What are you reading the week of April 17, 2021?

I'm almost finished with The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika. Well, at least the main body of the text. There are a couple of hundred pages of appendices. I've decided that the ancient Greeks make A Game of Thrones look like a children's story. I'm not sure how they found the time to do anything outside of fighting with each other.

I had to take a break from Song of Susannah by Stephen King to read Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country by Sierra Crane Murdoch for my book club tomorrow. I hope I finish in time!

I am only about 45 pages from finishing Walter Isaacson's latest biography, The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race. It's a 500-page door stopper, that I have had to read forced march style for my book group, which meets tomorrow. Happily, the book is very interesting and very well written, so while I've had to carve out larger chunks of time than normal during the past week for reading, that hasn't felt particularly like a chore. I will add more reflection on the book in a day or so when I'm finished.

Still reading Moonflower Murders, The Fall of Koli, and The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion.

I was able to finish both DuMaurier’s The Scapegoat and Barbara Pym’s Less than Angels. I enjoyed both very much. I think The Scapegoat has become my favorite Du Maurier novel.
This week I’ll be reading another Pym novel, No Fond Return of Love, Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant, and Marian Keyes’ Watermelon.

Enjoying this OverDrive audio ~

Blink of an Eye (Kendra Michaels, 8)
suspense tale by Roy and Iris Johansen

Walk Two Moons – Sharon Creech
Book on CD performed by Kate Harper
5*****

From the book jacket: "How about a story? Spin us a yarn."
Instantly, Phoebe Winterbottom came to mind. "I could tell you an extensively strange story," I warned.
"Oh, good!" Gram said. "Delicious!"
And that is how I happened to tell them about Phoebe, her disappearing mother, and the lunatic.

As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold — the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.

My reactions
I never read this book, though I had heard of it. Well, I had heard the title, though I knew nothing about it. Somehow, I had it in my head that “Walk Two Moons” was the name of a Native American character in the novel. It isn’t. Rather it refers to a saying that you never really know someone until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins.

I was completely drawn into the book from the beginning, as I learned that Sal was forced to move from her beloved Kentucky farm some 300 miles north to a town where there wasn’t even a tree in her yard. I could completely understand and empathize with her distress over this move. (Heck, I’m facing a move in the next year or so from my home to a smaller residence and I’m not happy about it … at all.)

I loved the intergenerational nature of this story. Sal is on a long road trip with her grandparents as she tells the story of Phoebe and the lunatic. It’s clear that she has a close relationship with Gram and Gramps, though she is sometimes embarrassed by their behavior. I was happy for her that this relationship gave her a sense of security and comfort, when her missing mother and her father’s methods of dealing with that absence did not seem to be what Sal needed.

I also like how Sal’s own story was revealed as she told the story of her friend Phoebe. The similarities – and differences – provided a way for Sal (and the reader) to absorb what had happened, to face the truth, even if coming at it sideways.

I finished it sitting in the car, crying. It is sad, but still a hopeful ending as Sal and her father come to terms with all that has happened and begin to find happiness again.

Kate Harper does a marvelous job performing the audiobook. She really brought these young teens to life: Sal, Phoebe, Ben and Mary Lou. And I loved the voice she used for Gram - Huzza Huzza!

I finished V.S. Naipaul's A Bend in the River. In my reading it was primarily a book about displaced people; people living in foreign lands, villagers living in urban areas with no retrievable past or conceivable future and all the futility and frenzy that creates.

I finished The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson. Isaacson's latest biography is a long an fascinating account of the development of the science of gene editing, as filtered through the life, experience and accomplishments of Jennifer Doudna, co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020. Isaacson, a clear and straightforward writer, does an excellent job of weaving his narrative between Doudna's life story, the concepts of genetics, the progress of the science as discoveries are made, the many scientists that mentored Doudna and with whom she has collaborated and/or competed. For anyone interested, my longer review can be found on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

I had to interrupt a couple of books I was in the middle of to get to the Isaacson, which was a book group read, because the group was supposed to meet today and this book is almost 500 pages. But now our meeting is postponed to next week. Anyway, I now return to Sgt. Mickey and General Ike, Michael McKeogh's short memoir about serving as Dwight Eisenhower's aide before and during World War Two.

Just finished the LTER Whitecaps on the Lake, which was dreary, disappointing, and dull.

Now able to plunge fully into Ella Minnow Pea, which is absolutely delightful.

About half-way through A Desolation Called Peace and finished with War in Peace. Besides the novel some military hardware books will also be perused.

Having finished Arkady Martine's novel I noticed that I really can't keep Building Ho's Army much longer, so that went to the head of the line.

Finished the excellent essay collection, Autumn.

Now to finish A Swim In A Pond In The Rain by George Saunders.

I've just finished Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi; it was beautiful. I recommend it with all my heart. I don't think I've ever read a debut novel this powerful.

I don't know what I'm going to read next. I will be thinking of Homegoing for a while first.

Finished the fantastic A Swim In A Pond In The Rain.

Next up for reading is Moonglow by Michael Chabon.

I finished Sgt. Mickey and General Ike by Michael J. McKeogh and Richard Lockridge.

This is a short memoir by Michael McKeogh about his time spent as General Dwight Eisenhower's enlisted aide, orderly and driver before and during World War 2. Originally published in 1946, the book is essentially a hagiography. McKeogh quickly begins referring to Eishenhower as "the Boss," and essentially, other than an occasional bought of temper, the Boss can do no wrong throughout McKeogh's narrative. Well, maybe it is McKeogh's narrative. Harry C. Butcher, who was Eisenhower's Naval Aide during the war, says in his 2-page introduction, "Former Naval Lieutenant Richard Lockridge has caught the spirit of Mickey's story with uncanny perception. When I read some of the manuscript I could hear Mickey talking." So I assume this is an "as told to" situation, and I'd further guess that Lockridge was tasked not just with putting McKeogh's story into clean prose, but also with smoothing out any rough (or interesting) edges portrayed in Eisenhower's character.

So while this memoir provides a mildly interesting picture of the duties of an aide to a commanding general during wartime there are otherwise few particularly interesting historical notes on offer. As to the war itself, McKeogh (or Lockridge) reports very little. Toward the end there are some general descriptions of the death and destruction that the members of the command post saw as they moved forward, but by design a command post is in the rear of the action. Also, McKeogh (or Lockridge) tells us that he made a point never to eavesdrop on Eisenhower's conversations with other officers about the progress, plans or execution of the war, thinking that what he didn't know, he couldn't inadvertently let drop in the mess hall. That makes sense, though it doesn't make for particularly interesting reading. And who knows if that is McKeogh talking or Lockridge's explanation for why he's taken most of the intriguing conversations out of the book?

You can find a bit longer review, if you're interested on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

Next up I will return to Rashomon Gate, the second in American author I.J. Parker's Sugawara Akitada Mysteries series set in 11th Century Japan.

I got around to reading a book I'd been putting off since 2016- Between The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Right away, the prose is...so graceful (if that makes sense?) Coates really knows how to make a sentence flow. Content wise...oof. just oof. Hits you hard in the heart.

Just finished The Sinister Pig, and have decided I'm going to concentrate on the early Leaphorn & Chee books rather than the ones toward the end of the series. As Leaphorn moves farther and farther off the page, the books become less compelling.

Next up is Nine Perfect Strangers, by Liane Moriarty. It's been in the TBR stack for a while.

The Unteachables – Gordon Korman
Digital audiobook performed by a full cast
4****

From the book jacket: The Unteachables are a notorious class of misfits, delinquents, and academic train wrecks. Their teacher is Mr Zachary Kermit, the most burned-out teacher in all of Greenwich. He was once a rising star, but his career was shattered by a cheating scandal that still haunts him. After years of phoning it in, he is finally one year away from early retirement. The Unteachables never thought they’d find a teacher who had a worse attitude than they did. And Mr. Kermit never thought he would actually care about teaching again.

My reactions:
This was a fun, enjoyable middle-grade book about kids – and at least one teacher – who need a little extra help and a hefty dose of understanding and empathy. The two central students are Kiana, a temporary transfer from California who’s living with her Dad and Stepmom while her mother (an actress) is on location, and Parker, a local student who still can’t read, though he CAN drive. The rest of this special class of eighth graders is made up of kids with a variety of issues and special gifts: anger-management, dyslexia, an injured former star-athlete with limited academic success, a gifted artist, a student whose large size makes everyone assume aggression, etc.

I loved how the kids came to understand one another, and how they came to understand their teacher and his struggles. I cheered at their efforts to right the wrongs they witnessed. And I was glad that some of the adults stepped up to the plate to admit past mistakes and try to right past injustices that may have resulted.

I think that young teens and middle-grade students will particularly like the focus on what the kids CAN do. Put down and bullied, they are clearly NOT helpless victims. Bravo!

The audio version is performed by a full cast: Sarah Beth Goer, Oliver Wyman, Josh Hurley, Tristan Morris, Chris Gebauer, Sean Welsh Brown, Pete Larkin, Fred Berman, Jennifer Nittoso. Though I’m not certain which actor voices which character, I can say that they all do a marvelous job.

>13 ahef1963: I loved Homegoing too! I can see why it's hard to figure out what to read now.

Enjoying this iTunes audiobook very much ~

Klara and the Sun: A novel
by Kazuo Ishiguro
(fascinating tale about Klara, an Artificial Friend, and her daily life/unusual plot twist)

Finished listening to the newest installment in the Maisie Dobbs series, The Consequences Of Fear.

Next up for listening is Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie by Lisa Napoli.

I finished the LTER book, The Immune Mystery. This book is partly a memoir and partly an account of a scientific investigation. The science is described in a manner easily understood by the non-scientist using analogies. It's engaging and interesting. At the end of the book is a listing with a brief description of many autoimmune diseases.

Beneath the Bonfire – Nickolas Butler
Digital audiobook performed by Holter Graham, Luke Daniels and Andi Arndt
4****

In this collection of short stories Butler explores relationships: men and women; male bonding; fathers and children; people and the land.

In one story a group of young couples has a “chainsaw party” … cutting firewood for the coming winter, and two long-term friends’ paths diverge. In another an aging environmentalist takes matters into his own hands after he hears news of a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. And then there is the story of a group of men who annually hunt for morels in the woods of their youth, and find despair instead. A man and his wife work to clear out his recently deceased mother’s home, and he comes to a decision about their future. Two women help one another seek revenge against a man who has hurt many. A man inherits a family and grows into fatherhood.

The ten stories are dark and mesmerizing, Butler’s characters are lonely and yet reaching out for connection. I recognize the landscape which can be brutally unforgiving for the person not experienced or equipped to survive the dangers of the north woods. I’ve been in these bars, hiked the wooded trails, fished on the pristine lakes (but NOT ice-fishing), stayed in remote cabins where you’re more likely to see deer or even a bear than another human. I could smell the wood smoke, hear the squeak as I walked across a snow-packed path, taste the butter-soaked morels, feel the sting of icy sleet and the almost uncomfortable warmth of a blazing fire.

The audiobook is marvelously narrated by a trio of skilled voice artists. I have no idea which artist reads which stories, but they are all equally good. I can hear the gravelly, whisky-soaked, cigarette fueled rasp of a lonely man, and also the quiet, despair of a woman who has been beaten down by life. They give the listener the exuberance of youth and the quite confusion of an older woman’s encroaching dementia.

I am really enjoying Lost Voices by Award winning Australian author Christopher Kock it is a gem, I shall be following up on his writings.

>13 ahef1963: Homegoing was one of my favorite books in 2018.

I’m reading the second in the Maisie Dobbs series, Birds of a Feather, and This is Happiness.

I have just finished reading the book DONNIE BRASCO by JOSEPH PISTONE

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Homo Mysterious: Evolutionary Puzzles of Human Nature
David P. Barash
3.5/5 stars
Barash explores the history of mankind and why humans do the things that they do. Topics he explores, include religion in culture, how did art develop, the development of consciousness, the different life spans between men and women and much more. While he explores these questions, he also raises more questions that have yet to be answered. Very interesting!

>13 ahef1963: - Okay, y'all have convinced me -- I've just put Homegoing on my wish list.

I finished Nine Perfect Strangers last night, and must say it wasn't Moriarty's best work. It's always surprising to read the reviews by other LTers -- such a wide divergence of opinion on so many books, and this was one that spanned the whole range, from "best book I've ever read" to
couldn't finish it."

Will tackle Bob Woodward's Rage next. Even though The Donald is out of the White House, his actions are going to continue to reverberate through our society for decades, which makes what might have been a short-shelf-life book on former current affairs into something with more legs.

I finished Rashomon Gate by I.J. Parker, the second novel in Parker's Sugawara Akitada Mysteries series, set in 11th Century Japan. Our man Akitada is a relatively low-level nobleman who holds down a boring government administrative job but who in the series' first book acquired a reputation for being able to solve mysteries. So these are mysteries of the "talented amateur is smarter than the police" variety. In this novel, Akitada has been asked by his former mentor to return to the royal university to help unravel a blackmailing scheme. Murders ensue and complications arise, as we knew they would. I've written a bit more on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

I've now started on a much weightier book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee.

The new thread is up over here.