What I'm Reading - January/February 2018

[Linda]

I am reading ""A Piece of the World". by Christina Baker Kline. The book is about the Pennsylvania painter Andrew Wyeth who spent 20 years living in Maine with the woman who would become his muse. She was also the subject for one of his best known pieces "Christina's World" painted in Maine at the century's old family farm that had been passed down to Christina.

[solitaryfossil]

Linda wrote: "I am reading ""A Piece of the World". by Christina Baker Kline. The book is about the Pennsylvania painter Andrew Wyeth who spent 20 years living in Maine with the woman who would become his muse. ..."

I read it last year and quite liked it!

[Yulia]

I've been reading Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism, which is a perfect antidote to the hyper-consumerism of the characters in Kevin Kwan's series Crazy Rich Asians. It's also a more inspiring reflection on minimalism and order than Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing and has already helped me decide whether to get rid of or recycle a number of items I've been unsure about.

[Carol]

I just finished Augustown, I gave it four stars. Read it , it is worth it I think.


War BridesI got this one on sale for 1.99, has anyone else read it?

[PattyMacDotComma]

I do enjoy finding a new mystery writer with good characters! Aussie author Zane Lovitt has written the very entertaining Black Teeth, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
4.5★ Link to my review

[PattyMacDotComma]

Barbara - I’m glad you found the Seed School review! It would be a lot of fun to take along when you’re relief teaching, I’m sure. I mean, it’s useful anytime, but it could start some interesting ideas in a ‘new’ classroom of almost any age.

[Barbara]

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Barbara - I’m glad you found the Seed School review! It would be a lot of fun to take along when you’re relief teaching, I’m sure. I mean, it’s useful anytime, but it could start some interesting i..."

I think so too, Patty. I always bring my bag of books along on substitute days.

[Mary]

Alan Bennett’s THE UNCOMMON READER, a charming and intriguing novella by the author of The History Boys and The Lady in the Van. I loved it.

[Ann D]

Mary,
I also enjoyed The Uncommon Reader.

My favorite Bennett book is the memoir he wrote about his very humble roots: A Life Like Other People's.

I never had the opportunity to see his plays, but I loved the movie versions of THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE and THE HISTORY BOYS. Bennett also wrote the screenplays for both of them.

[Book Concierge]

Mary wrote: "Alan Bennett’s THE UNCOMMON READER, a charming and intriguing novella by the author of The History Boys and The Lady in the Van. I loved it."

I read it about 10 years ago. I liked it, but didn't love it. Did appreciate the VERY British humor.

I did have the pleasure of seeing The History Boys performed. Very powerful play.

[Book Concierge]

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen – 4****
One of the best opening lines of literature: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” It's no wonder this is a classic. Austen is simply the master of dialogue. The way in which the characters interact brings them to life.
LINK to my review

[Ann D]

One of my favorite classics, BC.

[Kat]

Just finished Lydia Millet's Magnificence, which I love--a blend of sadly sympathetic characters and preposterous events that is, dare I say it, magnificent.

Now I'm fascinated and entertained by Nell Zink's Mislaid, a subversive novel with a southern drawl told with deadpan hilarity.

[Mary Anne]

And speaking of entertaining reads, I recommend Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World by Robert Sheffield. Even if you aren't a Beatlemaniac, which I am, you will find this book a positive experience. Consider that almost 50 years after the band's breakup, more than 1 million of their albums every year. Why is that so? This really is a love story for the ages.

[Book Concierge]

Hidden Figures – Margot Lee Shetterly – 3.5***
The subtitle is all the synopsis anyone needs: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. I had seen the movie, but it covers just a few years, and compresses the story of many women into three characters. Shetterly’s book covers the time from the early years of WW2 to the Moon Landing in August 1969. I’m glad I read it, and that these women’s stories are finally brought to the forefront of America’s consciousness.
LINK to my review

[PattyMacDotComma]

Just enjoyed Aussie author Luke Slattery's "imagined history", as he calls it, Mrs. M.

It's an entertaining, completely fabricated romance between a couple of historical figures in early Sydney town. Such a painless way to learn a bit of history. :)
4★ Link to my review

[Mary]

Mohsin Hamid’s THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST, narrated by Satya Bhabha. A compelling monologue - well written, quickly paced, with just enough suspense and uncertainty to keep me reading (listening) to the end. I knew where it was heading - or perhaps not; the ambiguous ending left me wondering. Enough dangling plot details to keep me thinking about it for a while. It is a story that pricks at my conscience enough to be uncomfortable, challenging my self-concept of a person who does not discriminate on the basis of religion, nationality, or skin color.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Enjoyed my introduction to the short stories of award-winning Aussie author Jennifer Down. Colourful people (some language) in Pulse Points: Stories.
4★ Link to my review

[Book Concierge]

Inside the O’Briens – Lisa Genova – 5*****
A diagnosis of Huntington’s Disease affects not only Boston cop Joe O’Brien, but his entire family. Genova writes so well about neurological disorders, making the story both entertaining and informative. I really felt as if I knew these characters – their fears, joys, dreams, and anxieties.
LINK to my review

[Mary]

Laura Shapiro’s WHAT SHE ATE. I found this book somewhat disappointing because it didn’t meet my expectations for a look at historical eras through the eyes of interesting women and the food they cooked, served and ate. Instead, with the exception of Barbara Pym, I saw women who had seriously troubled relationships with food from compulsive overeating to anorexia to using it as a passive aggressive weapon to express unhappiness with a spouse. The author’s Afterword, however, was delightful and reminded me of my own experience of confronting the role of “wife” that I unknowingly carried in my head when I got married in 1971 and how I gradually exorcised it from my life.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Something different but wonderful for history and/or adventure-lovers is Paradise in Chains: The Bounty Mutiny and the Founding of Australia by historian (and excellent tale-teller) Diana Preston. It's hard to believe all this is true!

I loved it and quoted quite a lot about Bligh's colourful character.
5★ Link to my review

[Kat]

I'm reading Olive Kittredge, years after everyone else did. Painful! It certainly encourages me to notice all my good moments as I have them.

[Ruth]

Book Concierge wrote: "

Killers of the Flower Moon
– David Grann – 4****
Wow. I am ashamed to say that I knew nothing of this shameful episode of American history. Gra..."

I just finished this for the in person group I’ve joined at our local library. I knew nothing about these horrific events, either, and neither did the other 20 people in the group.

The writing was competent, if not wonderful. But the stories were so convoluted and involved I could have used a flow chart.

[Book Concierge]

The Longest Night – Andria Williams – 4****
A young military couple, Nat and Paul Collier vs his supervisor at the nuclear power plant where Paul works, and MSgt Reynolds’ mean-spirited wife, Jeannie. Add a handsome local cowboy and a reactor with problems that are being ignored and it’s only a question of which will blow first: the reactor, Paul’s career, or Paul and Nat’s marriage. Great character-based novel with a gripping story line. I was engaged and interested from beginning to end.
LINK to my review

[Lyn]

I've just had a lovely week at the coast, and since I kept my laptop in my car and don't have a smart phone, it was also a rather lovely internet vacation, wonderful! I read two very enjoyable books:

Artemis is the second book by the author of The Martian, and it's great fun, an adventure on a lunar colony with a female wise-cracking anti-heroine. The first page is a map, which made me a goner early on. Like The Martian, it's sprinkled with plausible science (as if the map weren't enough to steal my heart!).

Love and Other Pranks is very much in the vein of Tom Robbins, very creative, fun, and occasionally thought provoking.

[PattyMacDotComma]

LOVED the first in British author Mick Herron's Slough House series Slow Horses. Demoted old-world spooks and new-world geeks are suddenly needed. Deadly, funny, well-written. 5★
Link to my review

[Ann D]

I stayed up late finishing Manhattan Beach our upcoming February discussion book. I liked it very much - a combination of great characters, well researched history, intricate plot, mystery, and adventure. What more can I say?

Oh yeah, I'm leading the discussion and I hope others are reading this.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I'm listening to it. I kind of wish I had a copy to read, because I kept getting Dexter and Eddy mixed up, and I would have liked to go back in the book. It's harder when it's an audiobook.

[Ann D]

I read it on my KIndle and I used the search function to check up on some of the characters. Eagan switches the points of view back and forth from Anna, Eddie, and Dexter. I'm not disciplined enough to follow audio books. Does the narrator on this one use different voices for the different characters?

[Sherry, Doyenne]

There were two men narrators and one woman. I think the men sounded too much alike. Usually there is just one narrator on a book and they change their voices just enough so that you can tell the characters apart. Now some of the newer audiobooks treat a book almost like a play.

[Larry]

Ann D wrote: "I stayed up late finishing Manhattan Beach our upcoming February discussion book. I liked it very much - a combination of great characters, well researched history, intricate plot, ..."

Ann,

I finished this book about a week ago and really look forward to its discussion.

[Ann D]

So glad to hear that you will be joining us, Larry!

[Carol]

I am reading Manhattan Beach right now. Should be finished in time for discussion on the 15th.

[Peggy]

Lyn, I'm so glad to hear your positive review of Artemis. My love for The Martian (book and movie) knows no bounds, and by all accounts, author Andy Weir seems like a good guy. I've held off reading Artemis for fear of being disappoint - sounds like it's safe to dive in.

[Larry]

I read Artemis when it came out and enjoyed it a lot. Not as much unrelenting tension as in The Martian, but I think that Weir does exactly what he wants to do with this novel and that's to write a Heinlein-like juvenile (what we now call YA) novel. He lays out people-problems and technical-problems (especially at the end) for the protagonist (Jasmine Basahara, and she solves them.

I love the fact that she's a Saudi girl living on the moon and getting by on her wits, which is a nice way of saying that she's a small time criminal who would really like to be a big time criminal ... although "criminal" may be a flexible term, because who is making the rule/laws on the moon? I really like how Weir thanks several women at the end of the book for helping him with creating a protagonist who is a teen age girl. If you ever read any of Heinlein juveniles and liked them, I think that you'll love this book.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I listened to Artemis and enjoyed it a lot. It wasn't quite as good as The Martian, but he created a vibrant character and setting. I'm sure there will be a fun movie, at least I hope so.

[Larry]

Sherry wrote: "I listened to Artemis and enjoyed it a lot. It wasn't quite as good as The Martian, but he created a vibrant character and setting. I'm sure there will be a fun movie, at least I hope so."

It could be a great movie, especially if the screenplay sticks to the novel.

[Ann D]

Glad to hear you will be able to join us during the initial discussion of Manhattan Beach, Carol!

[Mary Anne]

I am currently reading Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe Biden. This is a book that is a beautiful tribute to his late son, Beau. I'm finding it sad, on several levels, but also somewhat peaceful, and composed.

When I have to put down the Biden book, I pick up Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. A little fantasy helps, in this case.

[Carol]

Ann D wrote: "Glad to hear you will be able to join us during the initial discussion of Manhattan Beach, Carol!"

Haha, I stayed up and finished it last night Ann. I rated it a four. I’ll discuss why not a five later.

Now I have started Doc by Mary Doris Russell. I am a sucker for historical tinged books.

@Mary Anne, Joe Biden’s book sounds interesting. I like the man .

[Ann D]

Carol,
I would give Manhattan Beach a 4.5. I enjoyed Doc by Mary Doria Russell. Her books are really original.

Mary Anne, I like Joe Biden too.

[Book Concierge]

Packing For Mars – Mary Roach – 3***
Subtitle: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. Another entertaining and informative read from an author who has become a favorite “science” writer for me. As she has done for sex, our alimentary canal, and cadavers, Roach turns her curiosity, sense of adventure and wit to the topic of space travel. Entertaining and informative (and with some laugh-out-loud moments).
LINK to my review

[Ann D]

Book Concierge wrote: "

Packing For Mars
– Mary Roach – 3***
Subtitle: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. Another entertaining and informative read from an author who has bec..."

I'm putting this one on my TBR list, BC.

[Gina]

Ann D wrote: "Glad to hear you will be able to join us during the initial discussion of Manhattan Beach, Carol!"

I'll be late with this book. Waiting on it from the library. Still I'm #9.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I'm about halfway through The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich. It's different from other books I've read of hers, but I am really enjoying it. Some of it is morbidly funny, some of it is sad and moving. The characters are unique and feel real.

[Ann D]

Gina,
I hope they have multiple copies of Manhattan Beach, Gina. Join in whenever you can.

[Barbara]

Ann D wrote: "Gina,
I hope they have multiple copies of Manhattan Beach, Gina. Join in whenever you can."

I just started it last night and am hooked.

[Book Concierge]

Etta and Otto and Russell and James – Emma Hooper – 3***
Eighty-two-year-old Etta has never seen the sea, so she decides one day to leave her Saskatchewan farm and head out on foot. It reminded me of Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, but it was not quite as engaging. Use of magical realism and non-linear timeline.
LINK to my review

[Ann D]

Glad to hear you are reading Manhattan Beach, Barb!

[Scout]

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee is a multi-generational saga of a Korean family, beginning in the early 1900s. I'm about halfway through this one, and I'm learning so much about Korean history. It's very readable.