January/February 2017 Bookmarks Selections

[Betsy]

The Jan/Feb 2017 issue (#86) featured the following books as Bookmarks Selections. Use this area to let us know which ones you've been reading and what you think.

Swing Time
Mister Monkey
The Fortunes
The Mothers
His Bloody Project
Death's End
The Sun Is Also a Star
Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother's Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South
American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life

[Linda]

I did read Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother's Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South and thought it excellent.

Swing Time, The Mothers, The Sun Is Also a Star, American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant, and Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life are all on my TBR.

[Elle]

I read This is a tough one for me to review. I enjoyed the writing a lot and thought she did an amazing job of capturing all different voices of 'mothers' - especially the collective voice of the The Mothers at the church but some of the story dragged for me. I am in awe that this is her first novel and I would read more by her.

[Juniper]

i have read both Swing Time and The Mothers. while i liked both, i wasn't totally blown away by either, so seem to have fallen on the other side of the high-praise critical opinions.

Mister Monkey, Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother's Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South, and His Bloody Project are all in my Mt. TBR pile. :)

[Betsy]

I started Swing Time and actually found it a little boring. One thing I found somewhat annoying is that the descriptions of the book frequently say it is a story of two dancers. I don't think the people writing those reviews have even read the book. The two main characters take dance class together when they are young girls. One goes on to dance, but the other doesn't (as far as I got in the book anyway). I'll get it out of the library again at some point and see if I can finish it and like it any more.

I've several of the others on my TBR list, but not anywhere close to reading them.