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1CliffBurns
Beginning February with THE BENDING CROSS, a biography of the Bernie Sanders of his time, Eugene Debs.
Debs is a forgotten figure of history, capitalists and their lackeys pretending people like him never existed.
Debs is a forgotten figure of history, capitalists and their lackeys pretending people like him never existed.
2iansales
Currently reading October Ferry to Gabriola, Malcolm Lowry's last novel.
3anna_in_pdx
On a recommendation here, I am reading The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett. My husband and I are almost finished with The Swarm. I'm plowing through Something for Nothing: Luck in America as well. I don't know why the touchstones are suddenly not working.
4CliffBurns
Finished a mystery novel, MIDNIGHT AT THE BRIGHT IDEAS BOOKSTORE.
A debut offering by Matthew Sullivan, who modeled his fictitious book shop after the famous Tattered Cover Bookstore, a Denver landmark.
Agreeable reading, fun way to spend an afternoon.
A debut offering by Matthew Sullivan, who modeled his fictitious book shop after the famous Tattered Cover Bookstore, a Denver landmark.
Agreeable reading, fun way to spend an afternoon.
5cindydavid4
The Overneath is a short story collection by Peter Beagle, author of Last Unicorn and Fine and Private Place. He has been one of my favorite storytellers for years, and he doesn't disappoint here. The story 'The Queen Who Couldn't Walk' has to be my favorite so far; much like an O'Henry tale, almost had me in tears, then smiling at the end. Half way through, haven't noticed a bad one yet. Oh, and Schmendrick the Magician from The Last Unicorn appears in two stories.
6BookConcierge
Etta and Otto and Russell and James – Emma Hooper
3***
Eighty-two-year-old Etta has never seen the sea, so she decides one day to leave her Saskatchewan farm and head out on foot. She leaves behind her husband, Otto, and their neighbor, Russell. Along the way she encounters James, and a host of other characters.
The novel is told in a series of letters, messages, and vignettes that move back and forth in time, eventually revealing Etta’s and Otto’s and Russell’s stories, from their childhoods through the war years and into adulthood. It reminded me of Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. but it was not quite as engaging.
I think part of the reason is Hooper’s use of magical realism. In general, I like magical realism, but I didn’t quite warm to Hooper’s use in this case. James is a talking coyote, for example. The ending also has a nebulous, ethereal quality to it which left me feeling that I had missed something.
However, I was really engaged for much of it, and was interested in how these three main characters’ lives were interwoven. I found Russell to be the most interesting of the three, and yet his story seems secondary.
This is Hooper’s debut novel and I see promise here. I definitely would be willing to read another of her works.
3***
Eighty-two-year-old Etta has never seen the sea, so she decides one day to leave her Saskatchewan farm and head out on foot. She leaves behind her husband, Otto, and their neighbor, Russell. Along the way she encounters James, and a host of other characters.
The novel is told in a series of letters, messages, and vignettes that move back and forth in time, eventually revealing Etta’s and Otto’s and Russell’s stories, from their childhoods through the war years and into adulthood. It reminded me of Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. but it was not quite as engaging.
I think part of the reason is Hooper’s use of magical realism. In general, I like magical realism, but I didn’t quite warm to Hooper’s use in this case. James is a talking coyote, for example. The ending also has a nebulous, ethereal quality to it which left me feeling that I had missed something.
However, I was really engaged for much of it, and was interested in how these three main characters’ lives were interwoven. I found Russell to be the most interesting of the three, and yet his story seems secondary.
This is Hooper’s debut novel and I see promise here. I definitely would be willing to read another of her works.
7CliffBurns
Wrapped up ST. PAUL: THE APOSTLE WE LOVE TO HATE by Karen Armstrong.
Like many folks, I had a negative view of St. Paul (aka Saul of Tarsus). He was a strict doctrinaire, misogynist, anti-Semitic, etc.
Ms. Armstrong's book paints a different picture: his reputation was marred by unnamed scholars changing his texts, attributing letters to him that were written a century after his death, etc. Turns out ol' Paul was quite the egalitarian and let's not forget the courage and determination it must have taken to embark on those long journeys, often facing hostile mobs, the threat of physical injury or death.
Like many folks, I had a negative view of St. Paul (aka Saul of Tarsus). He was a strict doctrinaire, misogynist, anti-Semitic, etc.
Ms. Armstrong's book paints a different picture: his reputation was marred by unnamed scholars changing his texts, attributing letters to him that were written a century after his death, etc. Turns out ol' Paul was quite the egalitarian and let's not forget the courage and determination it must have taken to embark on those long journeys, often facing hostile mobs, the threat of physical injury or death.
8CliffBurns
Finished ICED, by Jerry Langton, a look at the effect of methamphetamine use on communities and individuals.
Written by a journalist, so not brilliant prose, but effectively presented.
Written by a journalist, so not brilliant prose, but effectively presented.
9BookConcierge
The Butterfly’s Daughter – Mary Alice Monroe
Book on CD read by the author
2.5**
Luz Avila’s mother abandoner her when she was a toddler, and she’s been raised by her grandmother. Now she sets out on a road trip to take her grandmother’s ashes back to her native village in Mexico, an area near the Monarch butterfly sanctuary.
I knew this was a chick-lit, road-trip, find-yourself kind of novel going in. I was intrigued by the link to the monarch butterfly migration, and by the main character’s journey from Milwaukee (where I currently live) to San Antonio (where I grew up) and on to Mexico.
There were parts of this story which I really liked. I liked that Luz was a young woman with some uncertainty in her past and uncertainty about her future, who decided to take on this trip without help or assistance. Of course, that’s a somewhat foolish goal, and she DOES need help along the way, but she manages to usually figure out a way to keep going without relying on her boyfriend to rescue her. Brava! I also liked the various people she picks up along the way: Ofelia, Margaret, even Stacie. These characters bring a new way of thinking to Luz, and help her to eventually find her own path.
I also liked that the ending, while hopeful, was NOT just wrapped up in a pretty little happy-ever-after bow.
I was not so keen on the way that Monroe basically dropped the additional characters along the way, however. And I really dislikedMariposa, Luz’s supposedly dead mother. I quickly got tired of her self-imposed guilt trip and how thoughtless she was about Luz and the ofrenda she had worked on to honor her Abuela, Mariposa’s own mother.
In general, I would probably give this 3 stars – an enjoyable, chick-lit read. Except…
Monroe reads the audiobook herself. She clearly has the emotional connection to the book and to these characters, and that comes through on the audio. Her pacing is good, as well. However, her pronunciation of Spanish was so bad that it completely distracted me from the book. I kept yelling at the CD whenever she mispronounced “la Virgen de Guadalupe” and other key Spanish phrases. So, she gets only 1 star for her audio performance, and that brings the entire rating down.
Book on CD read by the author
2.5**
Luz Avila’s mother abandoner her when she was a toddler, and she’s been raised by her grandmother. Now she sets out on a road trip to take her grandmother’s ashes back to her native village in Mexico, an area near the Monarch butterfly sanctuary.
I knew this was a chick-lit, road-trip, find-yourself kind of novel going in. I was intrigued by the link to the monarch butterfly migration, and by the main character’s journey from Milwaukee (where I currently live) to San Antonio (where I grew up) and on to Mexico.
There were parts of this story which I really liked. I liked that Luz was a young woman with some uncertainty in her past and uncertainty about her future, who decided to take on this trip without help or assistance. Of course, that’s a somewhat foolish goal, and she DOES need help along the way, but she manages to usually figure out a way to keep going without relying on her boyfriend to rescue her. Brava! I also liked the various people she picks up along the way: Ofelia, Margaret, even Stacie. These characters bring a new way of thinking to Luz, and help her to eventually find her own path.
I also liked that the ending, while hopeful, was NOT just wrapped up in a pretty little happy-ever-after bow.
I was not so keen on the way that Monroe basically dropped the additional characters along the way, however. And I really disliked
In general, I would probably give this 3 stars – an enjoyable, chick-lit read. Except…
Monroe reads the audiobook herself. She clearly has the emotional connection to the book and to these characters, and that comes through on the audio. Her pacing is good, as well. However, her pronunciation of Spanish was so bad that it completely distracted me from the book. I kept yelling at the CD whenever she mispronounced “la Virgen de Guadalupe” and other key Spanish phrases. So, she gets only 1 star for her audio performance, and that brings the entire rating down.
10BookConcierge
’Round Midnight– Laura McBride
Digital audio performed by Joy Osmanski with Will Damron.
3.5***
From the book jacket In a choreographic tour de force, Laura McBride twirls four women through a Las Vegas nightclub, turning their separate lives into a suspenseful, intricate dance of mothers, daughters, wives, and lovers. … June hires a charismatic black man to sing at her club. … Honorata leaves the Philippines as a mail-order bride. … Engracia finds bad luck in the Midnight Room. … Coral struggles with her mysterious past.
My reactions
I loved McBride’s debut novel – We Are Called to Rise She uses a similar writing technique here – telling the stories of four different characters with little apparent connection, and then finally meshing them together in one specific event. The reader gets a pretty clear idea of the connection of at least two of these women early on but must wait for events to unfold over several decades before the characters will catch on.
In general, I find this sort of multiple-narrator, multiple-timeline frame challenging but interesting in novels. However, I was listening to the audio version and this made it decidedly more difficult to follow. I would get interested in one character’s story and then be yanked into a different timeframe to learn about a different character. I think I may have enjoyed this more if I had read it in a text version.
Joy Osmanski and Will Damron do a fine job of narrating the audio book. I think my difficulty in following the plot was not the narrators’ fault, so much as it was due to the structure of the work.
Digital audio performed by Joy Osmanski with Will Damron.
3.5***
From the book jacket In a choreographic tour de force, Laura McBride twirls four women through a Las Vegas nightclub, turning their separate lives into a suspenseful, intricate dance of mothers, daughters, wives, and lovers. … June hires a charismatic black man to sing at her club. … Honorata leaves the Philippines as a mail-order bride. … Engracia finds bad luck in the Midnight Room. … Coral struggles with her mysterious past.
My reactions
I loved McBride’s debut novel – We Are Called to Rise She uses a similar writing technique here – telling the stories of four different characters with little apparent connection, and then finally meshing them together in one specific event. The reader gets a pretty clear idea of the connection of at least two of these women early on but must wait for events to unfold over several decades before the characters will catch on.
In general, I find this sort of multiple-narrator, multiple-timeline frame challenging but interesting in novels. However, I was listening to the audio version and this made it decidedly more difficult to follow. I would get interested in one character’s story and then be yanked into a different timeframe to learn about a different character. I think I may have enjoyed this more if I had read it in a text version.
Joy Osmanski and Will Damron do a fine job of narrating the audio book. I think my difficulty in following the plot was not the narrators’ fault, so much as it was due to the structure of the work.
11BookConcierge
Autobiography of a Face – Lucy Grealy
4****
Lucy Grealy was nine years old when she was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer, in her right jaw. The surgery and chemo helped save her life but left her with disfiguring scars.
What is more important to your sense of self that to recognize yourself in the mirror? What if the face you saw in the mirror was one you could not bear to look at? A face that could not possibly reflect the you inside?
Grealy became a renowned poet, and her way with words shows here. She writes so eloquently and honestly about what she went through and how she felt growing up “ugly.” She writes about being the “special” kid in a family of four, getting more of her parents’ attention, skipping school, good friends, how she dealt with bullies, and how she became addicted to the pain killers she was prescribed following major surgery. Her life was not all tragic, however; she also remembers moments of joy and humorous escapades.
The memoir was first published in 1994. The edition I had included an afterword written after Grealy’s death in 2002, by her friend and fellow Iowa Writers Workshop student, Ann Patchett.
4****
Lucy Grealy was nine years old when she was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer, in her right jaw. The surgery and chemo helped save her life but left her with disfiguring scars.
What is more important to your sense of self that to recognize yourself in the mirror? What if the face you saw in the mirror was one you could not bear to look at? A face that could not possibly reflect the you inside?
Grealy became a renowned poet, and her way with words shows here. She writes so eloquently and honestly about what she went through and how she felt growing up “ugly.” She writes about being the “special” kid in a family of four, getting more of her parents’ attention, skipping school, good friends, how she dealt with bullies, and how she became addicted to the pain killers she was prescribed following major surgery. Her life was not all tragic, however; she also remembers moments of joy and humorous escapades.
The memoir was first published in 1994. The edition I had included an afterword written after Grealy’s death in 2002, by her friend and fellow Iowa Writers Workshop student, Ann Patchett.
12BookConcierge
You Remind Me of Me – Dan Chaon
Digital audio performed by Jim Soriero.
3.5***
Chaon was already known as a talented writer of short stories when this debut novel was published. His background with that shorter form shows in this book. The first four chapters of the book introduce us to four different characters and time frames: 1977 and six-year-old Jonah is mauled by the family pet; 1978 and ten-year-old Troy is hanging out with teenagers smoking pot; 1966 and teenaged Nora is about to give birth at a home for unwed mothers; 1997 and six-year-old Loomis disappears from his grandmother’s backyard. Eventually the connections between them will be clear to the reader.
What I really like about Chaon’s writing is how he explores issues of identity, how characters are shaped by their environment, by chance and opportunity, and by the choices they make. There is much to dislike about these damaged people, and yet I am drawn to these characters and their stories. I am distressed by the loneliness they endure and the wrong paths they take, and yet still find some hope for the future.
The changing time frames and points of view do, however, make for a somewhat confusing experience. This is especially true for those who choose the audio version.
Jim Soriero does an excellent job performing the audio. He is a skilled voice artist, with good pacing. Still, given the nonlinear plot, I’m glad I had a text version available, so I could go back and reference earlier chapters easily.
Digital audio performed by Jim Soriero.
3.5***
Chaon was already known as a talented writer of short stories when this debut novel was published. His background with that shorter form shows in this book. The first four chapters of the book introduce us to four different characters and time frames: 1977 and six-year-old Jonah is mauled by the family pet; 1978 and ten-year-old Troy is hanging out with teenagers smoking pot; 1966 and teenaged Nora is about to give birth at a home for unwed mothers; 1997 and six-year-old Loomis disappears from his grandmother’s backyard. Eventually the connections between them will be clear to the reader.
What I really like about Chaon’s writing is how he explores issues of identity, how characters are shaped by their environment, by chance and opportunity, and by the choices they make. There is much to dislike about these damaged people, and yet I am drawn to these characters and their stories. I am distressed by the loneliness they endure and the wrong paths they take, and yet still find some hope for the future.
The changing time frames and points of view do, however, make for a somewhat confusing experience. This is especially true for those who choose the audio version.
Jim Soriero does an excellent job performing the audio. He is a skilled voice artist, with good pacing. Still, given the nonlinear plot, I’m glad I had a text version available, so I could go back and reference earlier chapters easily.
13mejix
Finished Empire of the Summer Moon. An entertaining read about a fascinating moment in US history, just don't expect a whole lot of insight from this author.
Started Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva España (aka The Conquest of New Spain ) by Bernal Diaz del Castillo. A first person account by a soldier that served under Cortés through the entire conquest of Mexico. A book that I had been wanting to read for ages.
Started Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva España (aka The Conquest of New Spain ) by Bernal Diaz del Castillo. A first person account by a soldier that served under Cortés through the entire conquest of Mexico. A book that I had been wanting to read for ages.
14laurenbufferd
I was lucky enough to interview Meg Wolitzer this month so besides reading her new novel The Female Persuasion which was wonderful and very on target for today's political climate, I read Surrender Dorothy, The Wife, and her mother's novel An Available Man.
I'm reading The Friend right now.
I'm reading The Friend right now.
15BookConcierge
The First Deadly Sin – Lawrence Sanders
4****
I first read this back in about 1975 and was completely gripped by the writing and the suspenseful story.
The book introduces New York City cop Edward X Delaney, who is on the trail of a serial killer, while also trying to care for his wife, who is dying of some unnamed illness.
Daniel Blank is a successful executive at a publishing firm, with a high-rise apartment on New York City’s east side. But he’s a damaged person, and quickly becomes dangerous once he’s influenced by the strange, aloof woman he meets at a friend’s brunch. Once he gets away with the first killing, he becomes unable to stop, addicted to the thrill of the hunt.
Delaney is a cop’s cop. Methodical, tenacious, and with a second sense about the perpetrator he’s after. Embroiled by a political tug-of-war within the city’s police department, he takes a “leave of absence” to care for his critically ill wife, while actually conducting a private investigation. But he has allies and amateur assistants/experts to help him.
I love how Sanders writes these two major characters, filling in the details of their lives – from Blank’s methodical grooming routines, to Delaney’s eating habits. He also includes a varied cast of supporting characters from a quiet housewife to an alcoholic paraplegic. Sanders moves the action back and forth between the killer's perspective and that of Police Chief Delaney, so the reader knows more than the detective, but that doesn't lessen the suspense.
I did think that the subplot about Delaney’s wife was somewhat unnecessary and a distraction from the main plot. It helped to define the Chief, but Sanders might have found another way to doing that without using so many pages.
4****
I first read this back in about 1975 and was completely gripped by the writing and the suspenseful story.
The book introduces New York City cop Edward X Delaney, who is on the trail of a serial killer, while also trying to care for his wife, who is dying of some unnamed illness.
Daniel Blank is a successful executive at a publishing firm, with a high-rise apartment on New York City’s east side. But he’s a damaged person, and quickly becomes dangerous once he’s influenced by the strange, aloof woman he meets at a friend’s brunch. Once he gets away with the first killing, he becomes unable to stop, addicted to the thrill of the hunt.
Delaney is a cop’s cop. Methodical, tenacious, and with a second sense about the perpetrator he’s after. Embroiled by a political tug-of-war within the city’s police department, he takes a “leave of absence” to care for his critically ill wife, while actually conducting a private investigation. But he has allies and amateur assistants/experts to help him.
I love how Sanders writes these two major characters, filling in the details of their lives – from Blank’s methodical grooming routines, to Delaney’s eating habits. He also includes a varied cast of supporting characters from a quiet housewife to an alcoholic paraplegic. Sanders moves the action back and forth between the killer's perspective and that of Police Chief Delaney, so the reader knows more than the detective, but that doesn't lessen the suspense.
I did think that the subplot about Delaney’s wife was somewhat unnecessary and a distraction from the main plot. It helped to define the Chief, but Sanders might have found another way to doing that without using so many pages.
16BookConcierge
Silas Marner – George Eliot
Digital audiobook read by Nadia May
3***
Silas Marner is a weaver who was banished from his small religious community on a false charge of theft. He moves to the village of Ravensloe, where he leads a reclusive, miserly life as the town’s weaver. His gold is stolen from him, however, reinforcing his belief that everything is against him. Until … returning home on a snowy evening he finds a baby girl asleep at his hearth. Her mother has died in the snow, and Silas adopts the child, believing that his gold has somehow been symbolically returned in the form of this delightful little girl.
A classic tale of the redemptive power of love, first published in 1861. As is typical of the novels of the era, the plot includes numerous coincidences that stretch this reader’s tolerance. There is much misery, but Eliot does give us a few moments of joy, and an ending full of hope. I did think Eliot was somewhat heavy-handed in relaying her message, however.
I know this was assigned reading when I was in high school, and I’m sure I relied on the Cliff’s Notes. Reading now, I’m reminded of the writing style of Charles Dickens.
Eliot was born Mary Ann Evans and converted to Evangelicalism while still in school. She later disavowed it, but those roots are clear in this tale. In private, however, she became estranged from her family when she moved to London as a single woman. There she met George Henry Lewes, and lived with him for some twenty years, despite the fact that he was already married. He encouraged her to write and publish. She was somewhat notorious for this open relationship and felt no one would read her novels, so adopted the pseudonym of George Eliot.
Nadia May does a fine job performing the audiobook. However, I did have trouble staying focused. That isn’t her fault, it’s simply the prevalent style of writing of the mid-19th century.
Digital audiobook read by Nadia May
3***
Silas Marner is a weaver who was banished from his small religious community on a false charge of theft. He moves to the village of Ravensloe, where he leads a reclusive, miserly life as the town’s weaver. His gold is stolen from him, however, reinforcing his belief that everything is against him. Until … returning home on a snowy evening he finds a baby girl asleep at his hearth. Her mother has died in the snow, and Silas adopts the child, believing that his gold has somehow been symbolically returned in the form of this delightful little girl.
A classic tale of the redemptive power of love, first published in 1861. As is typical of the novels of the era, the plot includes numerous coincidences that stretch this reader’s tolerance. There is much misery, but Eliot does give us a few moments of joy, and an ending full of hope. I did think Eliot was somewhat heavy-handed in relaying her message, however.
I know this was assigned reading when I was in high school, and I’m sure I relied on the Cliff’s Notes. Reading now, I’m reminded of the writing style of Charles Dickens.
Eliot was born Mary Ann Evans and converted to Evangelicalism while still in school. She later disavowed it, but those roots are clear in this tale. In private, however, she became estranged from her family when she moved to London as a single woman. There she met George Henry Lewes, and lived with him for some twenty years, despite the fact that he was already married. He encouraged her to write and publish. She was somewhat notorious for this open relationship and felt no one would read her novels, so adopted the pseudonym of George Eliot.
Nadia May does a fine job performing the audiobook. However, I did have trouble staying focused. That isn’t her fault, it’s simply the prevalent style of writing of the mid-19th century.
17BookConcierge
A Morbid Taste For Bones – Ellis Peters
3***
The head of the Benedictine Abbey in Shrewsbury, England, sends an expedition of monks to retrieve the remains of Saint Winifred from her resting place in Gwytherin, Wales. But the villagers of Gwytherin are not uniformly keen on the idea of losing their beloved saint. When the leading opponent to moving the saint’s bones is found dead, apparently shot with an arrow, some take it as a sign that the Saint approves the move. But Brother Cadfael recognizes that the murder was done by a human, and though he is an outsider, he begins to investigate.
I’ve heard about this series set in 12th century England for some years, and always wanted to try them. I found it rather slow moving; the murder doesn’t happen until page 68. Granted, as the first in the series, Peters does have to spend more time in establishing the characters and setting, but I like my mysteries – even the cozy mysteries - to move along at a brisk pace.
I really liked Brother Cadfael as a central character, however. He is a keen observer and is methodical and deliberate in his investigation. I also rather liked his rather unorthodox approach to solving the mystery and achieving justice.
I’d be willing to read another in the series.
3***
The head of the Benedictine Abbey in Shrewsbury, England, sends an expedition of monks to retrieve the remains of Saint Winifred from her resting place in Gwytherin, Wales. But the villagers of Gwytherin are not uniformly keen on the idea of losing their beloved saint. When the leading opponent to moving the saint’s bones is found dead, apparently shot with an arrow, some take it as a sign that the Saint approves the move. But Brother Cadfael recognizes that the murder was done by a human, and though he is an outsider, he begins to investigate.
I’ve heard about this series set in 12th century England for some years, and always wanted to try them. I found it rather slow moving; the murder doesn’t happen until page 68. Granted, as the first in the series, Peters does have to spend more time in establishing the characters and setting, but I like my mysteries – even the cozy mysteries - to move along at a brisk pace.
I really liked Brother Cadfael as a central character, however. He is a keen observer and is methodical and deliberate in his investigation. I also rather liked his rather unorthodox approach to solving the mystery and achieving justice.
I’d be willing to read another in the series.
18cindydavid4
>17 BookConcierge: After you read them check out the PBS series Cadfael with the amazing Derek Jacobi. Read the books afterwards and honestly liked the series adaptation better!
19CliffBurns
Read a collection of poetry by Frank Bidart, METAPHYSICAL DOG.
Verse about aging, nostalgia, haunted hearts.
Challenging but never confusing. Worth a look.
Verse about aging, nostalgia, haunted hearts.
Challenging but never confusing. Worth a look.
20anna_in_pdx
Finished Blink by Gladwell. Have been sort of down on Gladwell for several years due to his disastrous "broken windows" theory but I found this a good read. He is an engaging writer who makes optimal use of anecdotes to hold reader interest.
My LT book group is reading the Dorothy Dunnett "Lymond Chronicals" and I am entranced. I just got the second book from the library.
I had Kids These Days on hold for about six months and it's finally ready for pickup, so that's gonna be my March nonfiction read.
I'm also finishing up Empire of Timber which is a very interesting book about the labor issues surrounding loggers and other workers in the timber industry in the Pacific NW. (I grew up in logging country and my father was a forester.)
I'm also reading a brand new novel by a friend of mine, a sort of Regency historical romance, but about gay men. It's a good read so far. I'm about a third of the way into it, no touchstone since it's a new book by an unknown author, but the title is Restraint, author Anne Hawley, it's on Amazon.
My LT book group is reading the Dorothy Dunnett "Lymond Chronicals" and I am entranced. I just got the second book from the library.
I had Kids These Days on hold for about six months and it's finally ready for pickup, so that's gonna be my March nonfiction read.
I'm also finishing up Empire of Timber which is a very interesting book about the labor issues surrounding loggers and other workers in the timber industry in the Pacific NW. (I grew up in logging country and my father was a forester.)
I'm also reading a brand new novel by a friend of mine, a sort of Regency historical romance, but about gay men. It's a good read so far. I'm about a third of the way into it, no touchstone since it's a new book by an unknown author, but the title is Restraint, author Anne Hawley, it's on Amazon.
21CliffBurns
Finished Jon Meacham's biography of Andrew Jackson, AMERICAN LION.
A well-researched account of Jackson's White House years and the people he surrounded himself with (sometimes to his detriment).
Definitely a man of his time, with all the faults that implies. An Indian-killer, an unapologetic slave owner...but also a leader who railed against elites and insisted that the wishes of the American people be kept paramount in all his deliberations (well, property-owning white males, that is).
A well-researched account of Jackson's White House years and the people he surrounded himself with (sometimes to his detriment).
Definitely a man of his time, with all the faults that implies. An Indian-killer, an unapologetic slave owner...but also a leader who railed against elites and insisted that the wishes of the American people be kept paramount in all his deliberations (well, property-owning white males, that is).
22laurenbufferd
>20 anna_in_pdx: Anna_in_pdx, you are the second person I know right now to be reading Dorthy Dunnett. Maybe I need to give her another go. I tried years ago but couldn't quite take it all in.
Finished up the month with one more Meg Wolitzer The Wife which I found very darkly humorous and a wonderful early novel by Pat Barker called Liza's England.
Finished up the month with one more Meg Wolitzer The Wife which I found very darkly humorous and a wonderful early novel by Pat Barker called Liza's England.
23anna_in_pdx
>22 laurenbufferd: I found the first couple of chapters in book 1 really hard to follow, and was debating chucking it. Then I started checking the notes on this website
http://nowyouhavedunnett.blogspot.com/
and I found out that I actually did understand more than I was giving myself credit for. Then it really started flowing for me a couple more chapters in. So it was more effort than usual to get into, but very much worth it. Now I am all excited for book 2. I just got it from the library and will start it this weekend.
http://nowyouhavedunnett.blogspot.com/
and I found out that I actually did understand more than I was giving myself credit for. Then it really started flowing for me a couple more chapters in. So it was more effort than usual to get into, but very much worth it. Now I am all excited for book 2. I just got it from the library and will start it this weekend.
24BookConcierge
>18 cindydavid4:
Someone else on GoodReads mentioned the TV series ... but didn't know if it played in the USA. Glad to hear that PBS picked it up. I'll check if my library has it on DVR.
Someone else on GoodReads mentioned the TV series ... but didn't know if it played in the USA. Glad to hear that PBS picked it up. I'll check if my library has it on DVR.
25BookConcierge
Big Little Lies – Liane Moriarty
Audiobook performed by Caroline Lee
4****
The novel focuses on three women – all with children in the Pirriwee Public kindergarten class. Jane is a single mom; at twenty-four she’s so young that many of the other mothers mistake her for Ziggy’s nanny on orientation day. Madeline has just turned forty; she quickly becomes Jane’s friend and champion, and her daughter Chloe becomes friends with Ziggy. Celeste is Madeline’s best friend; strikingly beautiful and very wealthy, she nevertheless struggles with her twin boys, Max and Josh.
Well, I thought I knew where this was headed … but I was wrong. Just proves that we never really know what is going on in other people’s houses, and sometimes, not even in our own tight circle of family and friends.
Moriarty uses the “minor” drama of helicopter parents to explore larger issues of school bullying and domestic abuse. The reader knows from the first chapter that someone has died … but who died and who was responsible will have to wait until the last 40 pages of the novel.
Discussing a different novel at my F2F book club last night, we talked about how many books there are these days with multiple narrators and multiple timelines, and how very difficult it is for the author to successfully employ this technique. Liane Moriarty does a fine job of it. Throughout the novel, she includes snippets of interviews / statements that are clearly taken AFTER the “incident at school trivia night.” These serve as a sort of Greek chorus to foreshadow events and to lead the reader down certain paths (sometimes intentionally misdirecting us). The major chapters are also divided among the three central women characters, so that the reader gets the perspective of each of them somewhat independent of the others … because, of course, each of them is keeping certain things secret from the others, and telling little lies to herself.
I loved these characters – yes, even when they did things that annoyed me. They seemed very real to me and I was quickly invested in their stories and eager to see how it would play out. Moriarty also gives the reader an entire community of secondary characters that fairly leap off the page … from the husbands, to parents, to teenagers, to “the blonde bobs,” and the local barrista, these characters lend depth and nuance to the lives of the three central women.
Caroline Lee does a fantastic job of voicing the audio book. She has good pacing and I never felt lost or confused about which character was the focus of each chapter. I did, however, read about a third of the book in text. It is definitely easier to sort out who is speaking and which elements are the interviews when using the text, because the publisher uses different fonts and paragraph indentations to set those apart.
Audiobook performed by Caroline Lee
4****
The novel focuses on three women – all with children in the Pirriwee Public kindergarten class. Jane is a single mom; at twenty-four she’s so young that many of the other mothers mistake her for Ziggy’s nanny on orientation day. Madeline has just turned forty; she quickly becomes Jane’s friend and champion, and her daughter Chloe becomes friends with Ziggy. Celeste is Madeline’s best friend; strikingly beautiful and very wealthy, she nevertheless struggles with her twin boys, Max and Josh.
Well, I thought I knew where this was headed … but I was wrong. Just proves that we never really know what is going on in other people’s houses, and sometimes, not even in our own tight circle of family and friends.
Moriarty uses the “minor” drama of helicopter parents to explore larger issues of school bullying and domestic abuse. The reader knows from the first chapter that someone has died … but who died and who was responsible will have to wait until the last 40 pages of the novel.
Discussing a different novel at my F2F book club last night, we talked about how many books there are these days with multiple narrators and multiple timelines, and how very difficult it is for the author to successfully employ this technique. Liane Moriarty does a fine job of it. Throughout the novel, she includes snippets of interviews / statements that are clearly taken AFTER the “incident at school trivia night.” These serve as a sort of Greek chorus to foreshadow events and to lead the reader down certain paths (sometimes intentionally misdirecting us). The major chapters are also divided among the three central women characters, so that the reader gets the perspective of each of them somewhat independent of the others … because, of course, each of them is keeping certain things secret from the others, and telling little lies to herself.
I loved these characters – yes, even when they did things that annoyed me. They seemed very real to me and I was quickly invested in their stories and eager to see how it would play out. Moriarty also gives the reader an entire community of secondary characters that fairly leap off the page … from the husbands, to parents, to teenagers, to “the blonde bobs,” and the local barrista, these characters lend depth and nuance to the lives of the three central women.
Caroline Lee does a fantastic job of voicing the audio book. She has good pacing and I never felt lost or confused about which character was the focus of each chapter. I did, however, read about a third of the book in text. It is definitely easier to sort out who is speaking and which elements are the interviews when using the text, because the publisher uses different fonts and paragraph indentations to set those apart.
26BookConcierge
Elephant Winter – Kim Echlin
3***
When she learns that her mother is dying, Sophie Walker must give up her nomadic lifestyle and leave Zimbabwe to return to the family farm in southern Ontario. As she contemplates her life, she looks out her mother’s kitchen window, at the snowy winter landscape … and a herd of Asian elephants. The adjacent property is not a farm, but a small safari park. Sophie interprets a gesture from the elephants’ trainer, Jo Mann, as an invitation, and ventures onto the park grounds. Thus, begins her “elephant winter.”
This is really a character-based story, though there are some significant events, including a couple of violent altercations. Mostly, however, Echlin treats the reader to Sophie’s thoughts as she considers her mother’s condition, her role as daughter, lover, friend, her past and future. And she has conversations with her mother, a wildlife painter, on the importance of work, of finding your passion, of following your dream, of being a mother.
I really liked Echlin’s writing style. There was something so quiet and comforting about it. And still her imagery is very vivid. Some examples:
The light over those snowy Ontario fields was short and grey and bleak. We were just past winter solstice and though I’d been home some weeks, I still found it odd to look through the kitchen window and see the curious face of a giraffe above the snowy maple trees.
I listened to the creaking of the barnboard, to the breath of the elephants, to the cracking to frozen branches outside. I could feel the elephants rumbling … For as long as I could I lay listening to all the sounds of the barn and beyond.
I heard her loneliness rattling around like a pea in a dried-up pod.
Winter came twice that year. The earth had been wet and fragrant and then there was a spring snowstorm. Chickadees tucked themselves against frozen tree trunks and curled their heads under plumped-up wings.
The thin dawn taped itself like a piece of old and yellowing cellophane to the horizon and the cold adhered to my skin.
Echlin intersperses chapters from Sophie’s work on Elephant language throughout the book. There are studies on elephants and their communication methods, but this is, of course, total fiction; still, I found it just fascinating.
Note There are scenes where animals are injured or die. Readers who are sensitive to such scenes are forewarned.
3***
When she learns that her mother is dying, Sophie Walker must give up her nomadic lifestyle and leave Zimbabwe to return to the family farm in southern Ontario. As she contemplates her life, she looks out her mother’s kitchen window, at the snowy winter landscape … and a herd of Asian elephants. The adjacent property is not a farm, but a small safari park. Sophie interprets a gesture from the elephants’ trainer, Jo Mann, as an invitation, and ventures onto the park grounds. Thus, begins her “elephant winter.”
This is really a character-based story, though there are some significant events, including a couple of violent altercations. Mostly, however, Echlin treats the reader to Sophie’s thoughts as she considers her mother’s condition, her role as daughter, lover, friend, her past and future. And she has conversations with her mother, a wildlife painter, on the importance of work, of finding your passion, of following your dream, of being a mother.
I really liked Echlin’s writing style. There was something so quiet and comforting about it. And still her imagery is very vivid. Some examples:
The light over those snowy Ontario fields was short and grey and bleak. We were just past winter solstice and though I’d been home some weeks, I still found it odd to look through the kitchen window and see the curious face of a giraffe above the snowy maple trees.
I listened to the creaking of the barnboard, to the breath of the elephants, to the cracking to frozen branches outside. I could feel the elephants rumbling … For as long as I could I lay listening to all the sounds of the barn and beyond.
I heard her loneliness rattling around like a pea in a dried-up pod.
Winter came twice that year. The earth had been wet and fragrant and then there was a spring snowstorm. Chickadees tucked themselves against frozen tree trunks and curled their heads under plumped-up wings.
The thin dawn taped itself like a piece of old and yellowing cellophane to the horizon and the cold adhered to my skin.
Echlin intersperses chapters from Sophie’s work on Elephant language throughout the book. There are studies on elephants and their communication methods, but this is, of course, total fiction; still, I found it just fascinating.
Note There are scenes where animals are injured or die. Readers who are sensitive to such scenes are forewarned.
