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What I'm Reading FEBRUARY 2014
Just finished Japantown: A Thriller by Barry Lancet. Pretty good thriller. Here is my review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Larry wrote: "Gina wrote: "Finally finished Dracula tonight - this cold evening of February. It's an amazing book and is probably the first and last vampire book I'll ever need to read. "Gina, I'm not a vampire fan either. The genre just doesn't interest me. But I did make an exception of Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot and was glad that I did ... once I got over being scared ... a few years later.
Thanks for the recommendation. Goes on my TBR shelf.
Finished reading
The Awakening by Kate Chopin – 4**** During another summer spent with her husband and children on Grande Isle, LA, Edna Pontellier awakens to the realization that she has stifled the person inside her. I could not help but think about Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth as I read this novella. I see so many parallels between Lily Bart and Edna. The novella unfolds slowly, with limited dialogue, but a vivid sense of place. I enjoyed every minute of it.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Dan Simmons is a great writer himself, and his review that he posted on Facebook of this new book, The Martian, by Andy Weir, is a great review of a great new book (a lot of greats in this sentence.) I've spent the day shoveling snow and reading this book. I'm two-thirds of the way through and cannot believe how good it is. It is everything that Dan Simmons claims that it is.DAN SIMMONS' REVIEW (AS POSTED ON FACEBOOK TODAY) FOLLOWS:
An Unsolicited Blurb from Dan Simmons for --
THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir, Crown books, just released two days ago. (See cover below)
Publishers and other writers who know me are aware that I do very, very few blurbs for new books. Most of the reason is selfishness -- since I'm working almost every day of the year to meet my own novel deadlines, reading almost every day to add to the research, then having only bedtimie to read the books of my own choice, I simply don't do many blurbs.
This doesn't qualify as a blurb because the book is already out and I received it from Amazon yesterday. I finished it this morning.
THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir (whom I've never heard of until I read this novel) is by far the finest SCIENCE-science-fiction novel I've ever read. It is -- and I've never said this about any book -- almost literally an un-put-downable book.
Its plot seems simple: a 6-person crew on the third successful Mars-landing mission, after only two days of a projected two-month stay on the Red Planet, are hit by a duststorm with 175 kph winds, tearing away their Hab's paraboloic antenna for contacting earth and ripping apart another receiving antenna. Their MAV -- Mars Ascent Vehicle -- is in serious danger or being blown over. Houston aborts the mission. But in getting to the MAV, one crewman -- the botanist and general handyman Mark Watney -- is impaled by a flying antenna and blown out of sight down a hill. Telemetry from the suit show decompression and zero life signs. The captain of the crew tries finding him in the terrible dust storm, even as the MAV tilts further and has to righted by MOS thrusters never meant to be used in atmosphere. Finally the captain gets into the MAV and they leave Mars, dock with the Hermes mother ship in orbit, and leave Martian orbit for the long 1-year ion-drive trip home.
But Mark Watney has survived. Turns out that a lot of vacuum-congealed blood makes a pretty good seal for a Mars EVA suit. When he gets back to the Hab, he has air and water -- but not nearly enough food to last until the next planned manned landing on Mars in four years,
His fight to survive and the hard science ingrained in every page and paragraph of Andy Weir's THE MARTIAN makes it, in my opinion, a novel that transcends the SF genre and if it is considered as SF, the best "hard science fiction" novel since Hal Clement's MISSION OF GRAVITY many years ago.
I recommend THE MARTIAN by young Andy Weir to anyone who loves the manned space program, or who loves science, or who loves a brilliantly written novel of unrelenting suspense and intelligence.
Book Concierge wrote: "Finished reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin – 4**** During another summer spent with her husband and children on Grande Isle, LA, Edna Pontellier awakens to th..."
Read this many years ago, you make me want to read it again. It's so often overlooked, but it's very strong.
Larry wrote: "Dan Simmons is a great writer himself, and his review that he posted on Facebook of this new book, The Martian, by Andy Weir, is a great review of a great new book (a lot of greats ..."I have to laugh, I ordered it this afternoon. It was recommended to me on Amazon (aka The Big Bad Wolf). I'd read the synopsis there and had to have it. :) Glad to know all the vibes were right.
I read a very well done book about organic gardening in the Pacific Northwest. However, it was so serious and detailed about everything that it made me feel like a flirty little dabbler for just thinking of just doing some lettuce, kale, tomatoes and herbs.
Just finished Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You: 13 Stories. Here's my take: This early collection of 13 stories by Alice Munro shows her at the top of her form. The stories seem artless, almost directionless, and then seize us by the hand and take us into a hall of illumination. A master of this form, she deserved the Nobel which was awarded to her last year. Oddly, in this book, I didn’t think the title story was the strongest. My favorites are “Material”, “How I Met My Husband” and “Marrakesh”. That said, Munro was incapable of writing a bad story.
I love Munro. I think I've read everything she's written.As for me, I'm still slogging through San Miguel for our discussion.
Book Concierge wrote: "Finished reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin – 4**** During another summer spent with her husband and children on Grande Isle, LA, Edna Pontellier awakens to th..."
I adore Kate Chopin! Her stories are achingly beautiful.
I love your comparison between Edna and Lily--makes me want to read both again.
Joan wrote: "Just finished Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You: 13 Stories. Here's my take: This early collection of 13 stories by Alice Munro shows her at the top of her form. The stories seem..."This looks like a great book. I'm adding it to my to-read list.
I finished San Miguel this morning and am going to start OFFSHORE by Penelope Fitzgerald next.
Beth wrote: "I finished San Miguel this morning and am going to start OFFSHORE by Penelope Fitzgerald next."I loved OFFSHORE, hope you do too.
Kat wrote: "Beth wrote: "I finished San Miguel this morning and am going to start OFFSHORE by Penelope Fitzgerald next."I loved OFFSHORE, hope you do too."
My husband really liked it, too. I'll let you know what I think. (I imagine I'll like it--my tastes run close to my husband's).
I started Rebecca Mead's "My Life in Middlemarch" and am loving it....wise and insightful. I bought the ebook of Middlemarch on Amazon for .99, and was offered the audio for 3.99 by Audible. I can listen to Middlemarch at home on my Ipad, and take a walk and listen to it on my Ipod Touch. I love having all of these different choices.
Finally found a book I'm enjoying (no small feat in this winter of my reading discontent) -- A Constellation of Vital Phenomena: A Novel.
Book Concierge wrote: "Finished reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin – 4**** During another summer spent with her husband and children on Grande Isle, LA, Edna Pontellier awakens to th..."
It's been a long time since I've read any of her work.
I can only think how horrified she'd be if she saw Grande Isle nowadays. We drove down there a couple of years ago and it was completely changed from when I was young. Maybe we didn't explore enough, but I didn't see anything worth visiting for anymore.
There must be pockets of what she knew still there, but we didn't see them.
Newengland wrote: "Finally found a book I'm enjoying (no small feat in this winter of my reading discontent) -- A Constellation of Vital Phenomena: A Novel."Just ordered it.
Bah, I broke my challenge. Did I really think I could not buy a book. I just ordered it also, Ruth.
Larry wrote: "Dan Simmons is a great writer himself, and his review that he posted on Facebook of this new book, The Martian, by Andy Weir, is a great review of a great new book (a lot of greats ..."I was just at the library and a woman was picking up this book. She had ordered it and was the first to get it. Everyone at the circulation desk was talking about it. On the tbr it goes!
Just finished moliere's Tartuffe. What a pleasure to read.
Joan wrote: "Just finished Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You: 13 Stories. Here's my take: This early collection of 13 stories by Alice Munro shows her at the top of her form. The stories seem..."Joan, you scared me when you said that Munro received the Nobel shortly before she died. She is still very much alive!
Barbara wrote: "Joan wrote: "Just finished Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You: 13 Stories. Here's my take: This early collection of 13 stories by Alice Munro shows her at the top of her form. The..."I thought so too, Barb. Googled the heck out of her until I could find no news of her death. Whew!
I recently read a collection of essays A Day at the Beach: Recollections by Geoffrey Wolff. I hadn't heard of the fellow, but was wondering whether some of you may be familiar with him? I liked the book a lot, but realize he isn't for everyone.
He's the older brother of Tobias Wolff whose writing I love, but I've never read Geoffrey. He is in Tobias' memoir, This Boy's Life.
Ann wrote: "I just finished The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Nigerian authorLola Shoneyin. Sheila recommended it here on Constant Reader.I never imagine that I would get..."Ann, glad you enjoyed it
Thanks, Barbara -- his younger brother Toby makes a Special Guest Appearance or two.
Just finished "The Skull", an interesting resurrection short story by Dick, predictable but yet thought provoking, particularly about the immutability of time.
Sheila, Regarding The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives
When I taught refugee students I was surprised to find out there was still polygamy among the Sudanese (even if they were not Muslim) and Somali Bantu. The only other book I have ever read where polygamy played such a prominent role was The Red Tent, about the family of the Biblical Jacob.
The family in The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives is not educated or rich. I liked the book not only because of the revelation of all those "secrets", but also because of its wit, irony and attention to character development.
Just read Serena by Ron Rash. I saw it on a list of 'must read before they turn it into a movie' ... which, apparently it is on its way. Knowing who plays the leads (I won't tell you - google it if you'd like to see their faces while reading), I could see them in the roles.
Really enjoyed it - I wouldn't have guessed it was written so recently.
Have just started
The Tartar Steppe / Dino Buzzati--can't tell if it's really historical or not. Seems like it's a parable and set in an unknown country, unknown time period. Maybe the book will give me some clues as I read on. I really liked the movie based on it: "Desert of the Tartars", so decided to read the book on which it was based.
Bridgette wrote: "Just read Serena by Ron Rash. I saw it on a list of 'must read before they turn it into a movie' ... which, apparently it is on its way. Knowing who plays the leads (I won't tell you - google it..."
I hated it, but I was pretty sure they'd grab it for a movie.
Bridgette wrote: "Just read Serena by Ron Rash. I saw it on a list of 'must read before they turn it into a movie' ... which, apparently it is on its way. Knowing who plays the leads (I won't tell you - google it..."
We read Serena in 2009. You might be interested in our discussion:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Just finished "Defending Jacob." Found similarities to "We Need to Talk About Kevin." However, the narrators were very different.
Finished reading
Articles of War by Nick Arvin – 4**** George Tilson leaves his Iowa home for Normandy as an eighteen-year-old recruit in World War II. Shy and unassuming, he keeps to himself and earns the nickname “Heck” because he doesn’t swear. This novella packs a big punch. The writing is at once reserved and intimately emotional. The combat scenes capture the chaos and confusion of a major battle. Heck’s fear, terror, and horror are intensely felt, as is his shame at his perceived cowardice.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have had Mansfield Park on my shelf for ages, but I am going to read the kindle edition. I will start it some time today. I am on the last few pages of The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll , I hope to finish soon. I have to put it aside for a while. I am tired from all that travel. It should be read as separate stories. I did not realize it was a group of seven novella's . Can you believe he is writing one more adventure for Maqroll.
Finished White Teeth by Zadie Smith this morning. Despair and humor often go side by side. This novel covers the long friendship of two men in England, one an immigrant and one married to an immigrant. We get three generations of stories showing the power religion has on our lives, the story of immigration, assimilation, immigrant children born in another country, holding on to old values, etc.
Just finished Maaza Mengiste's Beneath the Lion's Gaze set in Ethiopia this famiy saga shows how the upheaval of civil war sets friend against friend, father against son, husband against wife and catches young and old in its barbaric claws. Some really nice patches in this very credible first novel.
Gina, I loved White Teeth. I have liked Zadie Smith's other books as well, but none can compare to that one as far as I'm concerned.
Beneath the Lion's Gaze sounds good. Have you read Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese? Much of it is also set in Ethiopia. I found it compulsively readable.
Ann wrote: "Beneath the Lion's Gaze sounds good. Have you read Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese? Much of it is also set in Ethiopia. I found it compulsively r..."I'm listening to an audiobook of Cutting for Stone right now. I had downloaded it from the library a long time ago, when I was still using an iPod instead of my iPhone. It's absolutely wonderful, even though it's quite long. I'm a little over half-way finished.
Thanks, Sherry. My library owns that one and I keep meaning to listen to it. You have moved it up on my list.
Ann wrote: "Beneath the Lion's Gaze sounds good. Have you read Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese? Much of it is also set in Ethiopia. I found it compulsively r..."I read it a couple of years back and loved it see my GoodReads review, like Sherry I listened to the audio version. I think it is probably slightly the better of the two books, but I think Mengiste was taking more risks, some of which came of better than others, in tackling head on the barbarism of the regime and its impact on normal everyday people and their lives .
Ann, carrying on the other culture them I have just started Anita Amirrezvani's The Blood of Flowers set in Persia of the 1600s but thus far 100 pages in could be today. On the death of her father and in order to keep starvation from their door because as women they cannot work his fields, a young village girl and her mother have to seek refuge with their only surviving male relative, the father's half brother, a carpet maker to the Shah, in Isfahan. They effectively become servants in his house, but she has a way with the design of carpets. I await to see where the story goes.
I'm about a fifth of the way through Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific, and am experiencing that particular happiness of being only a small way through a long book that I'm finding enjoyable and interesting.
Sheila,I like both history and books about foreign cultures. My library has The Blood of Flowers, and it is now headed my way. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm looking forward to traveling to another time and world.
I haven't read much about Iran, but two non-fiction books that I really liked were Reading Lolita in Tehran and Things I've Been Silent About: Memories, both by Azar Nafisi.
I finished San Miguel for the Reading List discussion. It was not always enjoyable, but always well done. I thought Boyle caught women's voices and wonder how much having journals by two of the women helped him do that. (I've never read anything else by Boyle but the journals made me think of Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose.I've heard about Georgette Heyer's mysteries for ages, but never read any. So I picked up They Found Him Dead at the library and am reading it now. It is growing on me.
Larry wrote: "Dan Simmons is a great writer himself, and his review that he posted on Facebook of this new book, The Martian, by Andy Weir, is a great review of a great new book (a lot of greats ..."Almost halfway finished.....love his sense of humor. :)
Sherry wrote: "Ann wrote: "Beneath the Lion's Gaze sounds good. Have you read Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese? Much of it is also set in Ethiopia. I found it co..."I really loved Cutting for Stone. Barbara, you've a treat in store for you.
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Constant Reader
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Yes! I forgot about Salem's Lot too. Good book. And scary.