What Are You Reading / Reviews - June 2019

[Book Concierge]

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Read any good books lately? We want to know about them.
How about real stinkers? We want to know about those too!


Enter your reading list and/or reviews here. Did you like it? Hate it? Feel lukewarm?

Share your thoughts with us.

Happy reading!

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[Melissa]

Maximum Ride Forever (Maximum Ride #9) by James Patterson
4 ★

Maximum Ride and her flock separate in the post-apocalyptic new world to find out what happened. Not the best idea, but it needs to be done. Old enemies resurface and new friends are made. There are many sad scenes throughout the book, but also many happy scenes. Big surprises and a lot of action. A great ending to a fantastic series.

[James]

Han Kang, Human Acts [2014; tr. 2016] 218 pages

A powerful novel about the Gwangju massacre in 1980 and its aftermath, by one of the foremost women novelists writing in South Korea today. The book is written in a highly advanced style. It begins with the story of Dong-ho, a middle school student who is guarding the bodies of the victims of the first day of murder of the unarmed demonstrators in the city. It then moves backwards and forwards in time, from the perspectives of different actors in the events of the struggle in Gwangju, coming ahead to the present and then in memories back to Gwangju. The novel shows the absolutely unnecessary brutality and cruelty of the government soldiers, which seems to have no rationale even from the perspective of the dictatorship. It also shows the effects of "survivor's guilt" on those who remained alive. If I have any criticism, it is that the violence and brutality is so unrelieved that the book is difficult to read for long stretches of time -- it took me five days to get through the 218 pages, but this is a subject that people need to know about, especially those who see South Korea as a democratic contrast to the dictatorship in the North; while the dictatorship was overthrown and formal democracy established later in the decade, note that when this novel was written five years ago, the dictator Park Chung-hee's daughter was president of South Korea (she was later impeached for corruption and abuses of power).

[James]

William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark [about 1600; Signet Classic edition, ed. by Edward Hubler, 1963) 271 pages
William Shakespeare, Hamlet: An Authoritative Text, Intellectual Backgrounds, Extracts from the Sources, Essays in Criticism [about 1600; Norton Critical edition, ed. by Cyrus Hoy, 1963] 270 pages
J.C.Levinson, ed., Discussions of Hamlet [1960] 113 pages

Two modernized editions of Hamlet based on the Second Quarto, with additions from the Folio, together with selections of critical articles, and a third book of critical articles. There was a great deal of overlap in the three; all contain a selection of "classic" excerpts, from Johnson (2), Coleridge (all 3) and Hazlitt (2) through Bradley (all 3), Eliott(2) and Stoll(2), two have excerpts from Dover Wilson, two have Mack's "The World of Hamlet"; the Norton has more background and sources and about a dozen articles not in the others, Levinson's book has four, and the Signet two. Obviously by the dates there is nothing recent, and much of the criticism (as well as Hamlet of course) I had already read, but it was worth reviewing before reading more modern articles and seeing the play again next month.

[Melissa]

See No Evil (No Evil Trilogy #2) by Allison Brennan
4 ★

DDA Julia Chandler's niece, Emily, is in trouble. Due to some incriminating evidence, the police believe that Emily killed her stepfather. Julia is convinced that Emily is innocent and hires PI Connor Kincaid to help her prove it. The only problem is that Julia and Connor have a troubled past and don't really like or trust each other. With the help of Connor's brother, Dillon, they uncover a website called Wishlist and find other murders linked to it and the therapist who started it.

I like how this book focused on a different member of the Kincaid family. The author did a great job giving the reader Connor and Julia's background story throughout the book. It fit in perfect in some spots and never took away from the main story. I was also pleased that the death of Connor's nephew is mentioned and how it affected him. I'm very eager to learn more about that story.
The story was a good one with some unseen (at first) twists. I was able to figure it all out on my own, but it didn't take away from the suspense. Julia and Connor's relationship evolves very quickly and you can tell there was more between the two of them years ago. The only issue I had with the story was to bedroom scenes. I like a good romantic scene, but these were a bit too graphic for me.

[Book Concierge]

The Optimist’s Guide to letting Go – Amy E Reichert – 4****
I really liked this intergenerational story that follows Lorraine, her two daughters, Vicky and Gina, and Gina’s teen daughter May. Their relationships are fraught and characterized by discord and silence. It’s a delightful and heartfelt story. I find it interesting that once Lorraine loses her speech due to a stroke, the communication between her and her daughters becomes clearer. I also have to give a “warning” about the food descriptions here. Reichert’s books always have this element in them, and readers should be aware that they will find themselves craving all sorts of delicacies.
LINK to my review

[Book Concierge]

The Antelope Wife – Louise Erdrich – 4****
I just have to say that Erdrich is one of my favorite writers. Her prose is luminous and poetic. Her use of magical realism seamless. It reminds me of listening to my grandparents, aunts and uncles tell stories of family lore, sitting on a dark porch of a summer evening. The novel weaves history, contemporary urban life, legend, and sacred myth into a marvelous tapestry of a story. There is birth and death, humor and tragedy, betrayal and forgiveness, broken people scattered on the battlefield of life, and others standing tall and moving forward.
LINK to my review

[James]

Harley Granville-Barker, Preface to Hamlet [1946] 284 pages

I'm still reading about Hamlet before seeing the USF production next month. A classic of criticism and one of the best books I've read on the play, Granville-Barker's Preface to Hamlet treats the play first and foremost as a play, designed to be represented in a particular theater, and making uses of the conventions of its time and place, an approach which was somewhat novel at the time. He begins with several interesting chapters on various aspects of Elizabethan/Jacobean theater as they relate to the play, including the convention of soliloquoy and the use of "boy-actresses", then follows with a close explication of the text itself. He rejects the folio editiors divisions and divides the play into three rather than five parts. Throughout the analysis he emphasizes the effects that would be made on the stage and gives much good advice for directors and actors. He ends where so many earlier critics of the play begin, with discussions of all the characters and their roles in the structure of the play.


Harry Levin, The Question of Hamlet [1959] 178 pages

Levin also divides the play into three parts, but in terms of themes: he uses the Elizabethan rhetorical theory to discuss it in terms of Interrogation, Doubt, and Irony. The discussion is definitely interesting, though not especially original or different (although he has new insights into many specific passages), and the book would probably be a good introduction to the play for students reading it in a high school or undergraduate class. The additional matter at the end would be more challenging as it makes comparisons not only with Shakespeare's other plays but also with a number of his contemporaries.

[Book Concierge]

Santa Cruise – Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark – 3***
The mother/daughter writing team gives us a cozy mystery featuring retired maid and lottery winner Alvirah Meehan, her husband, Willy, and their friends on a holiday cruise. The plot is suitably complicated, if somewhat outlandish. it’s a fun, fast, cozy mystery with a satisfying conclusion.
LINK to my review

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Murder Most Frothy – Cleo Coyle – 3***
Book four in the Coffeehouse Mystery series has Clare working for the summer in the Hamptons, helping a friend train the staff of his new restaurant. Their first Hamptoms event is marred, however, when one of her employees is shot and killed. It’s a fast read with a great cast of characters. I’ll keep reading the series.
LINK to my review

[Melissa]

Home to Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap #4) by Adriana Trigiani
5 ★
I usually start my reviews with a quick synopsis of the book, but there is way too much going on in this book for that. Just read the back cover. :-)
Anyway, Home to Big Stone Gap basically starts off where the last book ended. Etta is now married in Italy and Ave Marie and Jack have an empty nest. What will Ave Marie do now? Well, all of us devout Big Stone Gap fans know that Ave Marie's little town is never short on drama (both kinds). Ave Marie agrees to direct the next town musical, The Sounds of Music, with a very interesting cast. The reader learns about a huge secret Iva Lou has been hiding that may ruin her and Ave Marie's friendship and Jack gets sick. Jack has also been talking to someone about being a consultant to a strip-mining company. I love how open and opinionated Ave Marie is about this. And she doesn't back down, even when Jack gets upset with her. Ave Marie is still very self conscious and worries way too much. You would think that after 20 years with Jack MacChesney she would be over all that. But it does make Ave Marie a character that many can relate to. I for one can. The best part of the book is the trip that Iva Marie and Jack take at the end of the book. It sort of brings things full circle. Sort of...
I wish this series didn't have to end. I feel like there is still so much more we need to learn about and from all the characters and Big Stone Gap. It almost feels like I'm going to miss out on a friend's last few years. There is more story here that I hope the author will one day revisit.

[Melissa]

The Evil Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #1) by Gena Showalter
4 ★

Everly and Hartly Morrow are living a normal teenage life. Hartly is loved by everyone and Everly is the outcast. She doesn't understand why until the day she learns that she can communicate with mirrors and finds out that she, Hartly and their mom are from the realm of Enchantia. After a family tragedy Everly thinks that returning to Enchantia will solve all her problems. This is until she learns that she is part of a fairy tale and may possibly be Snow White's Evil Queen. She soon meets Prince Charming, AKA Roth Charmaine, and her battle between good and evil begins.

Evil isn't born, it's made. One thought and action at a time.- Everly Morrow

This retelling of the Evil Queen's story was exciting, heartbreaking, cruel, and rewarding. I found it to be a bit slow at first and had to put it down, but once I picked it back up I was hooked. Everything that is done to Everly is done because of what the fairy-tale or prophecy says is going to happen. Everyone is just so sure that she is the Evil Queen and must be stopped. Everly has a very kind heart and only wants the best for the ones she loves. Anyone who has to go through what she went through is bound to get mad and want revenge. The story moves at a good pace and the ending has you wanting book 2 now.
The author really dwells on the fairy-tale topic, but redeems herself by reminding us all that our decisions in life determine our history. My copy of this book was an advanced readers copy courtesy of NetGalley and I know that there are still changes to be made and one of the changes I hope the author makes is delete all the time she uses the abbreviation SW and EQ and just spells it out.

[James]

James L. Calderwood, To Be and Not To Be: Negation and Metadrama in Hamlet [1983] 222 pages

I had this one in my garage from some library booksale. As is obvious from the subtitle, this is a very academic study, and what's worse, one from the 1980's, quoting everyone from Bergson, Wittgenstein and Ryle to Saussure, Jakobsen, Derrida, and of course James Joyce. Nevertheless, it was a bit better than I expected. The author uses linguistic analysis as a means of explaining some of the more obscure questions one might ask about the play, such as why Claudius isn't called Claudius and why Claudio is named at all, why father and son are both called Hamlet when they have different names in the sources, and why the King is killed twice at the end. The first two parts aren't bad, the third part just repeats the same arguments with more jargon (especially the metaphor/paradigm vs. metonymy/syntagma opposition). The basic idea is that the play is about Hamlet becoming an individual self rather than being defined as a "son" or a revenger.

[Book Concierge]

Girl Waits With Gun – Amy Stewart – 4****
Based on the true story of one of America’s first female detectives, Stewart gives us a wonderfully atmospheric historical crime novel set in 1914-1915, and with a great cast of characters. I loved Constance – strong, determined, intelligent, and self-reliant. But also applaud Sheriff Heath, who not only worked to prove the case against the powerful factory owner but was astute enough to recognize the talent in Constance Kopp and offer her that ground-breaking opportunity. I’ll keep reading this series.
LINK to my review

[Book Concierge]

A Deadly Grind – Victoria Hamilton – 2.5***
I liked the basic premise of this new cozy series, including the small-town setting, the interplay between the sisters, and the cast of (potentially) recurring colorful characters. But the main character repeatedly made poor choices and took such obviously dangerous chances that I was just irritated with her. Still it was a fast read, and I’d be willing to try another in the series.
LINK to my review

[James]

Articles on Hamlet [1975-1999] 325 pages

Another made up book, 17 articles from Academic Search Premier from the last quarter of the twentieth century. See my challenge thread for reviews of the individual articles.

[Book Concierge]

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves – Karen Joy Fowler – 4****
A chance encounter with a fellow college student, causes Rosemary Cooke to briefly abandon the careful façade she’s adopted and has her reflecting on her childhood, and her lost siblings: her sister Fern and her brother Lowell. This is the kind of character-driven literary fiction that I relish. Fowler’s writing brings this wounded family to life.
LINK to my review

[Book Concierge]

Hissy Fit – Mary Kay Andrews – 3***
Even before I read the jacket blurb, I knew I was in for a light, fun, fast, chick lit, beach read. And that’s exactly what I got. Mary Kay Andrews knows how to write in this genre and she does a fine job of it.
LINK to my review