Paging All Bookworms! discussion
Book, Books, Books & More Books
>
What are You Reading / Reviews - Jan 2016
Neil DeGrasse Tyson,
Death by Black Hole and other cosmic quandaries
[2007] 384 pagesLike the many books of essays by Stephen Jay Gould, this is a collection of columns from Natural History; and like Gould, Tyson is a good writer with a knack for simple explanations of science. This book seems rather simpler than those, although that may just be because I know more about astronomy than biology. It covers most of the topics of astronomy from planets to the big bang, at a very basic level without much depth. It is written at the lower level of popular science writing, without any mathematics, for the person who knows little about science; it would be a great book for a middle school student (and that's the audience which would probably best appreciate his often corny jokes). But it has something for the more advanced reader as well; the fun is in the details -- many historical anecdotes, such as the explanation of why Percival Lowell saw spokes on Venus, and facts that I had never come across before. There is a certain amount of "gosh-wow", but less than I would expect from a book at this level. Although the essays were written over a ten year span, they seem to have been revised to include the latest developments up to the time it was published nine years ago. Because of the originally independent nature of the selections, there is a certain amount of repitition; the organization is by topics. It ends with a section on "Science and Culture" mainly lamenting the scientific illiteracy of American culture and the "intelligent design" nonsense. A good introduction for absolute beginners, and a fun read for the rest of us.
James wrote: "Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Death by Black Hole and other cosmic quandaries
[2007] 384 pages
Like the many books of essays by Stephen Jay Gould, this is a collection of columns from Natural History; ..."
Hmm.. This sounds like something to give my non-science brain an intro to astronomy. We were just watching an episode of Cosmos last night.
Mod
Still Life – Louise Penny
3***
From the book jacket: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team of investigators are called to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jean Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, has been found dead in the woods on Thanksgiving morning. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident, … but Gamach smells something foul …
My reactions
This is the first in a series of mysteries featuring Chief Inspector Gamache. I’ve heard much about this series and have several friends who are devoted fans, but I thought it took a very long time to take off. There was very little action, and a lot of time spent on exploring the relationships among the residents of Three Pines, and the investigative team members. There were several twists and turns in the plot and I was definitely kept guessing. Even so, the reveal felt anti-climatic.
I’ll give the series another try, mostly on the strength of my friends’ recommendations. It wasn’t a bad book, but it didn’t grab me as I expect mysteries to do.
Mod
Carry On – Rainbow Rowell
Audiobook performed by Euan Morton
2**
From the book jacket: Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen. That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right. Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. … Carry-on is a ghost story, a love story, and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story – but far, far more monsters.
My Reactions
I kept hearing about Rainbow Rowell and how much people loved her other books. When my niece’s birthday came up in the fall, I trusted the bookseller that this would be the perfect gift. I should have read it first. I should have at least read the book jacket. Totally my fault.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. It’s just too over-the-top for my tastes. I didn’t believe in the characters and their relationships. I thought the dialogue was tortured and ridiculous. Not to mention the plot elements. For a long time I thought it was just a rip-off of Harry Potter, with a gay romance subplot.
Like I said, totally my own fault for not at least reading the book jacket first.
On the plus side, Rowell does a decent job of exploring a new relationship, especially the anxiety of a teen coming out as gay (or a vampire, for that matter). She also does a pretty good job when writing suspenseful / thriller scenes. 1 star for that.
Euan Morton does a fine job narrating the audiobook. I give his performance 4****, and raise the entire rating to 2 stars as a result.
Mod
The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe by David I. Kertzer (★★★)
The Forgotten Plague: How the Battle Against Tuberculosis was Won – and Lost by Frank Ryan M.D. (★★★★)
The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly: A Physician’s First Year by Matt McCarthy (★★★★ ½ )
After Alice by Gregory Maguire (★★)
To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris (★ – DNF) 
Humans of New York Stories by Brandon Stanton (★★★★★)
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Prince of Darkness: The Untold Story of Jeremiah G. Hamilton, Wall Street’s First Black Millionaire by Shane White
Daddy, Stop Talking!: And Other Things My Kids Want But Won’t Be Getting by Adam Carolla
Mod
The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Ri..."Paul must be taking lots of naps for you to get this much reading done! LOL
Mod
Oh, I wish lol. Although he is a pretty great sleeper - sleeps for 12 hours at night and take an hour nap. It's more attributed to my insomnia and the 3ish hours of sleep I get a night lol.
Finished reading already:Mycroft Holmes
The Dude's Guide to Manhood: Finding True Manliness in a World of Counterfeits
Conquering Gotham: A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels
Googled: The End of the World as We Know It
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Billy Budd, Sailor
H is for Hawk
Dad Is Fat
Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals
The Money Pit: The Story Of Oak Island And The World's Greatest Treasure Hunt
Currently reading
Two Graves
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Grapes of Wrath
More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity
Its been a busy month!
Mod
I am currently reading:A Perfect Evil by Alex Kava
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward
Book Concierge - I read Philbrick's book on a recommendation and it was amazing. Moby didn't excite me. He gave hours and hours of dissertation on whaling or what it would be like to be on a ship. If Melville had just covered the Pequod it would have been much more enjoyable of a story.
Mod
Claude & Camille – Stephanie Cowell
3***
The subtitle is all the synopsis you need: A Novel of Monet. Cowell gives us a fictionalized look at the early to middle years of Monet’s career, when he met, wooed and married Camille Doncieux … and painted her in many poses and settings.
The novel is told in two time frames, each section being introduced by an early 20th-century Monet, writing from his Givenchy home circa 1908, and then followed by the late 19th-century time period evoked in his memory, starting in 1857 and ending in 1879. The reader learns of his early struggles, his developing relationship with Camille, and with the other young painters who formed the Impressionists movement – Pissarro, Renoir, Degas, Bazille, et al.
Cowell does a good job of giving the reader a sense of the time and place, as well as the enthusiasm of youth, the passion of working toward one’s dream, the camaraderie of friends, and the safety of a steadfast love. Not to say that all was easy for Claude and Camille. It wasn’t. Their families didn’t approve, their friends were skeptical, their precarious finances made it almost impossible for them to be together for long stretches of time. But Camille’s devotion to Monet did not waiver.
All in all, it’s a good work of historical fiction, with a true-life romance at its core.
At the end of the book, the author includes some historical notes in which she outlines what is fact, and what is fiction in the novel. She also includes a list of the paintings mentioned in the book, and where the works are currently held.
In the Neighborhood: the search for community on an American street, one sleepover at a time - Peter Lovenheim
4****
When a murder-suicide happens down the street from him to people he did not know, Peter Lovenheim questions how he could not know his neighbors and wonders how many other people on the street knew them. He realizes he knows few of his neighbors. He has moved back to this street with his family, to the house where he grew up, when his parents moved to an apartment. As a journalist he decides to pursue this question of neighborhood through getting to know his neighbors and getting their perspectives on community.
His method is to meet several times with people in a neutral environment and then to ask to shadow them on a typical day by sleeping over and observing from the time they arise. Needless to say he gets a lot of 'no thank yous'. The book highlights the families he meets, the mailman, the newspaper deliveryman, a neighborhood walker, and the couple involved in the murder-suicide. Of course, his own personal life is also covered, making this a memoir/investigative journalistic piece.
By no means is it a sociological study. There is not enough in depth research and many points are not addressed. But for a book that makes you think about how connected or not we are and what might be improved if we made those connections, it was eye opening.
What I plan to read in January--we'll see!!From the library or my shelves:
A Christmas Carol
Island of Bones
If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O
Finished this Month:
Thirteen Chairs
Gris Grimly's Frankenstein
The Marvels
The Body In The Transept
A Discovery of Witches
Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace
Ashley Bell
When Did You See Her Last?
Burial Rites
Cast, in Order of Disappearance
The Friday Night Knitting Club
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller
Testimony
She Walks These Hills
After Alice
Floating in My Mother's Palm
Welcome to Night Vale
THIRTEEN CHAIRS by DAVE SHELTON4 stars
Part of the reason that I rounded this up to 4 stars was because my 13 year old granddaughter also read the book and I loved being able to talk to her about it!! It's about a boy who goes into an old house that is rumored to be haunted and while there discovers a group of people sitting around a table in a room lit only with candles. He joins the group and each person proceeds to tell a ghost story and then blow out their candle. Finally it comes down to the young boy being the only one left to tell a story. These were not over the top scary but a couple were a little creepy. If you have a teen or preteen who enjoys reading ghost stories, this would probably do it for them.
GRIS GRIMLY'S FRANKENSTEIN
4 stars
I really enjoyed this graphic novel. Not only were the drawings beautifully rendered but the way this is written was so much easier to read even though I feel that there is no loss in the integrity of the original. I have read Frankenstein once, listened to it once and now read the graphic novel. I think that I've finally grasped the entirety of the book. If you've tried to read the novel and couldn't slog your way through it, give this a try!
THE MARVELS by BRIAN SELZNICK
5 stars
Reviewed for the Mock Caldecott Awards. I loved this book, not just for the illustrations which are wonderfully detailed pencil sketches, but for the lovely heart warming story that goes along with them. The book is divided into 2 major parts. The first is from 1766 and this section tells a story entirely in pencil sketches. It tells the story of young Billy Marvel, who survives a shipwreck and ends up working in the theater. This is the start of several generations of us family acting and working in the theater business, with great success. The second section is from 1990 where Joseph Jervis is a young man who has run away from his school to find his uncle. When he finally finds him, his uncle is living by himself in a strange and fascinating house that feels like time is standing still and that the past and it's inhabitants are still there in the house. As Joseph tries to sort out the mystery of his uncle's life, the reader is able to start putting the two tales together and the result is a beautiful story of love and commitment. The book is monstrous but don't let that put you off because more than half of it is illustrations and the actual written story is an easy read.
THE BODY IN THE TRANSEPT by JEANNE M. DAMS
4 stars
The first book in the Dorothy Martin Mysteries. I read this for our Mystery Book Club and am fairly sure that I've read it previously but it had been long enough that I remembered absolutely nothing about the story. Just a nice little cozy where Dorothy Martin who is recently widowed has moved from America to England and suddenly finds a body as she leaves the church after Christmas Mass. Naturally, she immediately takes it upon herself to "help" the police by doing a little sleuthing on her own. Neither a ghostly monk nor the almost poisoning of her cat can deter her from tracking down the killer. I love reading books about older women solving crimes--or at least trying to!!
A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by DEBORAH HARKNESS
3 stars
I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book but it was not at all like I expected. I will say that I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first half and I probably will go on to try the next book in the trilogy but I just wasn't wild about it. I listened to the audio version and the reader, Jennifer Ikeda, was fine but not inspired and that may have something to do with how I felt about the book. Diana Bishop, who comes from a long line of witches, is studying in the library one day when she comes across a bewitched alchemical manuscript. She only looks at it briefly but normally stays away from sorcery and so she returns it. But the activity of looking at it sets a stirring among the witches, demons and vampires of the underworld and strange things are now occurring in her life. One vampire, Matthew Clairmont, appears to her and she is drawn to him. Their relationship goes from curious to friendly to romantic fairly quickly, even though this is not a generally accepted activity in their circles. Luckily, for me, there is no explicit sex in the book and the few times they are together the descriptions remain fairly tame. I know some folks like the action to heat up a bit more and I hope that doesn't discourage folks to give this a try.
SMALL VICTORIES by ANNE LAMOTT
3 stars
We read this for my Mix It Up book discussion group this month. I listened to the audio which was read by the author and from others in the group said, this was a mistake and is probably why I didn't really think this was a great book. I will say that I appreciated some of the irreverent things that she came up with but her reading voice is so monotonous that I just couldn't get into most of what she was saying. It also seemed like almost everyone she knew either had cancer themselves or were dealing with it in their families. I know that many people probably know a number of people who are going through this but because of a number of close family issues that have all arisen in the last month, this was just about the last topic that I wanted to read about. Just to be fair to the author, I'll try to read another one of her books to see if I feel any differently. Just about everyone else in the book club enjoyed it so don't lean on my review very heavily.
ASHLEY BELL by DEAN KOONTZ
4 stars
I enjoyed this new book by Dean Koontz--it was to my way of thinking, quite a departure from the normal themes of his books. Oh, it was the same kind of atmospheric, paranormally laced story but it just took off in a direction that I never expected. Bibi Blair is a young woman, the product of two hippy surfers, who is not only an amazing surfer but also an author, a fiercely independent woman, and the fiancee of a Navy SEAL. Suddenly Bibi begins having physical symptoms that she can't explain and she, just as suddenly, is diagnosed with a rare and terminal form of brain cancer. Then a hooded man and his dog appear in her hospital room and she just as suddenly is cured of her tumor. Her parents, ecstatic that she is cured set her up with a psychic who reads Scrabble tiles and she finds out that she needs to save the life of a young girl by the name of Ashley Bell but that her attempt to save the girl is blocked in many directions by very evil people. From here we have a non-stop adventure avoiding the bad guys and trying to track down her goal. I really enjoyed the twist that Mr. Koontz threw in, I did not see it coming.
When Did You See Her Last? by Lemony Snicket4 stars
I am a huge Lemony Snicket fan and thought this second book of the All the Wrong Questions series just as much fun as the first one. Lemony and his chaperone have been hired to find the missing daughter of a wealthy couple living in Stain'd-by-the-Sea. They are really not sure if she was actually kidnapped or if she ran off to be in the circus. She drives a beautiful Dilemma but she is seen in a taxi. They have to track down all the clues and define all the big words that are used in the book but it seems as if they are always asking the wrong questions. His books are always cute and fun to read.
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent4 stars
I enjoyed this audio book read by Morven Christie very much. Her voice has just the right tone for this story that took place in Iceland. Although I never thought she was monotonous, she held a steady, whispery voice that I thought was perfect. I didn't realize when I checked this book out that the story was based on an actual murder that occurred in 1829. Very compelling.
Book Concierge wrote: "Warren - Moby-Dick; or, The Whale !!! I'm impressed. Though I confess when I read Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex it ALMOST made m..."Can you explain to me--without too much trouble on your part--how to use the links to list books and link them to your review. Thank seems like a great way to keep the posts here cleaner.
Mod
Just above the blank comment box in which you type your review/comment you'll see a little link add book/author
When you click that link it'll open a pop-up box. Type the title in the search field and hit SEARCH
You might get several titles ... pick the one that you want and click ADD
The box defaults to "LINK" and you'll get: Tess of the D'Urbervilles
If you want a specific cover image ... first click the "OTHER EDITIONS" link under the ADD button. You'll get all the editions of that book ... then ... at the bottom of the pop-up box you'll find a place to switch to "COVER" - Pick the specific cover image you want (you may have to toggle to subsequent pages) and click ADD ... and you'll get
Book Concierge wrote: "Beverly wrote: "Can you explain to me--without too much trouble on your part--how to use the links to list books and link them to your review. Thank seems like a great way to keep the posts here cl..."Thank you, I'll give that a try. :)
Cast, in Order of Disappearance by Simon Brett4 stars
This is the first book in the Charles Paris series by Simon Brett. I met Mr. Brett at Magna Cum Murder last fall and wanted to try some more of his books--I had read one previously. This was a quick read and it kept me interested and guessing who the killer was. Charles Paris an actor whose abilities are becoming less requested. In his down time he drinks and chases women, when given the chance. He has an ex-lover, Jacqui, who has become involved with another actor. Now, suddenly, she can' contact him and she asks Charles to help her. He agrees to help and uses disguises and accents in the process of tracking down what's happened to Jacqui's love interest. I enjoyed this enough to go on to read the next book in the series.
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs4 stars
I actually ended up liking this book much more than I thought I would. I've read a number of books about groups of women who form book groups or quilt groups and this is pretty much the same idea, just with knitting. The story is about Georgia Walker and her daughter, Dakota. At one time, Georgia was in a relationship with James, who is black and Dakota is a result of that union. At the time that Georgia found out she was pregnant, James had an affair with his boss which pretty much put an end to their lives together. Now Dakota is 12, almost 13 and Georgia's knitting shop is starting to take off. Dakota is becoming quite the baker and likes to bake treats for the women who are starting to show up at the shop on a regular basis looking for knitting lessons and encouragement. I found it extremely interesting to learn about the various personalities of the women that finally made the Friday night knitting club. They were such a motley bunch that it was amazing to me that they were able to tolerate and actually learn to love one another. But that is just what happens, along with quite a lot of other "life" happenings including the sudden return of James who has finally decided he wants to finally have a relationship with his growing daughter. I thought that the amount of growth that many of the characters went through was wonderful if a bit quick and more easily accomplished than in real life. Overall the book made me laugh and cry and wish that I belonged to a knitting club!
If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino4 stars
I am really not even sure how to go about writing this review. I read this for this month's F2F Page Turners group at our local library. I know this is considered postmodern which is, by partial definition, "literature characterized by reliance on narrative techniques such as fragmentation, paradox, and the unreliable narrator". I would certainly say that this book would fit under that definition. Fragmentation seems to be the underlying theme of this book. I know I don't understand most of what I read yet, I'm hoping for more clarification during our book group and I'll have to check out a study guide. There were parts of this book that I enjoyed very much. Just about every time I started enjoying a section it was over and a new totally unrelated story began. What I got out of this book was that the author bought a book he was really wanting to read. There was a problem with the book being incomplete and he returns it to the store where he purchased it. While there he meets a young woman who is there for the same reason. These two characters weave in and out and around the rest of the book continually trying to get the book they want but always ending up with a different incomplete book. It's a relatively short book to read and checks off another 1001 book that you must read before you die, so to that end I'm glad I read it. If you give it a shot and understand it all, get back with me!! :)
Testimony by Anita Shreve4 stars
A friend from one of my book groups recommended this book and I had no idea what it was about. When I first started it, I never thought I'd finish because it was about a scandalous sex crime that occurred at a New England boarding school and my assumption, from the title, was that this would turn into a court room rehash. That was far from the truth. What actually happened was that after the original realization by the headmaster of the school, the book went on to detail what happened to the individuals who took part and their family members and friends. I listened to the audio and each character was represented by a different reader. The impact of the incident carried through out the entire book and expertly detailed how one bad decision caused so much pain and changed the lives of so many people. I thought the book was extremely well written and I would recommend it.
Mod
But I'm glad you posted your reviews.
Book Concierge wrote: "Beverly ... looks like you didn't try to insert a link ... But I'm glad you posted your reviews."
I did use the links on my list of what I was reading this month but just copied and pasted the reviews. I think that next month I'll just post the review with the link and the picture of the book at the top as I go and forget about posting the list at the first of the month--since the posts don't "nest" anymore. :)
Stendhal, Armance: ou quelques scènes d'un salon de Paris en 1827 [1827] 236 pages [in French, Kindle]Armance was Stendhal's first novel; although not nearly so well-written or interesting as Le Rouge et le Noir, it already foreshadows Stendhal's style in the way it combines a romantic plot with a basically realist (though not quite realistic) social analysis. Unlike the later novel, however, it simply juxtaposes the two rather than truly integrating them. The plot concerns a wealthy French nobleman, Octave vicomte de Malivert, and a "poor" Russian noblewoman named Armance de Zohiloff; they fall in love but spend most of the book trying to avoid admitting it to each other, Armance because she is afraid of what people will think of her, and Octave because of an undisclosed "secret". (The main focus is on Octave rather than Armance.)
The protagonist in this book, Octave, like Julien Sorel in Le Rouge et le Noir, is a liberal who has to dissimulate his ideas in a very reactionary society -- something I can relate to living in Utah. The difference is that while Sorel comes from the petite bourgeoisie and is trying to rise in the world of the nobility, Octave and Armance are members of the nobility who reject the ideas of their own class. Stendhal may not be at his best in delineating the nobility.
The romantic elements -- in this case a romance in the current sense of the word -- seem much less believable in this novel, but this may be simply because the attitudes of the early nineteenth century nobility are so remote from anything today. To make it worse, the "secret" is never explained in the novel, but depends on knowing what Stendhal wrote about the novel in a letter. (Although the name of the character and certain allusions to an otherwise forgotten novel by someone else may have made it obvious to the original readers.) It may have been considered "daring" when it was written, but today it seems more quaint, if not somewhat boring, especially for the first half of the book, which starts very slowly compared to a modern novel. The style is very romantic in the worst way -- authorial comments predominate over straight narrative, and the main character is an extremely unusual personality (although at least there are no improbable coincidences driving the plot.)
Mod
13½
– Nevada BarrAudiobook read by Dan John Miller
3.5***
From the book jacket - Nevada Barr has written a taut and terrifying psychological thriller. It carries the reader from the horrifying 1970s murder spree of a child – dubbed “Butcher Boy” – in Rochester, Minnesota, to Polly, the abused daughter of Mississippi “trailer trash,” to post-Katrina New Orleans.
My reactions
I’ve been a fan of Barr’s Anna Pigeon mystery series for a while now, but this is a completely different standalone novel. Much darker and more terrifying than the series most readers know her by.
The dual time frames are at first confusing, but even when the reader realizes the connection between the two different stories, the tension of how it will play out remains. I was captivated from the beginning, and Barr held my attention throughout. I did figure out the twist some time before the characters did, but that didn’t lessen my enjoyment. I will warn readers that there is considerable foul language, and some very graphic scenes of violence and mayhem.
Dan John Miller does a fine job of narrating the audiobook, though his voice for the women does seem a bit “forced” - a couple of times I was reminded of my father telling me the story of Red Riding Hood and how he voiced the wolf playing the grandma. The way Barr plots and tells the story is the main reason to read this book.
- M. C. Beaton (3.5 stars) 1/23/16 publ 2001 Fellworth Dolphin, 38 year old virgin, under the thumb of his mother, working as a waiter to pay the bills, finds his life suddenly changed when she dies. He finds himself very well off with a lot of questions about where all this money came from. He then discovers that there are no photos of him as a child and only pictures of unknown people in the one album he finds.
When an aunt, whose personality matches his mother's offers to move in to care for him, he pretends an engagement to his one friend, Maggie, a plain girl he works with. Maggie also has a lousy home life with a floozy of a mother. They agree to share Fell's house and maintain the pretend engagement until they straighten out their lives.
The two begin fixing up the house and searching for answers concerning Fell's background and the money. Much of the mystery revolves around whether or not his father may have been involved in a 20 year old train robbery. Things begin to get dangerous. There are side stories involving other love interests and the mysterious photos. All in all a satisfying little mystery.
Mod
- M. C. Beaton (3.5 stars) 1/23/16 publ 2001 ..."I've only read her Agatha Raisin books. This looks intriguing.
2 stars
I just could not get fully involved in this secret and lie riddled book. The jumping from voice to voice and back in front in the time line was a turn off. Made it hard to keep up with what was going at times. I did find the story line interesting enough to finish the book. The ending was a wow, so made it worth the read but still a ok book.
Book Concierge wrote: "Read any good books lately? We want to know about them. Share your thoughts here. Enter your reading list and/or reviews here.
Happy reading!"
This may not be the correct place, still trying to figure it all out, I just finished The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. what an adorable little book. I went through it on audio in 2 days. It tells the very open and sharing story of a 14 year old Native American on the res. Some of it was humorous and some of it was tragic; like any good tale, I was sorry when it ended.
She Walks These Hills by Sharon McCrumb5 stars
I read this for my Mystery Book Club discussion for this week. When I first finished it this morning, I was on my way to another book club. I rated it 4 stars and didn't have time to write this actual review. So between then and now, I've changed my mind and decided that I loved the book and had to up my stars to 5. This is the 3rd book in this series and I hate to read out of order but I didn't have time to read the first two prior to this one so I don't know if there are repeating characters and/or additional background that might have had an impact on my opinions. I just know that I truly loved the way Ms. McCrumb presented the folks in this tale, whether born and bred hillbillies or wealthy town residents. Harm Sorley is 63 year old man who has been in prison for 30 some years for killing a man with an ax. He suffers from Korsakoff's syndrome which means his memory is gone and he believes he's still a young man with a wife and a baby girl. He manages to escape from the prison and is making his way home. When the residents of his area of the mountain realize that a "killer" is on the loose, they start over-reacting while the local radio host is selling bumper stickers to fund a legal defense for Harm. Harm's ex-wife is now living in a beautiful home with her new husband who doesn't want anyone to know of her "hillbilly" origins. His daughter is now a successful geologist. While all of this is going on, a young historian has decided to retrace the trail of Katie Wyler who was kidnapped by Indians in 1779 but was able to escape and find her way home. By the end of the book half a dozen residents from the area were roaming around in the wilds of the Appalachians for one reason and another. I thought the author did a great job of creating the proper atmosphere for this story, fleshing out the characters and keeping the reader turning pages. I just thought this was a great read and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
This sounds so good, I may start the series at book 1
Mod
Dosha ... be sure to hit the "reply" button at the bottom of a post you want to answer .... This ensures that your response is "connected" to the original post, by quoting the beginning of that post. In this case, I'm assuming your post # 35 is in response to the immediately previous post # 34. But in case it's not ....
Book Concierge wrote: "Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "This sounds so good, I may start the series at book 1"Dosha ... be sure to hit the "reply" button at the bottom of a post you want to answer .... This ensures that y..."
okay, I guess it was just luck that my post landed where it should have. Thanks BC.
Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "This sounds so good, I may start the series at book 1"I really think you will like them. I have the first one "If Ever I Return Pretty Peggy-O" to read as well but it will still be a bit before I can start it!
Leonard Susskind,
The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics
[2008] 470 pagesEarlier this month I read Susskind's The Cosmic Landscape and was not especially impressed. This is a much more interesting book. It deals with the history of the dispute over information loss in black holes; Stephen Hawking and originally a majority of physicists believed that information was lost in the evaporation of black holes, while Susskind, Gerard t'Hooft, and a few others considered this to be a violation of basic principles of quantum mechanics.
My problem with the earlier book was that it seemed too oversimplified; this book begins the same way, with a very simple explanation of basic concepts of black holes and entropy. The main interest in this section was just the personal anecdotes about various physicists. However, as the book went on, it got much more interesting, giving simple explanations of the ideas of black hole entropy, Black Hole Complementarity, and the Holographic Principle. It carries the story up to the date it was written.
Not everyone would agree with Susskind's interpretation of the "war" and its results, and I'm not a physicist so I can't really judge, but it was very interesting and I at least got a qualitative idea of what the discussion was about and some of the more recent concepts.
After Alice by Gregory Maguire3 stars
Gregory Maguire is always iffy for me. Sometimes I really like his work and other times I wonder to myself, "What the heck did I just read?" This was an interesting book because I felt both ways about it. I really enjoyed all the story about Ada, Alice's friend, tumbling down the rabbit hole herself and encountering some of the same characters and situations that Alice did. I loved the voices and the humor and meeting the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat and the Queen of Hearts all over again. But all of the alternate chapters which were about what was happening "above ground" with the family, friends and life in general made little sense to me. And that's why I gave it a 3 star rating.
Floating in My Mother's Palm by Ursula Hegi4 stars
Some months back I read Stones from the River by this author and enjoyed it immensely. In discussing the book with some book club members I realized that it was actually the second book in The Burgdorf Cycle so I wanted to read the other books. This is the first in the series and enjoyed this as well. Hanna Malter is a young girl growing up in Burgdorf, Germany during the 1950's. The entire book is made up of individual stories of the lives of many of the town folk. Of course, the stories are all loosely tied together because of the various relationships that are always found with a small town but I loved the way that Hanna told them from her more childlike point of view. We hear about her mother who loved to swim and lost her red bathing suit one day, a young friend of Hanna's who has to go to the Baby Mansion after her grandfather took advantage of her, more about the dwarf, Trudi Montag (who features in Stones from the River), the operator of the pay library in Burgdorf and other interesting characters within the town. For me, after reading the second book, it was almost like coming home. I felt comfortable with the town and its inhabitants, almost like they were already friends. I might almost go so far as to advise anyone interested to read Stones from the River first.
Ok how does this work, should we edit our initial post with the new books we have finished or are currently reading, or do we make a new post with each new book?I was just wondering because one way keeps the feed concise, and the other way will keep updating the feed with all the new info for us to look at?
Mod
I was just wondering because one w..."
If you are just listing the books, you could edit your initial post to update it throughout the month ... maybe posting at the end of the month the final list.
But if you are actually writing reviews, I'd recommend a separate post for each book review.
Bear in mind that there is a character limit in the posts, so you can't string together a limitless number of titles.
A Perfect Evil by Alex KavaMaggie O'Dell series #1
4 ★
The subject matter was a bit disturbing to think about, but the story was a good one. Maggie O'Dell is an FBI agent with many issues (personally and professionally) but she is still able to do her job. Nick Morelli is a misunderstood Sheriff who needs to show he's worthy of the job and I feel he accomplishes that. There is some light humor thrown in that is needed at times. There is also an issue at the end of the book that I felt was too obvious. The best part about the whole thing was that it kept me guessing. I had 3 subjects that I suspected and kept switching them around. It was fun trying to figure out.
Mod
I Heard You Paint Houses – Charles Brandt
3.5***
Subtitle: Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran & the Inside Story of the Mafia, the Teamsters, & the Last Ride of Jimmy Hoffa
Well, that pretty much covers it. Brandt, a former prosecutor, managed to get Frank Sheeran to tell the true story of what happened. This virtual death-bed confession is sometimes fascinating, but I could not reconcile the violent behavior of this man (and that of his “friends”). He may have made a full confession and gotten absolution from a priest, but to me Sheeran was a thug and sociopath who was making excuses for his behavior.
Still, the story of how Hoffa came to power and succumbed to his own ego is fascinating.
Mod
The Women – T C Boyle
Audiobook read by Grover Gardner
3***
Boyle tells the story of Frank Lloyd Wright through the eyes of the women who loved him: first wife Kitty, mistress Mamah, second wife Miriam, and third wife Olgivanna.
He frames the story by having the story told – as a sort of biography – by Tadashi Sato, one of Wright’s apprentices in the 1930s. Sato has an introduction/prologue to each of the three parts of the novel, as well as interjecting footnotes throughout. The chronology is moves back and forth, beginning with Wright’s last love, Olgivanna – their meeting, love affair, and marriage – then moving to focus on Miriam, and finally in part three giving the tragic story of Mamah. First wife, Kitty, is evident in parts two and three
I’m struggling with what to say about this book because the story arc was so fractured. Boyle definitely gives the reader a sense of each different woman – except for Kitty, who gets very little time on the page. I found myself wondering why any of them put up with Wright, and why Wright put up with Miriam! But what really struck me is that, despite the title and the organization of the book, the women come off as secondary to the man. Frank Lloyd Wright is a bigger-than-life presence here, and I grew tired of him.
Grover Gardner does a reasonably good job narrating the audio book. He has good pacing, and I really grew to like the way he voiced Miriam!
Rating 3.75In The Money Pit O'Connor gives a nice history of the small island in Nova Scotia. Oak Island has been a place of interest for treasure hunters since the 1700's. O'Connor has interviewed remaining member of crews and put in years of his own research to complete the book. The island has turned up many interesting items such as coins, coconut fibers, and carved stones. But to this point no treasure chamber has been discovered and a treasure has been spent trying to find it. The Money Pit: The Story Of Oak Island And The World's Greatest Treasure Hunt
Falcon's Love (Faucon Family, #3) - Denise Lynn (3 stars) 1/29/16 [296]Darius and Marguerite had exchanged vows at 15, before she was torn from him and married off to her father's chosen match. Darius spent 6 years in exile from his home. Now home after the death of his father, he is sent on the King's mission to hold the borderland castle of Thornson after its lord's death from the Scot king and route out the smugglers at work there. It turns out this is the lord Marguerite was married to. The Lady and men of Thornson walk a fine line between the 2 Kings. Darius has much to do in figuring out their loyalty and in trying to recapture his "wife". A decent medieval romance.
by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor4 stars.
I just recently became aware of the podcasts called Welcome to Night Vale. I listened to the pilot podcast and found it amazingly strange. Then I went to the library and they were featuring an "author roulette" challenge where you draw a slip of paper out of a jar with a "new" author's book listed on it. The slip of paper I pulled listed Welcome to Night Vale on it--amazing coincidence?...I think not. After reading the book and finding out how frightfully dangerous libraries can actually be, I realized that the universe was sending out warning vibes encouraging me to take the book and run home as fast as I could. And I did, I ran all the way home, driving my car as fast as I could, carefully avoiding the dog park and the angels at Josie's out by the car lot. Then I curled up in my recliner and began reading about Jackie from the pawn shop and Diane, whose son Josh can never quite figure out what creature he wanted to be today, trying to get to King City to find Troy. If you've never listed to the Night Vale podcasts or read this book, just know that your outlook on life may never by the same again. The book is delightfully off-kilter but still gets you through the mystery that it sets out to solve. Just ignore the lights hovering over the Arby's and never touch the lawn flamingos.
Paging All Bookworms!
Books mentioned in this topic
The Love Queen of the Amazon: A Novel (other topics)Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (other topics)
The Secret of Platform 13 (other topics)
Welcome to Night Vale (other topics)
Welcome to Night Vale (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Alex Kava (other topics)Markus Zusak (other topics)
J.R. Ward (other topics)
Enter your reading list and/or reviews here.
Happy reading!