Play Book Tag discussion
2016-19 Activities & Challenges
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PBT Reading in Memory of Denizen
Book Concierge wrote: "
Lilac Girls
– Martha Hall Kelly – 3.5***
Using three different narrators, the novel tells the WW2 story of the women prisoners held at the notorious Nazi prison..."
This is the one I read, too--sorry, I hadn't realized you were going to read it, but am glad you liked it :)
Karin wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: " ...This is the one I read, too--sorry, I hadn't realized you were going to read it, but am glad you liked it :) ..."
No requirement that we each read a different book on Denise's list. Glad you enjoyed it as well.
Book Concierge wrote: "Karin wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: " ...This is the one I read, too--sorry, I hadn't realized you were going to read it, but am glad you liked it :) ..."
No req..."
Good, I'm glad :)
Just started An Unnecessary Woman and so far I like it. I also love anything dealing with the Middle East so this struck me right away.
Just started a fine balance in Denise’s honor.
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales
3 stars
This book looks at the characteristics of what it takes for someone to survive. Some examples it gives are of when things go wrong in mountain climbing, hiking, boating, and on airplanes. The author tells details of real instances and examines the specifics of what people involved did that were successful and what was not. He looks for common traits and attitudes the people had. Gonzales tells of his adventurous life, but also shares a moving story of his father who was a pilot in World War II and his survival experience. The book was interesting and showed how even well trained people could end up in a situation where they are fighting for their survival.
I’m really enjoying A Fine Balance. But its 600 pages, so that too is going to take me a long long time.
Joanne wrote: "I started readingCompany of Liars today-lots of books on my night stand, so it will be slow going"I'm about 1/3 of the way through Company of Liars. I've got the audiobook. It's good.
An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine- 3.5 Stars
I almost gave An Unnecessary Woman three stars, but the writing is so beautiful, so descriptive, humorous yet bleak, that I had to compromise at 3.5 stars.
This book is slow, very slow. So slow that I would find myself distracted, checking my email, Goodreads feed, and getting myself yet another glass of water.
This book was written in the first person narrative of an older Lebanese women, Aaliyah, who is now retired from her job in a bookstore. She has lived a life that was not always easy and after divorce she chose to be alone. She loves books and this is one of the things I did connect with right from the beginning.
In spite of the sluggish pace of this novel, I was captivated by the word picture painted in descriptive color of Beirut during war years. There were passages in the story of great beauty, even in war, that took me to Beirut and enabled me to feel, to see, to hear what Aaliyah experienced. What I did not like about the book was the pridefulness the author created in this character regarding her translating work. Weaving in works of literature Aaliyah translated was in and of itself interesting, but it was done with such arrogance that it grew sickening at times. I found myself thinking, “Yes, we know you are great and so are your translations.” The attitude grew borderline boring and irritating all at the same time. Aaliyah was a snob. She was not always a kind person when talking of other people, like her neighbors, and I grew not to like her much.
The best part of the book was the end. Aaliyah's neighbors, of whom she never spoke kindly, came together to save her translations from a flood in her apartment. Their love and concern for her hard work gave me some hope as well as giving Aaliyah some semblance of friendship and care from which she had previously chosen to abstain. This outpouring of goodwill from her neighbors brought Aaliyah out of her snobbery, and in the end she was willing to translate literature from other languages into Arabic, something she had always refused to do.
Aaliyah was a solitary person and for many good reasons. I'm a very solitary person myself, but her personality and her attitude really made me struggle to connect with her. The redeeming factor of this book for me was the beautifully written descriptions of Beirut.
I almost gave An Unnecessary Woman three stars, but the writing is so beautiful, so descriptive, humorous yet bleak, that I had to compromise at 3.5 stars.
This book is slow, very slow. So slow that I would find myself distracted, checking my email, Goodreads feed, and getting myself yet another glass of water.
This book was written in the first person narrative of an older Lebanese women, Aaliyah, who is now retired from her job in a bookstore. She has lived a life that was not always easy and after divorce she chose to be alone. She loves books and this is one of the things I did connect with right from the beginning.
In spite of the sluggish pace of this novel, I was captivated by the word picture painted in descriptive color of Beirut during war years. There were passages in the story of great beauty, even in war, that took me to Beirut and enabled me to feel, to see, to hear what Aaliyah experienced. What I did not like about the book was the pridefulness the author created in this character regarding her translating work. Weaving in works of literature Aaliyah translated was in and of itself interesting, but it was done with such arrogance that it grew sickening at times. I found myself thinking, “Yes, we know you are great and so are your translations.” The attitude grew borderline boring and irritating all at the same time. Aaliyah was a snob. She was not always a kind person when talking of other people, like her neighbors, and I grew not to like her much.
The best part of the book was the end. Aaliyah's neighbors, of whom she never spoke kindly, came together to save her translations from a flood in her apartment. Their love and concern for her hard work gave me some hope as well as giving Aaliyah some semblance of friendship and care from which she had previously chosen to abstain. This outpouring of goodwill from her neighbors brought Aaliyah out of her snobbery, and in the end she was willing to translate literature from other languages into Arabic, something she had always refused to do.
Aaliyah was a solitary person and for many good reasons. I'm a very solitary person myself, but her personality and her attitude really made me struggle to connect with her. The redeeming factor of this book for me was the beautifully written descriptions of Beirut.
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - 4 stars.I read this one for Denizen/Denise. I truly love how were finishing off her list together and I cannot think of a lovelier tribute. She and I only had a few talks, the one most important being the last one. But I appreciated her greatly. The last time we spoke, it was about opportunities for healing, but also making the most of one's life and lot. Maybe for that reason, this was a very fitting book to read. My thoughts are with her and her family, as well as for our community and the way we have formed relationships that touch and matter.
I loved it... right up until the last 75 pages. And then I was disappointed. You guys know I don't like to offer anything close to spoilers. Lets just say I didn't have an ending in mind, but this wasn't it. It left me with an unusual taste. Funny that I imagine not one of you who have loved this incredible beautiful book will agree with me.
I just saw this, as I'm still trying to catch up on all the topics I missed while dealing with real life. I'm so sorry to read that Denizen is gone. This is a lovely tribute to such a longterm member. I would love to participate and have requested Gun, With Occasional Music from my library.
Company of LiarsI was really surprised how much I enjoyed this book. It had a little historical fiction, a little fantasy, and some darker moments-all things I enjoy in book!
The story takes place in the 14th century and tells a tale of 9 strangers who end up traversing across Britain trying to out run the plague. Each of the travelers carry a secret they want hidden and the author does a great job of making you guess what those secrets are.
The book missed the 5th star, because the ending left me wondering. I usually don't mind if an ending does not answer all the questions, but this is one time I wanted things wrapped up nice and tight.
I wanted to take the time to mention that I've recently heard from Denise's daughter Ari, on Facebook and she was very touched by our idea of reading in her honor. She passed the info to her aunt Denise's sister who was very touched by our idea.
Booknblues wrote: "I wanted to take the time to mention that I've recently heard from Denise's daughter Ari, on Facebook and she was very touched by our idea of reading in her honor. She passed the info to her aunt D..."Awww, that is very nice. I am glad you were able to share this with her daughter. And, I hope the family is doing okay following their loss.
Nicole R wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "I wanted to take the time to mention that I've recently heard from Denise's daughter Ari, on Facebook and she was very touched by our idea of reading in her honor. She passed the..."I sent her the link to this thread so perhaps she will join as a member.
I just did a little cleaning up of the spreadsheet and all reviews that have been reported thus far have been added. I also shaded the books that are completed, so the unshaded books are waiting to be claimed!You can still read any of the shaded books if you like for the participation points, but if you would like to contribute to the completion of the list, then you will want to consider an unshaded book.
We have collectively completed 18/50 books.
My library has In the Time of the Butterflies and it looks like I would enjoy it-so picking that one up soon
Booknblues wrote: "I wanted to take the time to mention that I've recently heard from Denise's daughter Ari, on Facebook and she was very touched by our idea of reading in her honor. She passed the info to her aunt D..."That's so nice to hear. I will finally be starting my book tomorrow.
I just finished Lilac Girls which was the one i was going to read in her honor but someone else beat me to that one. Maybe i will look at her list again and pick a different book. That way we can get as many of her books read as possible.
Joni, post your review/a link to your review and you will get some participation points for Lilac Girls still!
Ok thank you. I will still try to read another one off her list.
Nicole, I was just going through the spreadsheet list and realized that is a book listed that I did read within this last month or so. I even did a PBT review on it. May I post that one also?
I have also begun reading Black Swan Green from the list and am about 1/2 way thru. I think I like it so far (I think). Very funny in parts. Hoping it ends well. If I can finish it along with A Strangeness in My Mind then I will have been able to read 3 books which doesn't seem like a lot but then again, I think I've only actually read 4 books this year (so 3 sounds like a lot).
Yes, Joni, if you read it since we started the challenge (which was before May) and just missed it on the spreadsheet list previously, then please feel free to go ahead and post your review here as well!With 50 books on the list, it is easy to overlook one!
Doomsday Book / Connie Willis4.5 stars
Kivrin has decided she wants to travel back to 1320, as she’s always been fascinated with the Middle Ages. She is prepared, but when the day comes, she is sent back in time, but things go wrong! When she arrives, she is sick. Not only that, one of the techs who sent her back is also ill (still in the 20th century). Kivrin is coping with being in the 14th century while ill, while Bahdri, the tech, can’t make himself understood to someone who could help Kivrin as to what exactly went wrong with “the drop”. Meanwhile, the illness (in the 20th century) is spreading like wildfire.
A little bit of time travel, a little bit of suspense, a lot of historical fiction. All things I like. The last one-quarter to one-third of the book had me on the edge of my seat and I just wanted to keep reading. At the same time, as the book continued on, it was heartbreaking. A roller coaster of emotions for this one.
Before the Fall ~ 5 starsI missed this book on Denizen's list. So here is my review.
This is definitely a "who done it?" book. I listened to this one on audio and it kept my attention the entire time and I wanted to keep listening.
Eleven people board a plane en route to Martha's Vineyard. Shortly after take off the plane goes goes down into the ocean. There are only two survivors.....the poorest person on the flight and the youngest....who just inherited a lot of money. This books takes you to the very end to find out who did it...who was responsible to the crash. Along the way, the book goes from present time to the past and gives the reader insight about the past of each passenger on the plane.
I highly recommend this great read!!!!!
Lilac GirlsWow.....what a book. Very gripping and emotional at times. Some of it was hard to "listen" to.....I did this book in audio.
This book chronicles the lives of three women, Caroline Ferriday (a real person), Herta Oberheuser (real person), and Kasia Kuzmerick (her story is based on the experience of a lady in a German prison camp).
Caroline, is lives in New York and works at the French consulate. Her passion is orphaned French children. Her story stretches from New York to Paris following a new love that she can't have. I feel that she has a heart of gold and compassion for people.
Herta is a young German doctor, who desires to be a surgeon during a time where there were no women surgeons. She takes a job at what she thought was a camp for women, that is actually a German prison camp for women, where she is charged with doing experimental studies on these women....crippling many of them for life.
Kasia is a young Polish girl who went to the German prison camp, after being charged with helping the resistance. She falls into the hands of Dr. Oberheuser and her experimental surgeries. Kasia is known as a "rabbit" because the surgery leaves her crippled and she "hops like a rabbit" in order to get around.
At the end of the book, these ladies are connected forever. I really enjoyed this book. I gave it 4 stars only because parts of it were very hard to listen to.
Below are a few links of interest:
The authors research for the book:
http://www.marthahallkelly.com/lilac-...
And a historical site for Caroline Ferriday. She was known as A Godmother to Ravensbrück Survivors.
https://connecticuthistory.org/a-godm...
The Hollow Ground by Natalie S. Harnett
4 stars
The Hollow Ground follows the story of eleven year old Bridget Howley and her family. They live in a coal mining town in Pennsylvania where fire burns underground. Bridget’s family is forced to move in with her grandparents when their prior home was deemed unlivable from these fires. The characters are all damaged from events in their past, they are poor, the father is a drunk and the mother has hardened emotions from her own childhood.
Bridget grows up believing an old story that the family is cursed, and many of the adults have their own secrets. Bridget herself comes across a discovery in an abandoned area of a mine that brings up the past. The Howley’s do the best they can, but it is a difficult time for all of them and relationships are affected. The author portrays Bridget well as she grows up and faces truths. The fires are based on a real events and the decaying of the town from to it adds interesting elements to the fictional novel.
Exit West – Mohsin Hamid – 4.5****
What an inventive and interesting way of telling a tale that examines issues of immigration, war, and love. Hamid uses a framework of a political unrest, where outsiders are quickly blamed for all that goes wrong. It’s uncomfortably recognizable and plausible, but also has a mystical / ethereal quality.
LINK to my review
What an unusual book
The story is told through fragments.
Every paragraph is fragmented itself.
Every chapter is a collection of images and meaning
a paragraph focuses on a visual (Poplar trees, fishermen on the Danube, ants, broken phone booth) and the poetic descriptions circle the image and grow and through them the story is told.
The general story that you stitch up from the broken bits are of a tired city in communist Romania in the late 80s and tired and scared people. The pettiness, humanity, greed, fear, bravery, randomness. The people and society as a whole are communists but traditional stories and beliefs are threaded in the story
I think the fragmented structure of the book adds to the feeling of chaos, of confusion and lack of control.
It makes the book a bit challenging, but it is done well and is beautiful.
Some of the visuals are heart breaking or disturbing - the descriptions of the slaughterhouse workers and the bridge. Some are funny - the girls running to the attic to see the men naked in the factory, some are magical - the chapter of the factory cat is pretty amazing
the book is harsh but very rewarding I thought.
The writing style does take getting used to but it's worth it. I will read it again I hope.
a really random paragraphs to show her unique way of writing:
"When she's inside the factory yard, the cat is all rust and wire mesh. On top of the factory roof she is all corrugated tin, and outside the offices she is all asphalt. By the washeroom, sand. And in the workrooms the cat is all shafts and cogs and oil.
The gateman can see heads emerging among the spools. Sparrows come flitting out of the wire. The gateman glances up at the sky. A single sparrow flying in the sun is something light, only a flock is heavy. The corrugated tin slices the afternoon at an angle. The twittering of the sparrows is hoarse."
============================================
I'm hoping to read another from this list - Shirley Hazzard's The Transit of Venus
Nice review! Glad to see a post here as I have finally dived into the 2nd book I committed to In the Time of the Butterflies and hoped this thread was still open! Planning to finish this week as it has really captured my attention.
I will put A Place Called Winter on my list.
A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale3 1/2 stars
In the early 1900's Harry Cane was living in Great Britain. He was a gentleman who had inherited money and never held a job up to that point. He soon married a women named Winnie Wells and they had a child. Harry's money did not last and when something he was hiding became known, he was forced to leave his family. He traveled to Canada where those who were able to live there, fence it and grow crops for three years would be given their parcel of land. Harry settled in a small community named Winter. It was hard work and Harry had much to learn. His neighbors, the Slaymaker's, were a brother and sister who helped Harry tremendously. They also have their own secrets.
The book switched time frames, so the reader can tell that something has happened regarding Harry in Canada, but does not know what or who else is involved. It then goes back to fill in the story. To me the book moved a little slowly. It had themes of isolation, war, finding oneself, love, hate, family, and recovery. It is interesting that the author based Harry's character on a past relative and a few stories he knew about him. He then designed a fictional book around the person. He also did a good job of showing the changes in Harry as the novel went along.
In the Time of the Butterflies 5 starsThis is historical-fiction about the revolution in the Dominican Republic in the 1950's-60's. It tells the story of 4 sisters: Minerva, Patri, Mate(Maria) and Dede. The story is told in their voices, beginning as young girls until their adulthood when 3 of them would be murdered for their activism against the regime of Rafel Trujillo.
The author admits that although he story of " The Butterflies", the sister's code name, is real her writing is fictional. Alvaraz portrays each sister differently, one strong and brave, one romantic, one who clings to her religion and one controlled by a husband she shouldn't have married. The differences always set aside by family love.
Although I knew the ending, the story was griping and the writing just drew me in. I knew very little about this place and time and living it through the lives of the Mirabel sisters was a wonderful education.
Highly recommended
I FINALLY finished my book in honor of Denizen. I'm glad I read it as it was on my own TBR forever and is critically acclaimed (deservedly so), but I can't say I enjoyed the experience.The Association of Small Bombs - 2 stars
I appreciated what this author attempted to do (and largely did successfully) with this novel, but unfortunately it didn't make for a fun reading experience. The book interweaves the stories of a victims of terrorism with perpetrators of terrorism without passing any moral judgements. We aren't even introduced the the character I would consider to be the main character, Ayub, until well into the story. He goes from being an activist to something more (a terrorist? a pawn of terrorists? ), but the author never permits the reader to lose empathy. Normally, I really like when author's do this and do it well, blurring the lines between good and evil, moral and immoral. The problem for me, with this book, was that it felt the the author narrated the story much more than revealed it. No matter how masterfully a writer does this, it just creates distance between the reader and the characters, and I never really felt their pain. Objectively, I should have cared a lot more, but honestly my end reaction was "well, those events were quite interesting" as if a friend just told me about a story he read in the news. I need more from a novel.
Hello all,I just want to let you know that we will be closing this challenge on December 31st. So, if you are still reading your books, then please try and finish by the end of the year.
I also need to update the spreadsheet and I will do that this weekend so you all know where you stand!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Oh Nicole, I’ve just realised that I read The Doomsday Book earlier in the year. I hadn’t realised it was here... I’ll still read Fifteen Dogs which was the one on my list, but will do a review for Doomsday too
Nicole-I read In the Time of the Butterflies in October and posted a review you are showing it still as unread on the spreadsheet. Review is dated October 25 in the thread if that helps you find it.
Thanks! I am behind on recording reviews but will catch up this weekend and will be sure to get that one. Thank you for including he message number!
KateNZ wrote: "Oh Nicole, I’ve just realised that I read The Doomsday Book earlier in the year. I hadn’t realised it was here... I’ll still read Fifteen Dogs which was the one on my list, but will do a review for..."Did mine not count for Doomsday Book because I'm an admin? Or did I miss posting it here?
ETA: I see you're behind on recording. I did read Doomsday Book for this purpose! Oh, good. Message 182, posted above at the end of August.
Gun with Occasional MusicI loved Jonathan Lethem's book Motherless Brooklyn, so wanted to give his dystopian noir Gun, With Occasional Music a shot. I enjoy but a good noir and a good dystopian, so I thought that the combo might be a winning one. For me it didn't quite work.
The beat and cadence of the conversations and description of the mystery definitely merit the noir descriptor. The tough edged down and out detective there a check there. For me wrapping my head around all the dystopian elements threw me off a bit. Ok so everyone gets karma points to exist in this society, now how does this work. There are evolved animals that also are a part of daily life, hmm.. how would it work to run into an ape detective or a sheep maid?
Perhaps what was missing for me was more explanation of how society had changed to this point, that I didn't buy into it. It could have been that I just didn't enjoy this dystopian world.
Truthfully I found it a little cartoonish and that is why I am not a lover.
In addition to The North Water I also started two other books Black Swan Green and A Strangeness in My Mind) In Memory of Denizen and I'm very sorry to say I have not been able to finish them. I got more than half way thru Black Swan Green and liked it. It's a coming of age story of a boy who lives in England during the 1980's. My hunch is it may be autobiographical to the author. It's a mix of lots of books that precede it, i.e., Lord of the Flies, The Catcher In the Rye, etc. It was good but not so good that it kept my interest to finish it. The second book I can only say I got about 100 pgs. into. I also liked it but just never got a chance to dig in. This has been my worst year of reading since I can remember. Between Life with two boys under 3 and work (which involved a promotion and more responsibilities) my time and ability to read has dwindled to almost nothing. I feel like I let Denizen down and I think I will use her as my motivation this next year to get back on track and get back to reading somehow, knowing that life is just too short.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Black Swan Green (other topics)The North Water (other topics)
A Strangeness in My Mind (other topics)
Motherless Brooklyn (other topics)
Gun, With Occasional Music (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jonathan Lethem (other topics)Vasily Grossman (other topics)
Vasily Grossman (other topics)
Vasily Grossman (other topics)
Martha Hall Kelly (other topics)
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It was! It took me a minute to realize! And maybe... :-)