What Are You Reading / Reviews - December 2016

[James]

John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America [1962] 187 pages

I read this for the Utah State Library discussion group; it's the reason I was doing a Steinbeck mini-project the last two or three months (I've read all the novels now except East of Eden as well as this non-fiction book.) This was his last real book, and it is obvious that it was written by an older man near the end of his lifetime, full of regret for the changes that have occurred or are ongoing. It's a travel book, and that's not a genre I usually enjoy; this one was somewhat better than most in that he was actually interested in the people he met and the places he visited, rather than just complaining about the discomforts of the trip. He set out in 1960 to visit or revisit much of America, together with his poodle Charley, in a pick-up truck with a camper shell. Steinbeck has an anti-urban bias; he avoided cities because he considered the small towns and rural villages to be the "real" America. I, on the other hand, think that the real America is the cities; we're an urban population since a little before World War II, at the least. Not surprisingly, he idealizes small town life and laments its decline. He does make some good, if not highly original, points about the standardization of American life, and the disappearance of regional differences -- I couldn't help humming "Little Boxes" as I read parts of this. One of the most interesting points is that no one wanted to talk about politics; I remember 1962 and the intimidating influence of the witch-hunt was still strong then. Otherwise, though, there was little in the way of real insights. The section on the "Cheerleaders" in New Orleans was the most interesting.

[Book Concierge]

Dan vs Nature – Don Calame – 2**
When Dan’s mother buys him a “survival week experience” so he can bond with her new fiancé, Dan and his friend Charlie concoct a plan to scare Hank away. This sounded like a decent premise for a YA novel but Calame’s reliance on scatological humor and descriptions that only a 13-year-old boy will find funny just lost me. It should have been a fast read, but it didn’t hold my attention, and it took me a full week to finish it.
LINK to my review

[Book Concierge]

The Anteater of Death – Betty Webb – 3***
As cozy mysteries go, this is a pretty good one. A zookeeper is an interesting – and different – occupation for an amateur sleuth. Webb gives tidbits of information on the animals Teddy cares for, as well as the joys and challenges of living aboard a refitted trawler. There were plenty of suspects to keep me guessing, and a reasonably satisfactory ending. I’ll definitely read more of this series.
LINK to my review

[Beverly]

Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
4 stars

I enjoyed this sequel to Parable of the Sower very much. I was a little concerned when I realized that Olamina's daughter was narrating the story but was quickly assured that we would find out everything that happened since the first book ended. The trials and lives of the small community of Acorn are carried on as sections of Olamina's journal are read by her daughter. She and her daughter are separated for the majority of Larkin's life so she is learning about what happened to her mother in all those previous years, just as the reader is. And the religion of Earthseed is carried on as well. This is an extremely interesting and, in my opinion, believable look at the attempt to rebuild a cohesive society based on new beliefs after catastrophic events and a corrupt political power comes into rule.

[Book Concierge]

A Lone Star Christmas - William W Johnstone w/ J.A. Johnstone - ZERO stars
I was seduced by the title, but should have quit with the book jacket. It seems that the writers threw everything they’d ever come across in a Western into this book. It was a pretty fast read, and fit several challenges, but there’s really very little Christmas to this story.
LINK to my review

[Book Concierge]

A Christmas Memory - Truman Capote – 5***** and a ❤
Capote was a gloriously talented writer and he is at his best here. The reader feels the anticipation of a child, smells the piney woods, shivers in the crisp morning, and is comforted in the warmth of love.
His writing is never so brilliant as when he is mining his childhood for stories such as this. The emotion is evident and genuine. His descriptions are gloriously vivid without overwhelming the story. The lessons learned – about kindness, tolerance, family, love and forgiveness – are gently told but ring loud and clear in the reader’s heart.
LINK to my review