What are you reading the week of January 15, 2022?

I finished up Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner. It's a complicated book to discuss. Written in 1968, it has many flaws of the era. It was the height of the Cold War and during the Vietnam War. It is rabidly anti-Chinese and racist. It's disturbing to read it now; although, I suspect that it was not considered controversial at the time. It's an interesting kaleidoscope of a story told from many points of view. The effect is to draw a broad stroked picture of the world in 2010 when overpopulation, drugs, terrorism and warfare have run amok. I can't recommend it because of the racism, but it is an interesting and thought provoking novel.

Hope to start my new fiction tomorrow: Matrix, which is getting rave reviews.

Still reading and appreciating Call Us What We Carry.

And on audio for (occasional) commutes - 100 Things We Lost to the Internet.

Finished reading the complex Act of The Damned.

Next up for reading is The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas by Machado de Assis.

I've just finished Ocean Vuong's wonderful On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. I'll have a review up soon on my 50-Book Challenge and Club Read threads.

Today I started American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850 by Alan Taylor. It's a birthday present from my wife that I've been waiting to read since she gave it to me in July.

About 40% done with Black Water Sister. After that it'll be Palaces of Pleasure.

Just finished Hitler's Fremde Heere Ost; which I most certainly read the English language version (the touchstone defaults to the German edition).

Enjoying this audiobook via hoopla ~

The Woman in the White Kimono: A Novel
by Ana Johns
(Fascinating cultural info and pearls of wisdom)

I'm reading my Early Reviewer, Sisters in Art: The Biography of Margaret, Esther, and Helen Bruton by Wendy Van Wyck Good.

My copy of Lost & Found arrived and since I hadn't really started Matrix yet, I put it down to read this.

I’m reading Too Brief a Treat, a compilation of Truman Capote’s letters, and I’m listening to Rules of Civility by Amor Towles.

Finished listening to Strip Jack.

Next up for listening is Conjure Women by Afia Atakora.

>10 hemlokgang: I've got Conjure Women on my relatively short TBR stack. Looking forward to reading it sometime this year. Hope you like it.

I'm reading Swann's Way and finding it more readable than I feared. Its density is compensated by amazing descriptions and fascinating observations. I'm on my way to Tucson
for a week. It will either slow my reading or if I end up spending ages it airports, speed it up.

Still reading Project Hail Mary and Thale's Folly.

Last night finished David Sedaris's A Carnival of Snackery. Loved it but thought it ended abruptly.

Started Exciting Times, a quick read so far but very self-conscious and verbose.

While I still have the titular novella to read in The Office Of Historical Corrections, I started in on State Of Terror, the Clinton/Penny collaboration. After several days of having little or no reading time, I hope to settle in with it.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Allison Weir

From the library: Down a Dark River by Karen Odden

>16 perennialreader:
That was one of the 1st books I bought by her! I read and own the 1992 US paperback edition.

Packing For Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
Mary Roach
4/5 stars
One of my favorite authors is Mary Roach and she does not disappoint in this book about the space program and living in space. She discusses the myriad of problems of living in space including living in confined quarters, eating, washing and toilet issues. This still holds up even though it was written in 2010. I would love to see her write about the space program from where she ended this book.

I finished Weather by Jenny Offill yesterday afternoon. After reading 10 pages or so of 5 or 6 books I have settled into The Plot: A Novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz which is about a stolen plot for a blockbuster novel. I'm a third of the way through. Tension is building nicely.

>18 JulieLill: " I would love to see her write about the space program from where she ended this book."

Unpacking on Mars?

Ha! I crack myself up. Mary Roach is a favorite of mine, too.

I finished the wonderful On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. This is the book my wife selected for me to read as part of a continuation of a tradition we've enjoyed for several years. At the beginning of each calendar year, we each assign to the other a reading of the book we most enjoyed ourselves from the previous year. Obviously, the caveat here is that we endeavor to select books we think the other will enjoy. I absolutely loved this novel. I have a somewhat longer review on my 50-Book Challenge thread..

And in case anyone's interested, the book from my 2021 reading that I gave my wife to read was The Zelmenyaners: a Family Saga by Moyshe Kulbak.

And speaking, as I love to do, about my wonderful wife, on my birthday in July she gave me two books as presents. One, a history of the San Francisco Giants baseball team, I read immediately. The second was American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850 by Alan Taylor. I have now started reading this one, and 95 pages (about a quarter of the book) though I am finding it interesting, indeed. It's fascinating to get a fresh perspective on history I've read dozens of times throughout my life in one form or another.

I finished Thale's Folly by Dorothy Gilman. Pleasant, mindless read. Next up is The Troubadour's Tale by Ann Swinfen.

I have been captured by The Offing by Benjamin Myers new author for me and now one to follow up on.

Finished listening to Conjure Women which, in my opinion, would best be categorized as historical fiction/young adult.

Next up for listening is How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue.

I finished Watchmaker of Filigree Street last night. It was very well written and started off with tremendous potential but seemed to get bogged down in so, so many details. The last hundred pages were much too confusing and felt long. Still, great writing! I would definitely read something else by Natasha Pulley.

I picked up The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam. I was in the mood for an excellent, masterfully written novel and this is it.

>25 enaid: I loved Gardam’s Old Filth Trilogy!

>26 Copperskye: I also loved Old Filth! She is such a good writer. :)

Resistance Women – Jennifer Chiaverini
Book on CD narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
3.5***

This is a work of historical fiction concentrating on the women who worked in Germany as part of the resistance movement to thwart Hitler’s ambitions. Chiaverini uses research into the lives of real women – Martha Dodd, Mildred Harnack, and Greta Kuckhoff – who formed part of the “Red Orchestra” cell, relaying information to both the Soviets and the Americans, at great danger to themselves, their friends and their families. In an author note, she writes that she invented the Jewish student Sara Weitz, to fill out the quartet of women, but based her on real stories of Jewish women who also worked for the resistance.

I was engaged and interested from beginning to end. The novel spans the time from June 1929 to the year following the end of the war, 1946. I had to wonder at times, whether Chiaverini was lifting certain phrases and descriptions of the political climate that led to the rise of Nazism from current-day news reporting and commentary. It was chillingly familiar.

I did think that some of the story lines got overly complicated, while others just petered out. Sara’s story, in particular, fizzled away. But then, she is the fictional character, and the last chapters focus on the real women.

Saskia Maarleveld does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. She has a lot of characters to deal with and she managed to give them sufficiently distinct voices so that I was able to keep them straight.

Still reading Exciting Times, which isn't so exciting.

What is exciting is that I just got tix to see David Sedaris on his book tour in June! He is hilarious in person and worth every cent. Just downloaded The Best of Me, a collection of his essays.

Just finished The Song of Achilles, and found it enjoyable, though not as good as Circe. The biggest problem I had with this one was in reconciling Miller's wildly romantic presentation of Achilles as tender, loving, witty, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous -- oh, wait, that's the Boy Scout Oath -- with the arrogant warrior pouting in his tent while his countrymen died on the plains of Troy.

Will be picking up an ILL of The Witches Are Coming tomorrow, so won't start anything else until I have that in hand.

So many good books listed here! I’ve maxed out my holds list at the library. I have shelves heavy with tbr books, and I can hardly wait to use my indigo gift card from Christmas. At the moment I’m reading What the Body Remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin and listening to Becoming by Michelle Obama.

“O” Is For Outlaw – Sue Grafton
Audiobook performed by Judy Keye.
4****

Book # 15 in the popular Alphabet series starring private investigator (and former cop) Kinsey Millhone. It starts when a man who buys abandoned storage lockers calls to tell Kinsey he’s found a carton stuffed with personal memorabilia with her name on it. Turns out the storage locker belonged to her first ex-husband, Mickey.

Of course, it’s not so simple as that. Mickey’s been shot and Kinsey looks like a possible suspect. But who would go to the trouble to frame her? And what was Mickey up to that would get him shot?

I love that the series is set in a time before computers and cell phones, when investigators (whether police or private detectives) needed to be both inventive and persistent in tracking down all the leads and possibilities. The plot is suitably intricate but Grafton reveals little bits and pieces of the puzzle, letting the reader try to figure out the solution right along with Kinsey. I confess that I was unsuccessful until I was practically hit over the head with the information.

The ending was satisfying and somewhat touching. That last poignant paragraph was a nice surprise.

Judy Keye does a marvelous job of performing the audiobook. I loved the various voices she used for some of the more colorful characters: neighbor and landlord, Henry; Cordia; Duffy; Porter Yount.

Note: I read about four or five of these books early on and then stopped. A couple of years ago I re-read the first in the series and really enjoyed it. Now, after reading this one, I’m making a promise to myself to go back and read them all.

Forever Dobie-The Many Lives of Dwayne Hickman
by Dwayne Hickman
4/5 stars
This was a wonderful autobiography of Dwayne Hickman who starred in the TV series The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis which aired from 1959-1963. He talks about his life on the show, his career as an actor and life after being an actor including running a Las Vegas resort and later as a CBS executive where he managed comedic shows like MASH and more. Highly recommended!

Finished The Troubadour's Tale by Ann Swinfen. Liked it. Reading the last book in the series--The Stonemason's Tale.

Just finished reading the marvelous Posthumous Memoir Of Brás Cubas.

Next up for reading is Narcisse On A Tightrope by Olivier Targowla.

Just finished Stewart O'Nan's City of Secrets, which was somewhat disappointing.

Still waiting to get my hands on The Witches Are Coming. Couldn't get to the library today to pick it up -- will try again tomorrow.

Finished the excellent novella, Narcisse On A Tightrope.

Next up for reading is The Diary of Samuel Pepys by Samuel Pepys.

The Girl With no Shadow– Joanne Harris
Digital audio read by Susanna Burney
3***

In this follow-up to Chocolat Vianne Rouche and her daughter Anouk are living in the Montmartre section of Paris with new identities – Yanne Charbonneau and Annie – and a second daughter, Rosette. Yanne wants to eschew magic and keep her family safe from the winds of change. But on a particular Halloween the winds blow a new person into their lives – Zozie de l’Alba – a vivacious woman with lollipop-red shoes, and a hidden agenda.

This was an interesting sequel but I missed the humor and romance of the original. It’s a much darker tale and the way the novel is structured makes it a bit confusing. It’s written with three narrators – Yanne, Annie and Zozie – but there is little clue at the beginning of each chapter to let the reader know who is telling the story.

Still, it held my attention, and I liked the coming-of-age aspect of the plot. Anouk/Annie is a confused pre-teen who fights with her mother (typical) and feels misunderstood and unappreciated (typical). There were times I was seriously worried about her, but Harris gave me a satisfactory resolution. Not sure I’ll bother with book 3 in the trilogy.

Susanna Burney does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. She has good pacing, clear diction, and was able to sufficiently differentiate the characters when they were in dialogue with one another.

The new thread is up over here.