad that you enjoyed it and found it to be as useful as I did.

91auntmarge64
Modifié : Juil 4, 2017, 10:56 pm

>90 kidzdoc: Thanks again for your own review, Darryl.

It was fascinating to read how doctors perceive their role in the appointment, and boy, do I know some doctors who need to read this! I used to have a specialist (one of only two in my state) who was so insensitive and out-of-touch (with me) I'd cry after each appointment. He was Harvard-educated and very interested in his specialty, but he had no ability to see the person in front of him, and I felt I needed to placate him or lose him. I'd have to say, though, that I think doctors are improving, and also that with age I've learned to fight for making my opinion known (and I finally left that practice). The best doctors recognize (and aren't threatened by) the fact that I'm the expert on my body, and we often negotiate treatment. I have to admit to being "non-compliant" at times, but usually not after we've agreed on what we'll do. Now I have more ammunition for deciding how to handle the doctor and make him or her more compliant :)

92auntmarge64
Modifié : Août 3, 2017, 11:29 pm



River of Ink by Paul M. M. Cooper ***** 7/12/17

Lush and vivid - a mesmerizing tale of a poet caught in an invasion of medieval Sri Lanka.

Polonnaruwa, one of the kingdoms of "Lanka" in 1215 AD, is invaded by the Indian Kalinga Magha, who pillages and destroys the area to take whatever he can find of value, forever changing the social and cultural landscape of the island. In this re-imagined telling, the defeated king's court poet, Asanka, survives the sacking and, in exchange for his life, is charged with translating from Sanskrit into Tamil the Hindu masterpiece "Shishupala Vadha". Magha is convinced the locals will hear the epic and realize the superiority and wisdom of their new masters. Terrified, and assailed by guilt for not refusing the invader, Asanka begins the work, only to become besotted by the language of the original. He's an excellent translator and poet, but his guilt eats at him, and then he starts finding unsigned stories, told from the point of view of the epic's characters, secretly delivered to his door. He begins to see that he can do his part to undermine Magha by incorporating certain detestable facts about him into the narrative, facts which he knows the local populace will find laughable.

Asanka's story is addressed to his lover, a palace servant girl. His longing for her and fear for her safety permeate the novel, and there is a suspense to the story that makes for just as compelling reading as does the beauty of the writing. It's unclear whether either of them will survive Magha's rule, and for most of the book I suspected Asanka might be writing this from a prison cell while awaiting execution. But, without giving anything away, let me just say this was a story I loved from beginning to end, savoring each word. I desperately wanted to find out the characters' futures but didn't want the book to end, but, when I reached it, the ending was perfect. And, my highest praise: I can see myself rereading this, something I rarely do.

93RidgewayGirl
Juil 14, 2017, 1:47 pm

>85 auntmarge64: I'll have to find a copy of that.

>86 auntmarge64: Your second-to-last paragraph made me laugh. Did Lichtman keep it under a page long, with lots of maps and illustrations?

94auntmarge64
Juil 14, 2017, 4:01 pm

>93 RidgewayGirl:. Unfortunately, Lichtman did NOT do as you suggest. 😊. But what are the odds Trump would ever be interested anyway?

95auntmarge64
Juil 19, 2017, 5:38 pm



Artemis by Andy Weir ***½ 7/19/17

If ever a book was written to be filmed, this is it. Fast-paced and humorous, with a likable, sarcastic heroine and moon-based action.

Jazz (Jasmine), a 20-something who has spent most of her life at the lunar city of Artemis, is a smuggler and would-be EVA-tour guide (a profession which is hard to get into but pays big rewards for giving vacationers tours of the original moon landing site). Jazz is a wise-ass. She's smart, but unable to settle down to a life as her father's welding partner, for all her expertise. Instead she struggles to provide a tiny bedroom for herself, sharing crowded bathrooms and having no money to spare. But her smuggling has brought her a productive contact: a billionaire who will pay her a huge sum to permanently wreck an installation owned by a competitor. Being the jack-of-all-trades that she is, she comes up with a plan, and therein lies the tale. Jazz is a bit too scathing in her humor for my taste, and it's not really believable that she can pull this off, but hey, action movies aren't meant to be realistic, after all.

If you enjoyed "The Martian", give Andy Weir's new book a go. Or wait for the inevitable film: it will be fun.

(Courtesy of Netgalley.com)

96Cait86
Juil 22, 2017, 9:55 am

>95 auntmarge64: Sounds so fun! I can't wait for this to be published!

97brodiew2
Juil 27, 2017, 11:38 am

Good morning, auntmarge! I hope all is well with you.

I have been been reading through (listening) the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time. I am halfway through The Two Towers.

>95 auntmarge64: This is very good news! this is the fist advanced review I've seen. I'm glad to hear that you liked it!

98auntmarge64
Modifié : Juil 28, 2017, 10:46 pm

>97 brodiew2: LOTR! Now that's a goal. I read it years ago and loved it, and I reread the grand finale numerous times. One of these days I'll take it off the shelf and reread, because there are certainly many events that never made it into the films (although the films are superb in their own right). For some reason Tom Bombadil and Goldberry always remained with me, and many years ago I drew a portrait of them.

If you're on Netgalley you might be able to get a preview copy of Artemis.

99auntmarge64
Modifié : Août 9, 2017, 11:11 pm



American War by Omar el Akkad ****½ 8/4/17

The evolution of a terrorist, with a twist: the setting is the late 21st century American South during a second Civil War being fought over a federal mandate barring the use of fossil fuels. The author was born in Egypt, raised in Qatar, and moved to Canada at age 16. As a reporter he covered the war in Afghanistan, the military trials at Guantanamo, and the Arab Spring. These interests inform the insights expressed throughout the story.

With massive damage from climate change, including coastlines and several states under water, the U.S. is in shambles. Louisiana and Florida are mostly inundated. Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia have seceded, with other states in the area caught in the middle. South Carolina is literally walled off to the world after the feds experimented with bio-warfare there and turned the population into slow-moving creatures who infect anyone who comes near them. The southwest is part of a Mexican protectorate, and the two world super powers, China and an empire comprised of the Middle East and Northern Africa, help the South in order to weaken the federal effort and the U.S. as a whole.

Sarat Chestnut, displaced with her family as a young girl from the remnants of the Louisiana coast and raised in a refugee camp, has a bleak childhood. She is singled out by a man from outside the camp to be groomed as a terrorist, feeding on her anger and hate for the North. As happened in the first Civil War, the South is impoverished and ruined by the conflict, but this time the war has gone on much longer, giving birth to a whole generation of young adults for whom there has never been anything but fear and hate of the enemy. Rival militias fight within the South, and Northern incursions thin these amateur ranks further and further. By the time Sarat is in her late teens she is ready to perform a task that will have massive consequences for herself, her family, and any talk of peace.

The story, told 40 years after Sarat's death, is given by a man who knew her when he was a boy and who lives in New Anchorage, a city which frequently moves inland as the Earth continues to warm. His portrayal of her is unemotional and interspersed with excerpts of news stories and historical analyses of the war. Only near the end do we realize why he knows so much of what she was thinking and the truth of what finally brought the entire country to its knees, foretold in the beginning of the book and realized in his narration in a tense and mesmerizing second half.

This is not a comfortable book to read, and along the way I had several criticisms to make. For one thing, I found it hard to imagine a civil war over the use of fossil fuels, especially while the land is actually disappearing from under the combatants. It seemed too convenient a fiction on which to hang the tale. But I kept going back to read a few more pages and finally got so caught up I couldn't stop reading till I'd finished, and I realized that the locale and reason for the war are less important here than the psychological aspects. The author has stated that he thinks readers should not sympathize with Sarat but that, hopefully, they will be able to understand why she acted as she did, and I think he succeeded in this. I've often thought that the way to peace in any conflict can be aided immeasurably by empathy with the "why" of the enemy, and I continue to believe it, but this story gives some perspective into how so very difficult that can be when a whole generation is trapped in the cycle of hate and distrust.

Very highly recommended.

100auntmarge64
Août 13, 2017, 8:54 pm

>100 auntmarge64: >101 auntmarge64:

I'll be looking forward to your reviews if you do read it. It certainly raises some interesting questions about the moral quandaries of our time.
And sorry about SC! :)

101auntmarge64
Modifié : Août 14, 2017, 9:56 pm



Lullaby Road by James Anderson **** 8/12/17

Ben Jones, first introduced in The Never-Open Desert Diner, is a Utah truck driver who delivers along a 100-mile stretch on a minor desert highway. He knows most of the people along the way, including the state troopers and town residents, the hermits living off-road in old trailers and storage containers, and other oddities, such as Preacher John, who wanders the highway carrying a huge wooden cross and preaches in a deserted True Value store, audience or not. (There's a wonderful scene in which Ben, John, and a state trooper share an imaginary cigarette along the side of the road).
In the previous book, Ben lost the woman he loved, and he is still mourning her and adjusting to the horror of her death.

One morning he arrives at the local truck stop to gas up and finds himself tasked for the day to look after a baby, a young girl, and a dog - while on his route. He's not particularly pleased but sees no way around it, so off they go, despite forecasts of winter weather and Ben's bad feeling about the whole situation. His instincts are proven accurate, and for the next three days he travels back and forth along his route trying to find a missing parent and avoid entanglement with transient thugs (and the state police) while still making deliveries. And then there are the three Mexican ladies who run a food truck with some of the best cooking around, even as they silently communicate among themselves and warn Ben that he's in great danger.

Just delightful.

(Courtesy of Netgalley. To be published in January, 2018.)

102brodiew2
Août 16, 2017, 12:01 pm

>103 auntmarge64: Hello auntmarge64! I really enjoyed this review. I'll take a closer look at the first one. I seem to remember there being a darker side to the storytelling. Do I remember correctly?

103auntmarge64
Modifié : Août 16, 2017, 12:22 pm

>104 auntmarge64: Yes, indeed, you're right. The stories do have a dark side to them, and there's a great deal of introspection. But I do find them rather delightful, especially Ben's thoughts about all the interesting people he meets.

104auntmarge64
Modifié : Août 16, 2017, 9:25 pm



Down the Common: A Year in the Life of a Medieval Woman by Ann Baer ***** 8/16/17

I read this when it was first published in the late 90s and it's stuck in my mind ever since. The memorable main character, Marion, lives a serf's life with her husband and their two surviving children. Their small, isolated hamlet, somewhere in England, consists of a "hall" (the lord's home, a building consisting of one large room with a raised dais for the family's beds and dining table), plus barns, workshops, a mill, various small plots, and tiny cottages in which the serfs endure their lives of hard work and bitter winters. In addition to the serf families there are several free families, a priest, and the lord's brother, who serves as the village manager. The economy is based entirely on barter, with the serfs owing certain work and work product to the hall in return for a centralized society and some necessities they cannot get elsewhere, such as salt, which the lord trades for every year with a town several days' distance. He uses the wool produced by the women of the village as his currency.

Marion's life is described over one day each month for one year. Although she barely questions her existence, she does reflect on the people and activities around her, as well as the little enjoyments she notices, such as the sun's warmth or an unusual feather found and saved. Through her eyes we see the many ways in which people in this meager condition cope and survive (or not). With no extra to share, each family must earn what they need for the year, whether it be through barter with the hall, or the little plots or farm animals they have, or trade with others for the labors they offer, such as the miller, Marion's brother, who is paid a small share of each bag of grain he grinds for other families. Some homes have hives or other means of adding a little food to the diet. Some cannot maintain the needs of the family and the weakest among them die of starvation. Absolutely nothing is wasted, whether it be leftover parts of a dead animal, miss-spun wool bits, or a piece of broken pottery. It's a hardscrabble and precarious life, but it's all these people have ever known. The cycle of their lives, shown through Marion's year, do have a few highlights, such as harvest and Christmas feasts, to give them a bit of anticipation. And their lives have stability and familiarity, if not security.

I've often thought of Marion, with her stoicism, her acceptance of her place as a woman with duties to her husband, her pain over lost children and her fears for a disabled child who, at 8, still survives. Marion's life is so foreign, and yet she struck a chord with me that I've been unable to forget.

This is a lovely book to savor and ponder.

105valkyrdeath
Août 26, 2017, 7:14 pm

Just catching up after falling way too far behind on LT. I'm glad to see a review of the new Andy Weir book, as I'd completely forgotten about it. It sounds like it's going to be a fun read! And that Star Trek Cats book made me smile.

106auntmarge64
Modifié : Août 28, 2017, 6:00 pm



Far North by Marcel Theroux **** 8/27/17

Dark but relentlessly interesting post-apocalyptic fiction set in Siberia. Makepeace, a town's lone resident and a constable, rides the town's perimeter each day. One day a small plane crashes in the forest nearby, and buoyed by the possibility of civilization returning somewhere, Makepeace heads out on horseback to see whether there is any hope for the future, or if this solitary existence is truly a life lived at the end of everything. Makepeace is a character with enormous courage and spirit; the story is thoughtful and realistic, and disturbing in its portrait of humanity in extreme circumstances. Not for the faint of heart, but very rewarding.

107brodiew2
Août 28, 2017, 8:55 pm

Hello auntmarge64! I hope all is well with you.

>108 auntmarge64: In one breath you make me want to read it and, in the other, stay away. A quandary for sure. :-)

108auntmarge64
Août 29, 2017, 10:50 pm

>109 brodiew2: Ya gotta give it a try! You can always walk away, but I bet you won't 😊

109brodiew2
Août 30, 2017, 12:49 pm

I have wanted to read The Dog Stars which has a similar post apocalyptic aviation theme. We'll where I land.

110auntmarge64
Modifié : Sep 13, 2017, 11:18 pm

>111 auntmarge64: They're both worth reading, IMHO. You might like this one, too:



Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty ***½ 8/31/17



The Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks ****

111auntmarge64
Sep 13, 2017, 11:30 pm



The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne ***½ 9/10/17

A suspense novel with an unusual lead character: a scientist specializing in bioinformatics, a cross between computational science and biology. In other words, he's trained to see patterns, and when he's questioned as a suspect in a strange murder, he starts using his programs to search out similar deaths and disappearances which might lead to the killer. (The police are convinced the killer is an animal, but the patterns say otherwise.) In some ways this follows the traditional suspense format: hero is suspected, decides to investigate on his own, is himself threatened, etc. But the addition of his special talents gives a fresh approach, and there are some interesting little asides that made me go, "huh....". My favorite:

We carry more bacterial DNA than our own. Not by length, but unit. An alien might not recognize us as what we think we are.



Axis by Robert Charles Wilson ***½ 9/13/17

112auntmarge64
Sep 14, 2017, 10:54 pm



The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono *** 9/14/17

A parable in the form of a sweet, simple novella, in which a hermit shepherd spends years planting hundreds of thousands of tree seeds, in the process rejuvenating an entire ecosystem.

113auntmarge64
Modifié : Sep 18, 2017, 7:43 pm



Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson ****½ 9/17/17

The third, and best, in the Spin trilogy. Spin was a good yarn; Axis was somewhat weaker, as is frequently the case in mid-trilogy entries; Vortex is a compelling and complicated story that goes back and forth in time and satisfyingly wraps up all the threads of the Spin story and characters. Altogether, the trilogy is a very enjoyable sci-fi experience. I'd say more about the plot, but even a little would give away too much of the first two books. But this is definitely an author I'm going to read more from. Just really good story-telling.

114auntmarge64
Modifié : Sep 19, 2017, 6:31 pm



The Judgment of Richard Richter by Igor Štiks **** 9/19/17

A well-known Austrian author sits in a hotel, incognito in his city of birth, with the gun he plans to use on himself next to him as he writes. He has just returned from the slaughter in Sarajevo and is working on a memoir, explaining why he can no longer go on. Richard Richter, born and orphaned during WWII and raised by a beloved aunt, has discovered a letter from his mother to his real father, and, determined to discover if his father is alive, travels to Sarajevo just as the siege breaks out in 1992. He is there for only a couple of weeks, but the people he meets, and the truths he finds, ruin him.

I was surprised by how moved I was by this story. The writer talks a lot about his feelings, moving back and forth between his current situation and his experiences in Sarajevo. I was quickly drawn in to the promise of the horrible discoveries Richter makes, and while my first thoughts weren't close, I was very satisfied with the story of how events closed around him and destroyed his will to live.

(Note: Originally published in 2006 as "Elijah's Chair". Available for free with Kindle Unlimited.)

115avaland
Sep 20, 2017, 10:34 am

The Theroux dystopia looks intriguing....very intriguing indeed. I like your review of it, just enough to tempt me, ha ha. I'm listening, more off than on at this point, to one of those "Great Courses" on dystopian/utopian literature which is interesting. It has been said that both dystopias and utopias are about hope.

Read the Geraldine Brooks eons ago, seems there was something I didn't like about the ending.

I do like Robert Charles Wilson, have read all of his early books but have not read him for quite a while (although Michael reads him). I did read his Julian Comstock which was published in 2006.

116auntmarge64
Sep 20, 2017, 10:51 am

>117 avaland: - Oh dear, we really do think alike.

The end of Year of Wonders was pretty awful, which was unfortunate for a book that up until then was wonderful, and then this weird ending was tacked on. She takes the child, leaves the country by ship, and then ends up an extra wife and assistant to a doctor in northern Africa? Puleeeze!

I have Julian Comstock to read, wanted to finish the Spin trilogy first. Did you like it?

That Great Courses dystopian/utopian series is on my list to watch on Kanopy. Have you run across that? It's a film streaming service used by many of the larger public and educational libraries. I joined Brooklyn PL for the ebook collection (it's one of the few libraries that accepts on-line, out-of-area membership applications), but they also have access to Kanopy, which has a large collection of older or highly-reviewed films and documentaries, as well as quite a few Great Courses I found interesting.

Might I tempt you further to read Far North by mentioning, which I didn't in the review, that the main character is a woman?

117avaland
Modifié : Sep 21, 2017, 9:52 am

>118 auntmarge64: Here's what I wrote (though, remember, I haven't read the Axis trilogy....)

I've not read every Robert Charles Wilson novel, but I've read a fair number of his earlier works, and this just might be his best book ever. Richly told, with wonderful detail, it is the story of, yes, Julian Comstock, popular hero and nephew to the current President of the re-formed United States, but also of our narrator, Adam Hazzard, Julian's childhood friend and an aspiring writer. The world they live in (so wonderfully envisioned by Wilson), now a century after the Efflorescence of Oil, the Fall of the Cities, the False Tribulation, and after the days of the Pious Presidents, resembles the 19th century (a century that is very much admired in the current thought of the Church of the Dominion, which, as its name suggests, dominants). It is this 19th century "feel" and the easy-going storytelling from Adam that draws us in, and It takes only a few pages—maybe only one—for a reader to be completely hooked.

While a great romp of a story, it also gives a nod to the writing and the art of storytelling. When Adam takes his first attempts of documenting his war experience, he is told by a veteran war journalist that, "Accuracy and drama are the Scylla and Charybdis of journalism, Adam. Steer between them, is my advice, but list toward drama, if you want a successful career." Later when Adam is assisting Julian with his lifelong dream of making movie of Charles Darwin's life, he asks, "Do you want to tell the truth, or do you want to tell a story?"

Interesting note: I recently came across a review on the web that connected this book with the subject matter of Gore Vidal's novel Julian: A Novel about the 4th century Roman emperor Julian (aka Julian the Apostate). The reviewer convinced me that the connection is likely not accidental.


------

It's funny, but Julian Comstock came to mind while I was reading Francis Spufford's Golden Hill, although Spufford's novel is set in colonial NY in the 1740s, but it has the same kind of addictive quality (and I may have used the same "great romp of a story" in the review I just did of that!)

118auntmarge64
Sep 21, 2017, 11:42 pm



Little Boy Lost by J. D. Trafford *** 9/21/17

Justin Glass, whose father and brother are influential politicians, is a widowed single father just beginning to recover after his wife's death. His legal practice in St. Louis is failing, but he agrees to help a little girl find her brother, a delinquent missing for several months. The police ask him to serve as a liaison to the black community, which trusts him as one of their own but won't cooperate with law enforcement. When the boy's body is found with numerous others it becomes obvious there's a serial killer targeting young black recidivists, and Justin and the cops try to find a common link. Meanwhile, his daughter is being bullied by classmates and his family is pressuring him to get into the family business.

I enjoyed this well-written and absorbing story right until the rushed ending, which kind of ruined it for me. It should have been drawn out much more in keeping with the rest of the tale.

119bragan
Sep 25, 2017, 6:15 pm

>115 avaland: Hmm. I remember adoring Spin, but finding Axis vastly disappointing. It's been long enough since I've read either of them, though, that I've forgotten almost everything about them. Given all that, I wonder if Vortex is worth picking up for me or not.

120auntmarge64
Sep 26, 2017, 9:39 pm

>119 bragan: You've talked me into getting out my copy. The first few pages seem just the sort of book I'll love.

>121 auntmarge64: I'd say only if you can get details about "Axis", because it's a direct follow-up. Wikipedia has a brief summary, but I don't know if it's enough to give you the gist.

121auntmarge64
Sep 26, 2017, 9:51 pm



The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen ***½ 9/26/17

A well-constructed suspense novel about a man who travels back to our time to preserve history as it happened so that his own time will remain intact. This usually means ensuring that a key figure will die or that an atrocity, such as 9/11 or Hitler's regime, actually take place. He's part of a group who does this to counteract others from his time who make the trip to avert the same catastrophes, regardless of the implications for their own time. The book is told from the viewpoints of the time traveler and of several people he meets, and it wraps up the loose ends very nicely. The issue of how a change in history would affect the very existence of the time travelers does not enter into the story, which may leave some readers feeling there's something missing, but all the same I found that the story pulled me right along.

122bragan
Sep 27, 2017, 1:34 am

>122 bragan: Thanks for the advice. I'm definitely not re-reading Axis as background for it. I think I'll probably live without reading it.

123auntmarge64
Sep 27, 2017, 7:01 pm

>124 avaland: Probably your best bet :)

124avaland
Sep 28, 2017, 5:49 am

Did you read VanderMEer's Annihilation? I just watched the movie trailer (movie due out in Feb), looks interesting. Natalie Portman is the psychologist.

125auntmarge64
Modifié : Sep 28, 2017, 7:47 am

>126 brodiew2: I've read the whole trilogy and loved it. The first could be a standalone, IMO, although others felt differently. As usual for me, the second in the trilogy seemed weaker, but the series bounced back with the third. However, Annhilation was the still best - 5 stars for me. Vandermeer has become a must-read for me. I'll have to go look at that trailer. What did you think of the book?

------------

OK, just went and watched the trailer. I'm in!!!

126brodiew2
Sep 28, 2017, 4:14 pm

Hello auntmarge64! I hope all is well with you.

>112 auntmarge64: Six Wakes looks interesting. You are a fountain of possibilities. I knew I followed this thread for a reason. :-P

>127 auntmarge64: I looked at Annihilation at BN last week. I now have it on the audio fast track.

127auntmarge64
Modifié : Sep 28, 2017, 6:39 pm

>128 auntmarge64: Let me know what you think of Annihilation. It's a very strange story, but so good! And then you'll have the move to anticipate.
And thanks for the thumbs up on the thread :)

128auntmarge64
Sep 30, 2017, 6:24 pm



The First World War by Michael Howard **** 9/29/17?

Brief but wonderfully written, leaving me with some idea not only of where things happened but why and how, and I think I will now have the patience to absorb a more detailed account. Subsequently reprinted as part of the "A Very Short Introduction" series from Oxford.

129avaland
Oct 1, 2017, 7:12 am

>127 auntmarge64: The book was one of my best books of that year. I enjoyed all three books, but certainly the first was the most powerful. I was so please that Jeff was back to writing his own stuff instead of just editing anthologies.

Back in the day, I hosted Jeff & Ann VanderMeer at the bookstore (because I was such a fan. ha ha). We had some time to talk and they were the ones to enthusiastically recommend Claire Dudman's 98 Reasons for Being and One Day the Ice Will Reveal All Its Dead, which were both excellent books, so I pass that on to you.

>130 auntmarge64: I've enjoyed several "Short Introduction" titles but haven't really thought to do war histories. I did a Short History of the Gothic and there was a da*n lot of history crammed in there.

130auntmarge64
Modifié : Oct 2, 2017, 6:54 pm

>119 bragan: Well, it didn't take long to speed through Julian Comstock, for all its 700 or so pages, because you're right: it's grand storytelling. What came to mind as I finished it were the critics who saw Star Wars as a western set in space. That is, this story could have successfully been told of any age or society in which an entrenched hierarchy breeds young heroes who successfully challenge it. Like, uh, Star Wars. For me the enjoyment wasn't so much in the world-building, which is fairly slight, but in the characters who inhabit it, especially the young narrator and, of course, his best friend Julian, the aristocrat who challenges his evil uncle for leadership. I loved the narrator, and it's more his story than Julian's, but centering it on Julian makes a believable hook for hanging a tale meant for people who lived at that time. So, another winner from Robert Charles Wilson! I have several others of his to read, too: The Chronoliths, Bios, Mysterium, The Harvest, and Darwinia. Huh, I didn't realize I had so many.

>131 avaland: I thought I had One Day the Ice Will Reveal All Its Dead but apparently not. Certainly anything about Alfred Wegener would peak my interest. I'll look for "98 Reasons", but it sounds like a book that might make me more uneasy than I care to be (years later, I'm still recovering from seeing "The Snakepit"!). Give me a serial killer any day, but mistreatment in a mental institution - maybe not.

Be sure to read VanderMeer's Borne. You're going to love it!!!

I've been collecting a few Very Short Introductions to see what I think. I looked at Cosmology the other day and the print is really, really tiny, so we'll see.

131avaland
Oct 3, 2017, 4:25 pm

>132 auntmarge64: Agreed about the characters being the real enjoyment. Funny about your RCW reading list, those are all the titles I read (ages ago). Amusing note: My husband's advisor in grad school at Yale, was Wegener's nephew.

OMG, what is Borne? Will be at the bookstore on Friday to do the electronic ordering and will suss it out.

I think I bought a Very Short Introduction to Consciousness a few years back; it's somewhere on a shelf here.

132auntmarge64
Oct 4, 2017, 3:59 pm

>133 auntmarge64: Borne Is VanderMeer's newest book. See review at #52 above. A solid 5 stars.

133auntmarge64
Oct 5, 2017, 10:30 am



I haven't read Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, but last night I finished binging the Netflix 13-episode version ("13 Reasons Why") and I highly recommend it to anyone who has Netflix. My teenage niece had told me I wouldn't enjoy it, since it's a teen story, but a close adult friend of mine recommended it to me so I gave it a chance. It's superb! Beautifully acted, suspenseful, and emotionally powerful - and certainly aimed at adults as well as teens. There is a lot of "language" and several violent scenes of rape, all suitable for a story aiming to show the truth of what today's kids live through, or perpetrate, or both. The impact of the bullying, especially of the girls, is wrenching to watch and an education for adults. For kids, I can only imagine it can be affirming to victims and thought-provoking to those students who bully thoughtlessly rather than viciously. For the truly deliberate bullies, I suppose jail might be the only lesson they'd hear.

134brodiew2
Oct 5, 2017, 1:50 pm

Hello auntmarge64!

>135 auntmarge64: I read the book a few years back and thought it was pretty powerful. My wife watched the show, but I only caught the last couple of episodes. It looked the like a good drama, though before seeing any of it, I fell into the side of caution and perhaps even skipping it as it was brutal, profane, and graphic in some ways.

135auntmarge64
Oct 5, 2017, 7:00 pm

>136 brodiew2: brutal, profane, and graphic

Yup, it is that, and I get it that some people don't want to listen/watch that kind of stuff and have it in their heads. I'd really like to have my sister watch it, because both of her kids were badly bullied in high school, but I know she would be offended at the language and it won't help her or them now. But I do think the whole idea here was to be believable, so to me the violence and language weren't unnecessary, as they can be in some productions, and didn't offend me. The rape scenes were hard to watch, and so was much of the other bullying. Except for racist and hate language, I actually don't have much trouble with offensive language, so that didn't bother me.

Was the book much tamer?

136brodiew2
Modifié : Oct 5, 2017, 9:38 pm

I I don't know that it was more tame, but there is the difference between reading and filling in the visuals yourself and being subject to the vision of someone else. The book was intense and thought-provoking as with the TV episodes that I saw but I think that reading a book can engage our brains more than watching a television show. Someone else's vision of what they read may include different details than my brain would include.

137auntmarge64
Oct 6, 2017, 9:42 am

>138 auntmarge64: That's so true! But I was glad to see the series because I probably wouldn't have read the book.

I read the Eclipse books before trying the TV series, which I stopped watching. Actually, I rarely enjoy doing one after I've done the other (LOTR being a huge exception!).

138auntmarge64
Oct 8, 2017, 3:02 pm



Ironclads by Adrian Tchaikovsky ***½ 10/6/17

On a slightly future Earth where the "Military-Industrial Complex" has openly become the driving force for all international relations (no comment on whether this is already the case), a ragtag group of soldiers is plucked from the front lines for a special mission. They are to attempt to discover what happened to a Scion, a member of one of the ultra-rich corporate families, who has done the unthinkable: disappeared despite the fantastic, weaponized armor the very wealthy provide for their own (visualize the soldiers from Halo). Along the way, the group meets the results of various biowarfare experiments, fight Swedish soldiers and Finnish rebels, and learn who they can and cannot trust.

This is a short novel with a relatively simple plot, but it's also full of little surprises. It reminded me of the stories of John Wyndham (albeit more modern). In other words, very enjoyable.

139auntmarge64
Modifié : Oct 9, 2017, 10:35 pm



Machine Learning: New and Collected Stories by Hugh Howey **** 10/9/17

Anyone who's loved Howey's phenomenally popular "Silo", "Wool" and "Sand" series will be well-rewarded with this collection. A few of the stories have been available on Amazon as singles, but most are either new or hard to find. They include a couple which take place in the same worlds as the three series mentioned above, including a wrap-up to the tale of Juliette, the lead character of "Silo". The title story is a winner, and my favorite was "Select Character" about a young mother who spends her baby's nap times playing her husband's favorite video war game. There's a marvelous twist at the end. Howey enhances the stories with interesting and personal afterwards. Highly recommended.

140brodiew2
Oct 11, 2017, 4:51 pm

Hello auntmarge64! I hope all is well with you.

>141 auntmarge64: I still haven't read Shift or Dust, which I hear are good. However, Shift doesn't sounds very interesting and I keep talking myself out of Dust.

That said, have you heard of The Punch Escrow?

141auntmarge64
Modifié : Oct 12, 2017, 7:05 pm



Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher **** 10/12/17

After a teacher friend said she thought the book was even more powerful than the TV show, I sat down to read it. For a teaching tool, which is what she uses if for, I can see her point. But I do think the show delivers a much bigger emotional impact. The two are remarkably consistent with the basic story, except, rather glaringly, the means of suicide. The book is told in first person by Clay Jenkins, the boy who liked Hannah (the main character) but was afraid to admit it. But unlike the show, the book format doesn't allow for scenes between the other characters, which often occur when Clay is not present and which I thought added immensely to the story. The means of suicide in the movie (wrists cut vs. pills), shown graphically, is excruciating to watch and makes very clear how much pain Hannah was in to be able to do this to herself. I guess it will be a matter of preference between book and show, but either way, this is a hell of a story. My 17-year old niece tells me the show and book are very accurate in how they present high school life, and this story will be quite an eye opener (and appalling) for anyone who graduated before the advent of social media.

142avaland
Modifié : Oct 14, 2017, 10:53 am

Just a note: I would highly recommend The Book of Joan, a dystopian telling of the Joan of Arc story, for you. Both Michael and I found ourselves without words after finishing it (part of that might be shell shock) It's short but not an easy read, I think. It could end up my fiction book of the year... We think this blurb accurately describes it:

A searing fusion of literary fiction and reimagined history and science-fiction thriller and eco-fantasy...Yuknavitch is a bold and ecstatic writer, wallowing in sex and filth and decay and violence and nature and love with equal relish.” — NPR Books.

Ans here's a few others: "In this brilliant and incendiary new novel, mixing realism and fabulism, Earth, circa 2049, has been devastated by global warming and war; the wealthy live on a suborbital complex ruled by a billionaire celebrity turned dictator." — New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice

“Stunning.... Yuknavitch understands that our collective narrative can either destroy or redeem us, and the outcome depends not just on who’s telling it, but also on who’s listening.” — O, The Oprah Magazine

PS: It seems I did eventually manage to eek out a relatively decent review of it.

143auntmarge64
Oct 15, 2017, 1:03 pm

>142 avaland:

Howey's works are divided into several major story arcs, encompassing various other titles. It's pretty confusing.
I'd read the omnibus collections of

Sand: Omnibus my review:
Superb post-apocalyptic fiction. Wonderful characterization and world-building. I hope the author finds a way to continue the story, because I can't get the characters out of my mind. Be sure to get the Omnibus edition, which collects all the parts of the book, originally published in sections.

The Silo series IN ORDER:
Wool, Shift, and then Dust. There's also a couple of short stories connected to this series which appear in his new collection Machine Learning: New and Collected Stories, but I'd read them after the trio.

I loved all of them, so just dig in and let me know what you think.

144auntmarge64
Modifié : Oct 16, 2017, 9:52 am

>144 auntmarge64: The Book of Joan looks good, thanks. I've seen it around but now it's on my short list :)
The LT reviews are all over the place, but those you posted make it sound wonderful. Probably the same with something like VanderMeer's work.

145avaland
Oct 17, 2017, 7:16 am

>146 auntmarge64: Michael and I were discussing it and agreed that it is a book that requires work to read ; and some readers do not want to work for one reason or another (which certainly includes me some of the time).

I've finished Borne, still having a think on it.

146auntmarge64
Oct 18, 2017, 5:55 pm

>147 dchaikin: It sounds right up my alley. Not that I always want to work hard at a book (Pynchon comes to mind), but I'm up for a try.

147dchaikin
Oct 18, 2017, 11:32 pm

The Book of Joan is on my library's audio offerings. Lois, any sense of whether it might work that way?

148auntmarge64
Modifié : Oct 21, 2017, 10:28 pm



An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic by Daniel Mendelsohn ***** 10/10/17

What a beautiful book to read! Classicist and author Mendelsohn teaches part time at Bard College, but his primary occupation is as a writer. I've previously read his The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million, about a years-long inquiry into his family's past. Here he weaves an exposition of Homer's Odyssey into the story of his relationship with his father, a mathematician who late in life attended one of his son's semester-long seminars on The Odyssey, after which they took a cruise that retraced Odysseus's journey home. Their father-son relationship had long been fraught with difficult communication between the elder, who lived for precision and order, and the younger, who reveled in literature and interpretation. But here, at the very end of the father's life, as it was for Odysseus and his family, there is healing and recognition between the generations, and it's a lovely tale, full of the scholarship for which Mendelsohn Jr. is known and the amused fondness he has for his own family: his mother, who bursts with life and is the frequent author of malapropisms that become part of the family's private language (Deathbed and Beyond (the store) and Lafayettes (the pastry named after a different French soldier) come to mind), as well as a plethora of aunts, uncles, and other relatives and friends. The parallels Mendelsohn finds in his own family history will bring frissons of recognition to most readers. One of the most interesting concepts discussed, and which pops up over and over throughout the book, is homophrosýnē, likemindedness, seen by Homer as the foundation of a good marriage, in this case that of Odysseus and Penelope and, in some ways, that of Mendelsohn's own parents.

Erudite, heartwarming, and sometimes amusing, this was a delight to read.

149avaland
Modifié : Oct 22, 2017, 1:28 pm

>149 avaland: Depends on the reader and listener, I suppose; it's a fairly complicated plot.... And it might make a difference if you were, say, driving while listening. I found I could listen to certain audio books when I commuted mostly because, for some reason or another they required too much attention.

150dchaikin
Oct 22, 2017, 6:36 pm

>150 dchaikin: you fully wrapped my attention into your review of this book. I own The Lost, but had to look for it, hidden in a corner of my tbr stacks. This one interests more, interests me a lot

(>151 auntmarge64: I have the same issue, Lois. Terrible attention span on audio.)

151auntmarge64
Oct 22, 2017, 9:19 pm

>151 auntmarge64:, >152 auntmarge64: Me too, she said - I use to love audio books but now find it more rewarding to read a book myself. Driving while listening can be distracting (and at my age, almost 70, that's just not good), and I no longer drive much anyway and would prefer to read than listen when I'm home.

>152 auntmarge64: I liked The Lost quite a bit, but "An Odyssey" is just superb. The beginning is heavy on scholarship, setting the scene and giving non-classics readers some background, and then the stories of Odysseus and the Mendelsohn father and son start interweaving. I loved Daniel Mendelsohn's interactions with his students and his honesty about his reactions to them and to having his father (who promised to sit quietly but of course didn't) in the class. He learned a lot about his father just by the reactions of others in the class and on the cruise. I wish this caliber of writing would come along more often. And I would love to know more about his mom, who sounds like a stitch.

152auntmarge64
Oct 25, 2017, 12:29 am



A House Among the Trees by Julia Glass ****½ 10/25/17

With the accidental death of beloved children's author and artist Mort Lear, three people are thrown together as they are forced to rearrange their futures to accommodate his demise. His longtime companion/assistant/friend Tomasina (Tommy) (not wife, as Mort was gay), unexpectedly discovers she is his sole heir and executor, a monumental role for which she feels completely unprepared. Merry, the director of an in-development children's book museum, has been relying on Mort's word that the museum will inherit his work product and is appalled to find that his plans had recently changed. And Nick, a newly famous and highly regarded young British actor, signed to play Mort in a biographical film, mourns not being able to meet Mort to flesh out his knowledge of the man, although they had been writing to each other. These three are fully formed characters, with the story told roughly equally from their three points of view.

Tommy met Mort when she was 12, when he was surreptitiously sketching her younger brother during visits to the park, the brother's likeness later used for the main character of Mort's phenomenal breakout picture book "Colorquake". "Colorquake" is so beautifully described it made me want to read it, and if Glass could find the perfect artist to do it, she'd make a fortune - and that's before the film that would surely follow. When Mort and Tommy meet again a decade later, Mort offers her a job, and there she stays, running his life and making possible the time he needs for the long string of successful story books (and later YA books) that unspool from his endless imagination. Nick, the actor, is the most appealing of the three, with his insightful musings on how sudden celebrity is both undermining and making possible his ability to practice his art. And art it is, for Nick is no flash in the pan: he's the real thing, breathing and inhabiting his characters and working with directors who recognize his genius (imagine here a young Day-Lewis or Branagh). Simultaneously, he's trying to maintain a little privacy as one of the world's newly-christened sexiest men. Merry, the museum curator, is almost undone by Mort's death, seeing her professional and personal lives in meltdown. Her efforts to meet with Tommy to discuss the situation lead to a wonderful weekend in which the three main characters manage to overcome the barriers between them even as various secrets long hidden by Mort start surfacing.

"Colorquake" is not the only story encapsulated in the novel. There's Nick's breakthrough film, a moving story of mother and son, and then there's the trilogy of Mort's YA novels which, again, would be knockouts in the real world of publishing. Julia Glass has a marvelous imagination, and "A House Among the Trees" is a wonderful book that pulls the reader along with nary a complaint.

153auntmarge64
Nov 3, 2017, 2:34 pm



Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden ****½ 11/2/17

As WWI ends, a mystic/healer of the First Nations Cree canoes three days to the town where her nephew, whom she raised, is returning after years as a sniper for the Canadian Army fighting in Europe. He is badly injured: one leg missing, addicted to morphine with his supply running out, and almost dead of starvation. Her hope is to get him home to "the bush" and to heal him. During their trip the nephew hallucinates the story of his years at war, while his aunt tells him stories of their tribe and of their individual upbringings, hoping to ground him in this life before he slips over to the next. These two voices alternate, and the tales they tell are a rich look at life at war, the Canadian Indian experience, and the love between close family members. I was blown away at the depth of this book. It's not a quick read because it's almost all description, but it's well worth the time. The title refers to the time it takes the soul of a dead person to reach its destination. Very highly recommended.

154dchaikin
Nov 4, 2017, 11:16 am

>155 auntmarge64: great review. Three Day Road sounds really good. Noting.

155auntmarge64
Modifié : Nov 10, 2017, 6:27 pm

>156 auntmarge64: I'm so enthused now to read more by Boyden. I can get The Orenda for Kindle from Brooklyn PL and will have to search out the others that look interesting.



Golden Prey by John Sandford **** 11/9/17

The usual excellent suspense from Sandford and Lucas Davenport.

156auntmarge64
Modifié : Nov 11, 2017, 4:07 pm



The Theater of War: What Ancient Tragedies Can Teach Us Today by Bryan Doerries ***** 11/11/17

This was one of those serendipitous finds that can change the direction of one's reading. I picked up an issue of Smithsonian Magazine and there was an article entitled "The Healing Power of Greek Tragedy" (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/healing-power-greek-tragedy-180965220/) about Doerries' Theater of War, a pick-up group of well-known actors who do dramatic readings before veterans, soldiers and families; victims of riots and natural disasters; wardens and prison personnel; medical and hospice staff; and others. Doerries, a trained classical philologist, does most of the translations himself, tailoring them to bring out the emotions of those in the audience, and each performance is followed by discussion and sharing, sometimes for hours. His goal is "to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable". Doerries was recently named New York City’s Public Artist in Residence. The Theater of War website is http://theaterofwar.com/, and at http://theaterofwar.com/cast you can see the phenomenal group of actors who work with Doerries, some from the beginning in 2008.

Doerries believes that the tragedies were written and performed to help the citizen-soldiers of Athens deal with just the sort of issues our own military faces today: PTSD, madness, suicide, feelings of betrayal, anger and guilt. All citizens were male and were required to serve in the endless wars Athens fought during this time (Sophocles would have been a general at this time). The performances were held in huge amphitheaters (frequently next to medical facilities, where they could be heard) so the citizen-soldiers could experience them together. Doerries describes his group's development and their first efforts to reach out to the military and prison systems, and intertwines these with excerpts from his own translations that illustrate specific reactions from soldiers and their families, prison staff, the dying and their caregivers, and the residents of Ferguson, among others. His descriptions of trips to Guantanamo and to various prison settings are especially eye-opening. The group has expanded its repertoire to reach out to other communities in crisis, and many of these projects can be read about on the website.

This is a moving and galvanizing book, sure to be of interest to those in crisis or working/living with someone who is. I think it will also be of great interest to those interested in Greek tragedy in general. Doerries has also published translations of four of the plays most used by the group: Sophocles' "Ajax", "Philoctetes", and "Women of Trachis"; and Aeschylus' "Prometheus Bound". These translations are collected in All That You've Seen Here Is God. For anyone with access to Brooklyn Public Library, both books are available as ebooks.

157dchaikin
Nov 11, 2017, 4:58 pm

>158 auntmarge64: ok, I'm interested. Really interested. Thanks for reading this and posting this enticing review.

158auntmarge64
Nov 11, 2017, 7:46 pm

>159 auntmarge64: Thought you might find it interesting. :)

159auntmarge64
Modifié : Nov 15, 2017, 6:18 pm



The Midnight Line by Lee Child **** 11/12/17

Jack Reacher #22. Always a pleasure.

...and...



Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly **** 11/5/17

Harry Bosch #22.

160auntmarge64
Nov 16, 2017, 8:34 pm



All That You've Seen Here Is God: New Versions of Four Greek Tragedies Sophocles' Ajax, Philoctetes, Women of Trachis; Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound **** 11/16/17

Bryan Doerries made these translations for use with his Theater of War (see post 158 above) and they are in highly idiomatic English and honed for specific audiences, so I somehow doubt they would meet with a purist's approval. But as a lay reader, and having never read any of these plays previously, I have to say I found them very affecting, most especially the three by Sophocles. "Ajax" and "Philoctetes" are used by Doerries with military audiences to speak to the experiences of anger, betrayal, madness, and PTSD in soldiers. "Women of Trachis" is used with those dealing with end-of-life issues, including assisted suicide. "Prometheus Bound" has been successful with groups of prison employees and, maybe, prisoners. I read them keeping in mind how they are used by Doerries: as dramatic readings meant to, as he says, "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable".

161chlorine
Nov 17, 2017, 12:23 pm

>162 auntmarge64:
These sound fascinating, thanks for the review!
One of my uncles is a classic hellenist so this makes me think of him, but I'm not sure, as you say, that it would be his cup of tea...

162auntmarge64
Nov 17, 2017, 8:05 pm

>163 chlorine: I'd be very interested in what he would say, so if you ever mention it to him let me know. I wonder what he'd make of Doerries' assumptions of why they were written and who the target audience was.

163chlorine
Nov 18, 2017, 2:53 am

>164 auntmarge64:
I don't see him very often but I'll try to remember to tell him about it. It might be a while as I usually see him in summer though. :)

164auntmarge64
Nov 18, 2017, 8:27 am

>165 chlorine: And doesn't summer seem so far off (for those of us in the north)? At least in a month or so the days will start to get longer.

165chlorine
Nov 18, 2017, 11:08 am

>166 dchaikin:
Summer seems _very_ far off. :(
Here in Paris it's starting to get really cold (though this fluctuates), the days are getting really short also. Plus we are not anymore on daylight saving time and I _hate_ that because it makes the night fall very early and the evenings more depressing.
Like you, I'm also looking forwards to the time when days will start increasing in length! (and I'm trying to not think too much about how much shorter they will be by then ;)

166dchaikin
Nov 18, 2017, 11:09 am

>162 auntmarge64: interesting. The Romans like Euripides so that's what got best preserved, but I think today Sophocles has a lot more appeal. Theater of War is on my wishlist

167auntmarge64
Nov 18, 2017, 9:43 pm

>168 auntmarge64: Well, my classical education is sorely lacking and I can't comment on Euripides, but those three plays by Sophocles certainly hit the spot. Prometheus Bound seemed rather repetitive, although the plot was interesting. Too bad the sequels are lost.

168auntmarge64
Nov 23, 2017, 12:58 pm



All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai **** 11/23/17

Fifty years after the first test of a machine that used Earth's movement through space to produce massive, free energy, there is no want, little violence, and almost no religion, and people spend their free time using devices that design entertainments fit to the individual. A time machine has been invented, and the plan is to use it's public debut to transport six chrononauts to witness that first energy experiment. But only one person actually leaves on the mission, and he fires up the time machine without telling anyone and just, well, goes. Things do not go well, to say the least.

The novel is told in first person by that one chrononaut, and his voice is funny and self-deprecating, much like that of the astronaut in Andy Weir's "The Martian". This book has the same breezy, fast-paced plotting, although it's longer and more complicated. But the science is easy, and as a lay person who wouldn't know what is and isn't really possible, I found this an amusing and fast read with some suspense and a variety of likeable and not-so-likeable characters, as well as some discussion about how much guilt someone should feel for changing the future and what the hell the nature of reality is, anyway.

Very enjoyable.

169chlorine
Nov 23, 2017, 2:24 pm

>170 auntmarge64:

This one was already on my wishlist, and your comments make me more eager to get to it soon! :)
It's funny that the friend who recommended it to me also mentioned a similitude with The Martian.

170auntmarge64
Nov 24, 2017, 11:40 am

>171 chlorine: I'll watch for your review. Have you read The Martian?

171chlorine
Nov 24, 2017, 12:18 pm

>172 auntmarge64: Yes I've read the Martian and I've liked it a lot. :)

172auntmarge64
Nov 27, 2017, 8:48 pm



The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey ****½ 11/26/17

A magical story of love, loss, and wonder in the Alaskan wilderness.

Mabel and Jack are middle-aged, childless homesteaders, having transplanted from warmer climes for a new start. Mabel's one pregnancy was still-born, and there is a sadness in both of them that affects their ability to thrive together in this new place. One day, in a rare moment of shared lightheartedness, they build a snow child, clothe her and give her a lovely face, and then have a loving evening together. The next morning the snow child has been demolished but the clothing items are gone, and soon they start to see a young girl flitting through the woods wearing the missing items. No one knows who she is, and the neighbors think Mabel and Jack are hallucinating. But Mable remembers a fairy tale she heard as a youngster about an elderly, childless couple who also build a snow child and end up with a daughter.

Gently-wrought and entrancing, this Pulitzer finalist was a joy to read. Earlier this year I read Ivey's second novel, To The Bright Edge of the World, and she has become one of those authors I'll be sure to watch for in the future.

173avaland
Nov 30, 2017, 1:22 pm

>158 auntmarge64: While I probably wouldn't read the book, it sounds soon interesting from your review. Intriguing theory about why the tragedies were written.

174auntmarge64
Déc 8, 2017, 8:58 pm



News of the World by Paulette Jiles ***½ 12/8/17

A gentle story about an elderly ex-Army captain tasked with returning a captive white girl to her blood relatives after she is taken back (unwillingly) from the Kiowa. The captain, especially, is beautifully drawn, but the story seemed pretty predictable, and after a while I turned ahead a few chapters to see how they managed their future.

175auntmarge64
Modifié : Déc 11, 2017, 8:12 am



Imagining Argentina by Lawrence Thornton ***** 12/10/17

In Argentina, during the brutal military rule known as The Dirty War, thousands of students, scholars and unionists simply "disappear" and the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo begin their marches to bring attention to the regime's policies of terror, kidnapping, and murder. Carlos Rueda, a playwright for a children's theater in Buenos Aires, is married to Cecelia, an outspoken editor at a large newspaper. They have a teenage daughter. One day Cecelia is kidnapped from their home by the regime, and in his grief Carlos joins the Mothers in marching. Hearing their stories, he begins to have visions of the fates of their loved ones. Sometimes all he can report are details of pain and death; other times he is able to predict returns which come true, to the wonderment of the crowds that flock to his home each Thursday evening, hoping he can help. But Cecelia, the one "disappeared" he wants so badly to find, appears to him only in bits and pieces as the months stretch into years.

This is the third time I've read this book, and it is as magical, moving, and disturbing as when first published. Carlos' visions tell the story of Argentina's misery, of how young people and even children were kidnapped, mercilessly tortured and raped, and often killed. We see a previously-civilized country ruled by those who indulge themselves in the name of "order", and the fight put up by those willing to risk everything to imagine a different future for their country. In our current political climate, where thugs again proclaim the benefits of unfettered hate and violence against "others", the book is a vivid reminder of the trap waiting for any nation, even ours, when evil overcomes common sense and convinces the easily-lead that their worst tendencies can be justified.

176chlorine
Déc 11, 2017, 7:15 am

>177 dchaikin: Thanks for a great review of what seems to be a great and important book.

177dchaikin
Déc 20, 2017, 12:35 am

What chlorine said. And that you have read this 3 times says a lot.

178auntmarge64
Modifié : Déc 27, 2017, 10:06 pm

If you've ever seen the film Billy Elliot, you'll remember the final scene, in which Billy appears as an adult dancer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=989pUycUqAg).
The dancer playing him there is Adam Cooper, the original Swan in Matthew Bourne's 1995 Swan Lake:





Adam Cooper and Scott Ambler as the Swan and the Prince:


The swans preparing to attack:


Needless to say, this Swan Lake is like no other, designed to show the muscular and territorial character of the animals by choreographer and director Matthew Bourne (now a Sir), a relative unknown at the time and now revered as one of today's premier choreographers. His style of dramatic dancing combines acting, ballet, modern dance, experimental pairings, and either greatly revised or completely original story lines, and it has brought him a huge following among not only dance aficionados but theater goers in general. Two of his works (the Cooper/Ambler Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty) have been shown on PBS. In fact, the Sleeping Beauty is still available in the Great Performances section of the PBS app and can be seen on streaming devices. Several of the works are available in full on YouTube, as well as numerous outtakes, previews, and shorter works.

Full-length performances on YouTube:
The original cast of Swan Lake (which I prefer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuab3kK8cPU
Swan Lake with a different cast about a decade later and starring Richard Winsor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQsECoq9XGM
Nutcracker!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jIeSq2FFhs
Car Man (an original story with music based on Bizet): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQpsMBidFBo&t=404s

Works available on DVD include those four as well as Sleeping Beauty and, soon, Cinderella and a new production of Car Man. Bourne has also done Edward Scissorhands, The Red Shoes, and the one I want most to see in full, Dorian Gray. Excerpts of these and others are available on YouTube.

------------------------------------



Matthew Bourne and His Adventures in Motion Pictures by Alastair Macaulay ****½ 12/19/17

This book is a collection of conversations between Bourne and dance critic Macaulay, Bourne's earliest dance history teacher. There are two editions of the book, so be sure to get the later version (2011), because it includes all the earlier material and catches up with Bourne's work to about 2009. These are in-depth question and answer sessions covering Bourne's history, influences, inspirations, and methods, accompanied by rehearsal and performance photos, choreographic diagrams, and illustrations from costume and set designs by Lez Brotherston. The title refers to the name of Bourne's first company (Adventures in Motion Pictures); in the early 2000s he started a new company named New Adventures.

For someone interested in Bourne or this type of production, the book is a treasure trove. His method for directing and choreographing is to allow for a huge input from each performer. Even members of the corps are asked to provide biographies for their characters and to research suggested films and books to see the type of characters Bourne is thinking of. When you watch one of the performances you can see how all the dancers have their own little moments while the main action is taking place. This is definitely not old-school ballet, where the corps stands around in groups watching the stars. There's a wonderful moment in Act III of Swan Lake (the ballroom scene, in which the Stranger, traditionally the Black Swan, shows up in leather and dances up a storm with just about everyone, men and women) when the Stranger is sitting off to the side as the corps starts dancing, and at the end you realize he's now on the other side of the stage, sitting at a table with someone else's girlfriend and making out with her. I had to go back to watch and see how this happens, but things like this are always happening in Bourne's productions, which he considers theater as much as dance. One of Bourne's goals has been to provide male dancers the chance to do more than serve as props for ballerinas, and his Swan Lake was designed to give men long, lyrical performance opportunities. Most of his work has a similar goal. Bourne makes no bones about his inclusion of gay scenes in his work, although all the full-length works are for both men and women. For instance, although the Swan, Prince, and swan corps are danced by men, Bourne's Queen is a highly sought-after part for retired prima ballerinas, and the ballroom scene revolves around the Prince being introduced to various princesses.

This book is a must-have for Bourne fans, and I'll be going back to it again and again as I have the opportunity to see new tapes. If you fall in love with his work, you'll want it too.

179japaul22
Déc 21, 2017, 1:17 pm

Catching up and reminded how much I want to read The Snow Child. Reserved it at the library, so hopefully I'll get it soon (and actually read it!).

180avaland
Déc 21, 2017, 3:41 pm

>180 avaland: How interesting! I immediately recognized him from the movie although I have never known his name (I adore musicals and Billy Elliot is a favorite of mine; even saw the stage production in London).

181auntmarge64
Modifié : Déc 21, 2017, 11:09 pm

>182 auntmarge64: Adam Cooper was a Principal with the Royal Ballet at the time and took a leave of absence to play the Swan. No one had any idea it would be such a huge hit and travel to the US during the same run. Bourne's next ballet was Cinderella, which he also made for Cooper and for Cooper's future wife, Sarah Wildor, another Royal Ballet Principal. They've both since left the Royal. When I saw Billy Elliot (the film) I just had to know what performance was shown for the adult Billy, and although I didn't expect it, it popped right up on Google. I've been hooked by Bourne's work and Cooper's dancing ever since.

182auntmarge64
Modifié : Jan 1, 2018, 11:13 am



Deep Freeze by John Sandford **** 12/22/17



Broken River by J. Robert Lennon **** 12/24/17



Gateway by Frederik Pohl **** 12/30/17

183avaland
Déc 27, 2017, 7:46 pm

Will be keeping an eye on your reading for 2018... :-)