101 Books to Read Before You Die discussion
What are you reading?
The Vegetarian by Han Kanghttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A young Korean woman suddenly announces that she will no longer tolerate any meat products in her diet or home. But, this is not a healthy or rational shift to being a vegan. She is starving herself, no longer sleeps adequately, passively ignores social norms such as public nudity, and develops a strikingly flat affect as she withdraws from everyone. This story is told in three sections from three perspectives: her husband who regard their relationship as a marriage of convenience, her brother-in-law who has sexual fantasies of her and her sister who takes responsibility and feels tremendous guilt over her decline. This is an extremely well written and incredibly perplexing novel. Never inside the head of this largely silent character, her behavior is as confusing and frustrating to the reader as it is to her family. In the end, I wondered if this book was really about the three figures who revolve around this young woman than it is about her.
The Tent by Margaret Atwoodhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a collection of very short pieces. They range from the image of a dead cat torturing the souls of wicked people in cat heaven to Chicken Little being rebuffed by modern attempts to deny climate change, from dreamscapes to literary reimagining. These are very clever and sometimes quite funny.
The Likeness Dublin Murder Squad #2: by Tana Frenchhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A young murder victim is a dead ringer (every pun intended) for one of the detectives on the squad id and the name on her identification is the name that detective used for an undercover job. To catch the killer, it is decided that this detective should return to that young woman’s circle pretending to be her. The scenario is rather improbable. Yet, it managed to hook me. I think French is a master of characterization and dialogue. Her investigations unfold slowly with lots of details about the actions of the narrating detective, both on and off the case. By the time I am finished with one of her novels, I feel as if I would instantly recognize the lead investigator if s/he rang my doorbell.
The Water is Wide by Pat Conroyhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In 1969, Pat Conroy, a young idealistic teacher, accepted a position at a two room school house on an impoverished and isolated island off the coast of South Carolina. He is assigned the class of 5th-8th graders. The largely segregated school district of which this island was a part, had presumed that these Black children were inherently incapable of learning and treated them accordingly. He found a group of 18 students who could not recite the alphabet, let alone read, could not count to 10, let alone multiply, did not know the name of their country, let alone understand its history. This is his memoir of that year trying to engage, empower and expose these children to the wider world. Conroy obviously cares deeply for these children and is proud of his efforts, so this is an upbeat, funny and heart-warming book despite the frustrations of battling a discriminatory system.
Paco’s Story by Larry Heinemannhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The writing mesmerized me while much of the content repulsed me. The language was absolutely musical with its rhythm and assonance. The descriptive passages were pure poetry from a lengthy discussion of menu styles to the contents of a small town hardware store. Paco is a Vietnam vet drifting across America. We watch him for a few months while he is living in a cheap motel washing dishes at a little diner. He is doped up on pills and liquor to mute the brutal pain that cripples his body and psyche. The story is told by a ghost that hovers near Paco, one of his dead platoon mates. He narrates both Paco’s story as well as that of the medic who found him, the tattooed soldier, Gallagher, the self-destructive young girl who spies on him and so many more. We are asked to watch the gang rape of a Vietnamese teenaged girl and an old Eastern European jeweler talking to his long dead wife through the same lens of gorgeous and vulgar prose. This is a violent, haunting novel, deserving of its awards, but uncomfortable to read.
Finished
by Cynthia Bond-- 3 Stars.Narrated by the author (Awesome!) but didn't connect to this one as much as I'd hoped.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Behold the Mystery by Mark Harthttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is an explanation of the Catholic Mass including the role of the priest, the nature of community, the parts of the ritual and more. Because the author has designed this for a popular audience, he deliberately simplifies each topic he covers. He also appears to be addressing a reader whose understanding of the Liturgy is very basic and whose participation is perfunctory. I was not the right reader. However, as I read, I thought of people to whom I might suggest this book.
Finished
by Dan Chaon-- 3 Stars.Lots of good discussion, but ultimately left unfulfilled.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitakerhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Two talented art students meet in college and form a lifelong friendship and an award winning creative partnership. This novel follows their years together through substance abuse, physical illness, grappling with childhood demons, and professional success. I’m not sure why, but I did not enjoy this book. I think the author was trying to mimic the minimalist sketch style of animation, drawing scenes with a series of discrete moments. But rather than a sense of continuous movement, it felt flat. I was never engaged by the characters, never cared about the plot line, was never intrigued by the writing. It seemed as if the novel wallowed in a series of tragedies. From The first to the last page, I felt as if I was in the presence of a gigantic chip-on-the-shoulder. I simply could not wait to finish this book.
Finished
by Erin Morgenstern-- 3 Stars.UGH- wanted to love this one so much more than I did. Reading slump anyone?
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Persuasion by Jane AustenI read this because it was a selection in one of my GR groups. Although I can recognize what critics praise in it, I do not enjoy the romantic novels of this era.
Finished
by Marie Kondō-- 4 Stars.Really enjoyed this one, now just need to get motivated to actually apply all these new lessons.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Nutshell by Ian McEwanhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
McEwan has penned a contemporary variation on Hamlet. For the voice of the narrator, the son conflicted by his mother’s treacherous alliance with his uncle against his father, we are given a fetus, a fetus with the vocabulary, attitudes and reasoning of a droll, cynical 60 year old academic. As we listen to this unborn son wax poetic about various wine vintages, analyze international politics, comment on the banality of his mother’s sex life, and grapple with the moral dilemma of witnessing his mother’s betrayal of his father, we are aware that in two weeks, this child will enter the world unable to distinguish carpet fuzz from food, comprehend the permanence of unseen objects let alone the complexities of human psychology, to communicate the simplest word, let alone lengthy philosophical soliloquies. I found the narrator’s voice so unbelievable that I was unable to accept the remainder of the novel. In typical McEwan style, this was extremely wordy, a platform for the author to lecture on a range of social and political topics.
News of the World by Paulette Jileshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
What a wonderful story about the relationship between an elderly retired military captain and a frightened child ripped from her Native American family. Jiles wonderfully captures Texas of 1870 and the social forces that make up the southern frontier. Her characters pulse with life. Although this is a very short novel, Jiles does not rob the characters of the complexity needed to make their development feel honest. This is one of those books that I am buying so that I can share it with others.
Finished
by Chevy Stevens-- 3 Stars.Abusive Ex's, Canadian woods and a stalker on the loose...
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmondwww.goodreads.com/review/show/1948192957
I’m angry, frustrated, outraged, saddened, and so much more by this look at low income renting in the U.S. Although this ethnological study is conducted in a single city, Milwaukee, following a finite number of households, the statistics that pepper this book make it clear that his findings describe the majority of low income neighborhoods in U.S. urban centers. The injustice, the hopelessness, the generational impact is horrendous. Desmond gives us a highly readable, thought-provoking, challenging account of lives that most middle-class Americans will never see. Well researched and well written, this should be a must read for anyone who cares about social issues. 4.5 stars
Faithful Place by Tana French
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A cold case draws a detective back to the alcoholic family and impoverished neighborhood he left 22 years earlier. French’s detective novels tend to emphasize character development as much or more than the investigation. This was particularly true in this novel. The who-done-it took a back seat to the dynamics between these adult children of an alcoholic father, to the narrator’s processing of long buried childhood trauma. I always guess the perpetrator early in her books, although I do not always guess the motivation. 3.5 stars
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterlyhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This story of the contribution of African American women to the development of air flight and space rockets is an important and interesting piece of history. Unfortunately, I think many readers may find this book a bit dry. The women highlighted in this account all blended together for me, their stories were so similar that I could not distinguish them. The references to the larger Civil Rights Movement in the US always felt distant to the immediate story being recounted.
Finished
by Amor Towles-- 2 StarsReading slump continues...
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished
by James William Brown-- 2 Stars.This one just wasn't for me...
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardywww.goodreads.com/review/show/1957926485
This seemed to be an argument for cohabitation couched in a drama. Jude and Sue are in love and want to be together but resist the idea of legalizing that commitment. They both have had short failed marriages prior, both have family legends that say their clan is not suited for marriage and neither have close family to encourage them. But, late 19th century British society expects that couples are married before they live together and have children. So for nearly 2/3rds of this novel, we are treated to the arguments against marriage, the primary of which is that marriage immediately and irrevocably strips the relationship of any love, mutual respect or kindness. I enjoyed the early section of this novel as Jude matured. I tend to expect 19th century classics to pay little attention to the psychological dimension of the characters. But, Jude was a nicely rounded figure. Unfortunately, the book bogged down mid-way through. Much goes wrong for this couple. Jude relinquishes his adolescent dreams for his romantic relationship. Sue runs from coy to honest, from passionate to guarded and angry. But these other elements of these characters are given little attention as they roam from town to town only to give the same lines about their apprehension of marriage. There is a horrid tragedy late in the novel which should have been an incredible moment for mining the inner life of these figures and the dynamic in their relationship. Instead it is reduced to an excuse to turn a corner on their trajectory. I think this might have been a wonderful novella, but as a full length novel, it became repetitive.
Mod
by Erin Morgenstern-- 3 Stars.UGH- wanted to love this one so much more than I did. Reading slump anyone?
My Review:
https://www.go..."
I enjoyed that one, but I can understand why not everyone would like it. And I totally get the reading slump thing!
Mod
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This story of the contribution of African American women to the development of air flight and space rockets ..."
I've been looking forward to getting to this one. I have a hard time when characters aren't distinguishable as well, but hopefully it's got enough "nerdy" stuff that it won't be dry for me.
Finished
by Tana French-- 3.5 StarsSo far, my favorite in the series!
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapenawww.goodreads.com/review/show/1961813701
This missing baby mystery tries to capitalize on the popularity of the unreliable narrator. For me, it was not successful. Rather than the unreliability stemming from the limited perception of the narrating voice (e.g. alcoholism) or from an inherently deceitful narrator, the unreliability was conveyed by conflicting portrayals of key characters. This novel is narrated in the third person omniscient voice. Not only are the actions of the characters described, but their thoughts and feelings are also revealed. At various points in the novel, information about the inner life of one or another figure is contradicted by later revelations. This is more of a character study than a police procedural. We only see evidence collected during the initial few hours after the crime is reported. Evidence gathered after that first night is withheld from the reader. I found this bate and switch frustrating, as if the author had cheated on the rules of the literary contract. I am not sure why this novel has become so popular.
Finished
by Kayla Rae Whitaker- 4 Stars.this one was just SO good. So many trigger warnings...
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Being Mortal by Atul Gawandehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This thought-provoking look at the medicalization of the aging process in the United States is highly readable and engaging. Despite the technical background of the author, the book avoids falling into professional jargon. I agree with nearly every point Gawande makes about the tragic way our medical approach to the aging and dying process robs many in the U.S. of their dignity and sense of purpose.
Hotel du Lac by Anita Brooknerhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This novel is the perfect balance of quietly beautiful and quietly sad. Our narrator is a single woman on the edge of spinsterhood who is taking refuge in a Swiss luxury hotel during the off season to ride out an embarrassing breach of social expectations. In this quiet setting populated by eccentric cast-offs from love, she is surprised by what she comes to realize about herself. The atmosphere and characters are so vivid that I was easily drawn into the Hotel du Lac and became one of its residents where I developed a tender spot for each of these fragile individuals.
Finished
by Margot Lee Shetterly-- 1 starThis one was just not for me.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Exit West by Mohsin Hamidhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
When I realized that this immigrant story employed magical realism, I was leery since I generally do not like or understand this technique. But, it was used so sparingly and to such good effect that I was pleasantly surprised. Life in an unnamed Middle Eastern city becomes too dangerous when civil war breaks out prompting two young friends to flee to the West. By depicting the journey as stepping through a dark door, Hamid was able to shift the focus away from the deprivations and dangers of the migrant journey and onto the questions of belonging. The development of each of these young people was brilliantly portrayed with simple, spare strokes. Hamid also gives us brief glimpses of characters in far flung settings. I suspect that this was intended to make the story more universal, but I found it distracting and confusing.
Finished
by Shari Lapena -- 3.5 Stars.Nail biting, page turner of a mystery...
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeneyhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A large inheritance that does not fully materialize, a manipulative alcoholic mother and drug addicted middle-aged older brother, four adult siblings with an adolescent’s sense of entitlement form the background for this novel of family tension. More than unlikable, I found the characters and their situations uninteresting. The ending, with its easy resolutions and sudden maturation by each figure was too quick and too sweetly unrealistic. I found the jumping in time confusing and the multiplication of side characters with equally happy endings distracting, simply crowding the plot line.
Treatise on the Love of God by St. Francis de Saleshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a thorough exploration of the effect, nature, and demands of God’s incredible love in a human soul. There were sections that I found dry, overly technical, particularly those dealing with morality. But there were others that were soaringly beautiful, profoundly challenging, deeply insightful. There are parts of this book that I will be thinking about for a very long time.
Finished
by Ann Patchett-- 4 Stars.A stunning characterization of a diverse family spanning generations
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalianhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A woman with an extreme form of sleepwalking, goes missing. Although the plot revolves around the search for answers to what happened to her, the primary attention is on the 21 year old daughter and her romance with one of the detectives on the case. I realize that people grieve differently, but I had a hard time accepting that this young woman who withdraws from college to care for her father and sister in the immediate aftermath of this tragedy would hop into bed with this detective and friend of her mother days after she goes missing. She never felt quite like a believable 21 year old in crisis. Nonetheless, I found the subject unique enough that it captured my interest. 2.5 stars
Finished
by Alice Hoffman-- 4 StarsLoved this one- dogs, book references, and broken characters.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Also finished
by Dana Simpson-- 3 StarsFinished this one for a bookriot challenge.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smithhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
At its simplest, this is the investigation of a serial killer. But, that investigation is complicated by its setting in Stalin’s Soviet Union, a time and place where any neighbor might be an informant, random accusations result in perfunctory sentences to death camps and to voice an opinion contrary to official statements makes one a traitor. Since there is no violent crime in Stalin’s model society, there cannot be a serial killer in the woods. Can this husband and wife team track down this brutal murderer before they are executed by Moscow? The initial third of this novel, filled with starving, terrified Soviet citizens, innocent men facing torture, callous operatives, was difficult to read. But, once the murder mystery kicked in, I understood why the setting needed to be so extensively crafted and the atmosphere so well established. Although this is very violent, Smith did not exploit the gore. I did not guess any of the twists prior to their revelation. This book is certainly deserving of all its praise if you are able to stomach the violence and cruelty inherent in this story line.
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semplehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is one day in the life of a wealthy, sarcastic, selfish, mean-spirited middle-aged woman who despite a pledge to be a good person that day, immediately devolves into a neurotic, self-centered, irresponsible, caricature. This was supposed to be funny, but it just struck me as annoying. Maybe I am in the wrong frame of mind, because I thought “Where’d You Go Bernadette” was hilarious. 1.5 stars
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintoshhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Plot twists, ambivalent characters, mounting tension, romance, many will find this novel that spins around the hit and run death of a 5 year old to be addictive. There are a number of points that stretch credibility, much of which I would be most willing to accept. However, I have one pet peeve of which this novel is guilty. I have a knee jerk dislike of books in which the broken, reticent stranger moves into a town and immediately gets Prince or Princess Charming despite the numerous eligible potential partners living there. It is more than that I find this less than realistic, it is that it is so over used that it is a glaring lack of imagination on the part of the author. When that worn out romantic template was trotted out in the first half of this novel, I turned off and nothing the author did could draw me back in. 2.5 stars
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undsethttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Originally published in three volumes, this trilogy chronicles an early 14th century Norwegian woman, mistress of a substantial estate, from childhood through her death half a century later. Undset is a Nobel Prize in Literature winner, so it is not surprising that her prose is solid, although not particularly poetic. What I really enjoyed about this novel was the opportunity to be immersed in a time whose daily cultural details I know little about. This was published nearly a century ago, so I do not know if subsequent historical research has altered our understanding of daily life in 14th century Norway, but I suspect that this novel gets more right than not.
The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrantehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The intimacy, the vivid complex characters, the pulsing sense of place continues in this second novel in this quartet about two bright, determined, struggling girls who grow up in a poor neighborhood in Naples in the years after the War, in a community where education is suspect and domestic violence is normal. Once again, I read, lost in this world, unaware of the passage of time or my physical surroundings. I should not wait so long before continuing this series. But, I am afraid to finish it and sever my relationship with these women.
Finished
by Nicola Yoon-- 4.5 rounded up to 5 Stars.All the feels-- this one was just so good for me, read my review to find out why.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Whole Town’s Talking by Fannie Flagghttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a very sweet, very light, easy to read account of the life of a small town in the American heartland. We watch this community from its birth in the late 19th century to its quiet death in the early 21st century. This is an idealized picture of the 20th century as lived out in an idealized semi-rural community full of Founder’s Day pageants and box dances, high school sweethearts marrying, raising lovely, polite children and continuing to love each other beyond death. These town’s folk may be quirky but they are always kind-hearted. Any bad comes from the outside world, all wrongs are set right in the end, and goodness has the final word. 2.5 stars
My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strouthttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I don’t know how this author braids together so many threads of memory, yet never leaves go of the reader’s hand. These interlocking memories dip and weave, conjuring one episode and surfacing in another, just enough detail to allow us to sense the power or significance of that moment, but never bringing the edges into sharp lines. For five days during a prolonged illness when Lucy was a young mother, her own mother traveled half way across the country to sit at her hospital bed, the first time she had left her small Illinois town. Two decades later, her own girls grown, her parents dead, Lucy recalls those five days, her struggles growing up in a poor home marred by her father’s PTSD, and her own limitations as a mother. With subtle language, Strout leads her protagonist and her reader to a gut level realization that, despite being wounded and loving imperfectly, parents love their children and children love their parents. And, that must be enough because that is all any of us can do.
Finished
by B.A. Paris-- 3.5 StarsI flew through this one- enjoyed it, even though parts seemed a little too unrealistic-- I went with it.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Broken Harbor by Tana Frenchhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A family attacked in the middle of the night, three dead, one barely alive. Who would do such a terrible thing and why. I think this has been my favorite in the Dublin Murder Squad series so far. Although there was still ample character development, I felt that it was less of a focus than in the prior novels. I also did not guess the resolution to the investigation prior to its reveal as I had in the earlier books.
A Faith of Her Own by J. Ellsworth Kalashttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In 12 short, easy-to-read chapters, this Methodist minister introduces the reader to several women from the Hebrew Scriptures and plumbs their story for a spiritual lesson. Discussion questions for each chapter is provided in the back of the book for group study. I considered using this text for a summer group at my church. I appreciated that he spun off into speculation less frequently than many similar spiritual writers. I was hindered by two chapters, one that highlighted a non- existent character and the other an archetype.
Finished
by Tana French-- 3.5 Stars.#4 in the Dublin Murder Squad series- enjoyable but a teensy bit too long for me.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
101 Books to Read Before You Die
Books mentioned in this topic
Persuasion (other topics)It (other topics)
The Immortalists (other topics)
The Hate U Give (other topics)
Timekeeper (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jane Austen (other topics)Madeline Miller (other topics)
Sarah Henning (other topics)
Sarah McCoy (other topics)
Sarah Pekkanen (other topics)
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Allen is a respected journalist who has covered the Vatican for many years. It is as an experienced journalist that he identifies and explains ten trends that are having and will continue to have a significant impact on the institutional Catholic Church and its life on the grassroots level. These trends range from external forces such as developments in the biotech world or the growth of Islam to internal forces such as the proliferation of lay leadership to the shift in Catholic population to the hemisphere. Allen pulls in facts and quotations from every sector of society and every corner of the globe to paint a picture that avoids parochialism. From the outset, he makes it clear that this book is not predictive but descriptive. Although he suggests possible ways each trend may likely be evident in the future, these are large stroke statements and never argue for a particular response on the part of the institution or its members. Allen managed to communicate an amazing amount of information in a highly readable and thought provoking fashion.