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Read, Reading, To Read (January-March 2017)
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And reading
The Jesus Cow – Michael Perry – 4****
When a calf is born on Christmas Eve with the distinct face of Jesus on his side, bachelor farmer Harley Jackson knows he’s in for a struggle. Michael Perry is known for his nonfiction essays on life in small-town Wisconsin; this is his first novel. Perry has a gift for describing people and situations; he makes the ridiculous totally believable. I am reminded of Carl Hiaasen, but with more heart. There are a few scenarios that really stretch credulity here, but on the whole I enjoyed the novel and we all need a little light entertainment now and again.
LINK to my review
Ezinwanyi~ThatEzi wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: "
I read that for book club. Did you know it's a movie? ..."
Yes, I have heard it's a movie. I believe it's nominated for an Oscar for foreign film.
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I read that for book club. Did you know it's a movie? ..."
Yes, I have heard it's a movie. I believe it's n..."
It was at the Anjelika theory here and it was subtitled. I believe it was a Dutch film
Death Masks – Jim Butcher – 3.5***
I like this series mostly because I really like Harry. I love his puns and his self-deprecating humor. I like that he’s a decent guy who inflicts violence on the bad guys, and generally behaves like a gentleman. However, as I continue the series I find the plots more and more formulaic, although this installment has a few plot twists and some characters that lend additional interest.
LINK to my review
Abraham Lincoln – Ingri & Edgar Parin d’Aulaire – 4****
This Caldecott-winner is a biography for young children. It follows Lincoln from his birth to the end of the Civil War, though it does not mention his assassination. The d’Aulaires were immigrants to America, and when the book was written the world was anxiously watching the events in Germany that would lead to a world war. They may have erred on the side of hero-worship in their portrayal of Lincoln, but I like that they portrayed a man willing to stand up against injustice.
LINK to my review
Days Of Awe – Lauren Fox – 4****
This is the kind of character-driven novel I really enjoy. As Isabel reflects on past events and her relationships with best friend, daughter, mother, and ex-husband, the reader comes to know her. I felt her confusion, pain, loss, loneliness, but also her joy and hope for the future.
LINK to my review
Exodus – Leon Uris – 3.5***
This is an epic novel covering the history of the Jewish people’s efforts to return to Palestine and form an independent state. I felt that Uris couldn’t make up his mind whether he was writing an epic romance, a war novel or a history of the formation of Israel. It certainly made me think. And I’m glad I finally read this novel.
LINK to my review
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and now listening to
Feb 18 - Currently ReadingTEXT -
Old Dogs / Donna MooreAUDIO in the car -
The Quiet American / Graham GreeneMP3 Player AUDIO -
The Minor Adjustment Beauty SalonAlexander McCall Smith
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listening to
and reading
To listen to
to read
One Plus One – Jojo Moyes – 3***
Four different characters tell the story: Jess, Ed, Tanzie (Jess’s daughter) and Nicky (Marty’s son and Jess’s stepson). This resulted in a slow start, while all the characters were introduced and the central conflict developed. The book jacket promises “an irresistible love story.” I don’t know about “irresistible” but it’s an enjoyable contemporary novel.
LINK to my review
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One Plus One
– Jojo Moyes – 3***
Four different characters tell the story: Jess, Ed, Tanzie (Jess’s daughter) and Nicky (Marty’s son and Jess’s stepson). This..."
So it wasn't as good as Me Before You, huh?
Ezinwanyi~ThatEzi wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: ".."So it wasn't as good as Me Before You, huh?..."
Well, I gave Me Before You 4 stars...
The FitzOsbornes in Exile – Michelle Cooper – 3***
This is book two in a series about the royal family of the fictitious island nation of Montmaray. It’s a fast read, an easy young adult novel about the beginning of World War II. The British social class of the late 1930s is described well, including the debutante season. I liked this one better than the first in the series. The characters are better developed, and I enjoy reading about strong, resourceful, intelligent young people.
LINK to my review
Nothing To Do But Stay – Carrie Young – 4****
The subtitle is “My Pioneer Mother,” and much of this memoir features Young’s mother Carrine Gafkjen Berg. But this is really the story of a family’s experiences in the early 20th century in North Dakota. Rather than a strictly chronological order, the book is divided into chapters by subject. All are full of wonderful, loving descriptions of life on a settler’s farm, some funny, some touchingly poignant.
LINK to my review
The Quiet American – Graham Greene – 3***
This has been cited as the quintessential book about Vietnam, especially the conflict begun with the French war. I don’t know if I would agree, but it’s definitely a good book about what was happening in the country during the mid-1950s. The reader gets some inkling of the politics of the era, but is more consumed by the personal drama of these two men and the Vietnamese woman they both say they love.
LINK to my review
Old Dogs – Donna Moore – 3***
A pair of seventy-something-year-old ex-hookers turned con-artists scheme to steal two antique be-jeweled Tibetan dog statuettes. But they are not alone in wanting those dogs. This is a comic crime caper that reminds me of Donald E Westlake or Carl Hiaasen. The characters are outrageous, the plot is ridiculous, but the whole package is great fun to read.
LINK to my review
The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon – Alexander McCall Smith – 3.5***
I rarely get past book four or five in a mystery series, because they become formulaic for me and I lose interest. But this series is a wonderful exception. As in most of the books, there are two cases the Ladies work on in this 14th installment, but the real focus of the series is on the relationships between the characters. Fans of the series will find most of the characters they have come to love present.
LINK to my review
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(I don't like suspense thrillers)Listening to
and I'm loving itTo read is
Under the Wide and Starry Sky – Nancy Horan – 2.5**
This work of historical fiction tells the story of the relationship of Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne and Robert Louis Stevenson. Once again Horan turns her attentions to a man who was difficult to live with, and a woman who was conflicted about her life with that man. It should have been interesting, but this book somehow failed to capture me. The best part was their lives in Samoa, only about 100 pages in a nearly 500-page book.
LINK to my review
Deeper Than the Dead – Tamy Hoag – 3.5***
Set in a California town a few hours from Los Angeles, in 1985, Hoag’s thriller begins when four children stumble upon the partially buried body of a woman while playing in the woods. Hoag writes a tight, suspenseful tale. The action is fast-paced, and I was completely captivated from beginning to end.
LINK to my review
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Listening to
To Listen to this week:
The Vicious Vet – M.C. Beaton – 3***
Book two in the popular Agatha Raisin cozy mystery series. I was not a fan of the first Agatha Raisin book, but she’s growing on me. One of the review blurbs calls Agatha “a glorious cross between Miss Marple, Auntie Mame, and Lucille Ball, with a tad of pit bull tossed in” (St Petersburg Times). I’m beginning to see that combination here, and I’m starting to appreciate the humor in Agatha’s character.
LINK to my review
Station Eleven – Emily St John Mandel – 4****
The snow falling on Toronto gives the city a peaceful look, but the hysteria caused by a spreading plague that kills within days cannot be stopped. Dystopian or postapocalyptic novels are really not my thing, but I found this novel quite interesting. Mandel moves back and forth in time, and from character to character, keeping the reader off balance.
LINK to my review
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I've Started
But it's going slow since I'm camping with my kids so I hope to get back reading at night when they go to sleep
A Fierce Radiance – Lauren Belfer – 2.5**
Well this sounded much more interesting than it wound up being. I definitely enjoyed some aspects of the novel. I like reading medical histories, and the race to develop a procedure to mass produce penicillin was an important effort in World War II. But, Belfer included a romantic subplot, as well as broken family ties, a murder, and other elements. There is just too much going on between the covers of this book, and I never got caught up in the story.
LINK to my review
The Dog Stars – Peter Heller – 3***
I am not a great fan of post-apocalyptic novels. And yet, here I am reading another one. Heller’s writing is both poetic and spare, with short sentences that come at the reader like staccato gun fire. This gives the novel a feeling of impending danger, of uncertainty and fear. I wanted to rush through it, and yet, I wanted to take my time to understand what was happening and how these characters were dealing with this different world.
LINK to my review
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. I am listening to
and reading
Voyager – Diana Gabaldon – 3***
Book three in the popular Outlander series. This isn’t great literature, but the series is fun to read. This installment delves more deeply into the supernatural, which I thought detracted from the central story.
LINK to my review
Chestnut Street – Maeve Binchy – 3.5***
Binchy does a great job of giving us a picture of a neighborhood in this collection of short stories. Characters come in contact with one another, interact, leave, and return. Binchy’s characters seem like real people; I recognize many of them though I live in Wisconsin and this is set in Dublin.
LINK to my review
Maria, Daughter of Immigrants – Maria Antonietta Berrizobal – 3.5***
I really enjoyed and was captivated by Maria’s personal journey as she outlines it in the book. But a little more than half-way through the book, it seemed to become more of a history of the politics of the city than Maria’s autobiography. I still found this interesting, because I’m from San Antonio, but I think it detracted from the central story of her own life.
LINK to my review
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..."I love both of these series.
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--ugh ✰✰. It was lame erotica.
--boring mafia story ✰✰. Listening
Up next:
The Bat – Jo Nesbø – 4****
Book #1 in the Inspector Harry Hole series. Nesbø writes a tight, fast-paced thriller with plenty of clues, several red herrings, a flawed but likeable lead detective, and an interesting setting. I’ll definitely read more of this series.
LINK to my review
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The Challenge Factory
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Lorna Barrett (other topics)Janet Evanovich (other topics)
Maeve Binchy (other topics)
Donna Moore (other topics)
Graham Greene (other topics)
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A Man Called Ove
– Fredrik Backman – 5*****
What a joy this book is! Backman peoples the novel with an assortment of quirky characters, who form a communi..."
I read that for book club. Did you know it's a movie?