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Leslie's Reading the Rainbow in 2015
Blue Challenge: Sci fi & FantasyThe Waters Rising
(done 7/14) {reread}4★ Perhaps for someone who hasn't enjoyed the first book, A Plague of Angels, this would be a 3 star book. Both books have parts that are perhaps a tad preachy but since I tend to agree with the message being preached, it doesn't bother me. This book isn't quite as good as the first one but I was happy to see Abasio again.
One thing bothered me a bit on this reread -- the age difference between Abasio and Xulai. It isn't clear how much time is supposed to have passed but the indications are it has been years (maybe a decade? or even longer). So I think Abasio must be about twice Xulai's age... Not that ~40 year-old men don't fall in love with 19 year-old women!
The parallels with A Plague of Angels were most obvious to me in the "bad guys" -- Alicia, Duchess of Altamont is almost a carbon copy of Ellel. Even the same hang-ups about daddy... However the main theme, indicated by the title, was more reminiscent of Tepper's novel Singer from the Sea and to a lesser extent The Family Tree.
Wow ! That is some work you have put into that challenge there...I really admire the layout and idea behind it. I would love to try something like it ! I have ideas already for genres that I love. Well done Leslie, you are inspirational.
Ruth wrote: "Wow ! That is some work you have put into that challenge there...I really admire the layout and idea behind it. I would love to try something like it ! I have ideas already for genres that I love. ..."Thanks Ruth! I think 15 categories is too many but it was too hard to figure out what to leave out (and you can see that some of the 15 have subsections!!) Luckily there are lots of colors ;)
Leslie wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Wow ! That is some work you have put into that challenge there...I really admire the layout and idea behind it. I would love to try something like it ! I have ideas already for genres ..."I know, it's colossal!! I am thinking maybe 3 books only per colour ... but I will have to pick a lot of colours ha ha :D
Ruth wrote: " I am thinking maybe 3 books only per colour ... but I will have to pick a lot of colours ha ha :D ..."Oooh! That's a good idea! Lots of categories but fewer books in each would make it more manageable.
Leslie wrote: "Ruth wrote: " I am thinking maybe 3 books only per colour ... but I will have to pick a lot of colours ha ha :D ..."Oooh! That's a good idea! Lots of categories but fewer books in each would ma..."
I already started a template ! ha ha
Blue Challenge: Sci fi & FantasyFish Tails
(done 7/17)2½★ I really wanted to love this. Tepper is one of my favorite authors and I have read many of her books multiple times.
Unfortunately, it is in need of a better editor which became apparent quite early when Chapter 2 had large sections identical to the prologue, read only 50 pages or so before. That plus small errors (such as calling Bertram the tailor "Bernard") were irritating but not very important. What I found more disturbing was problems in continuity, as they call it in the film industry. Various comments or plot elements which were contrary to the world as it had been portrayed previously (either previously in this book or in the other books in the series). One example was in Chapter 11, when Coyote (view spoiler) Precious Wind is now apparently "like a sister" to Xulai both in age & relationship -- odd for a woman who helped to raise her & had been her teacher.
I was also disturbed by the much increased use of machines -- by the Artemesians in particular as it seemed contrary to the philosophy they espoused in A Plague of Angels. And Xulai & Abasio's ul xaolat's internal dialogue appeared to me to be indicative of walker mentality, a problem which is never explored but struck me as ironic in the extreme.
But the main reason I was disappointed in this novel was (view spoiler)
I did like the short story that I discovered after the Author's Note called "The Story of the Kindly Teacher". Very well done with a similar message as one of the themes in the Grass trilogy (esp. in the second book) about the Baidee.
Black Hoarder's Challenge (#1)Pink Challenge: Kindle Catch Up
Our Mutual Friend
(done 7/16)4½★ I would have given this 5 stars except that there were certain passages (too many in my opinion) which were too obviously Dickens getting on his soapbox and not really relevant to the story. Dickens does this in most (all?) of his novels and I have often enjoyed the sarcastic wit in these asides but for some reason, I found them less funny and more bitter in this novel & therefore less enjoyable. (I will try to track down some examples to include here later)
The plot itself I loved. It had all the twists and turns and branches that I appreciate so much in Dickens as well as the wonderful cast of characters. The only thing missing was one or two "light relief" eccentric but harmless characters such as Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield although I suppose Jenny Wren & Mr. Tremlow do fulfill that function to some extent. I was pleased to find (view spoiler)
While this review is for the book itself, I will strongly recommend Mil Nicholson's narration (Librivox recording, version 3) to anyone who listens to audiobooks. I give the audiobook 5★
Green Challenge: PlaysThe Doctor's Dilemma
(done 7/18)4★ I listened to this full cast audiobook while skimming/reading the play in my Kindle omnibus "The Plays of Shaw".
I realized fairly quickly after starting this play that I had seen a film version of it with Leslie Caron. While I enjoyed listening to the play, I would recommend the 1958 movie over this audiobook to anyone interested in it. The pace of the audiobook (too slow) and the necessary (but not always complete) stage directions interrupting the flow both detracted from my enjoyment.
Regarding the plot: Shaw has some funny scenes in Act 1 satirizing the successful "Harley Street" physician (Harley Street is a street in London that was well-known for being the location of society doctors; it is similar to the term "Fleet Street" meaning the location of publishers of newspapers). I was surprised by how apt some of the satire still is over 100 years later!
The main dilemma is one of morality: is it ethical or right to deny possibly life-saving treatment to someone who is a cad? If the availability of treatment is limited, should the moral and potential future usefulness of the patient be a consideration? Shaw also uses Dubedat to challenge the views of the doctors (and audience) as to the relative importance of artistic genius compared to obeying society's rules. Even the ending raises some interesting questions: (view spoiler)
Yellow Challenge: Guardian's ListPink Challenge: Kindle Catch Up
Three Men in a Boat
(done 7/19)5★ for the illustrated book & 4★ for the audiobook.
The book is probably 4.5 stars but this Kindle edition from Project Gutenberg has wonderful illustrations which helped put it up to a 5 star book (by the way, the cover shown above wasn't from Project Gutenberg but although their Kindle edition had great illustrations it did not have a cover image!). For those of you (like myself) who like to get the free ebook editions, note that the free Amazon Kindle edition doesn't have these illustrations but just has phrases describing the image instead.
As for a review of the book itself, all I can really say is that I found it hilarious for the most part. This is supposed to be a travelogue of sorts but Jerome goes off on all kinds of tangents, giving anecdotes to illustrate some point he had been making. These anecdotes were the best part for me; some sections of the actual description of the countryside I found less interesting (perhaps because I am unfamiliar with the area).
Jerome's sense of humor and writing style reminded me of P.G. Wodehouse & now I have read this, I suspect that this must have been an inspiration to Wodehouse. If you don't enjoy Wodehouse, chances are you won't find this novel funny either.
I don't often rate the audiobook less than the text (partly because if I am hating the narration I will dump the audio). However, I do so in this instance, even though I thought that Steven Crossley did a fine narration, for two reasons.
1) Unfortunately I found the sound quality to be a little uneven; the biggest issue was that at times his voice seemed to be fading away even though I hadn't changed the volume. I don't know if that was part of the recording or an issue with my individual download but it was noticeable enough to be disconcerting especially in the car.
2) The illustrations in my Kindle edition were so enjoyable and added to the fun of the book so I felt that in this case, the text had to have a higher rating than the audio.
Violet Challenge: PoetryBrick Challenge: Books in Translation (Polish to English)
Facing the River
(done 7/20)3½★ This book of poetry by the Nobel Laureate Czeslaw Milosz probably deserves a higher rating. The poems clearly showed me some of the feelings of survivors guilt & bitterness that I guess Milosz felt upon returning home to what had become Lithuania in 1989. While I can sympathize with these feelings, I can't share them. I did find the bitter anger in "Sarajevo" to be quite moving. Several of the poems reflect upon religion, particularly Catholicism, which doesn't much interest me very much.
My favorites from this volume were "At a Certain Age", "Lithuania, After Fifty-Two Years" (especially the section entitled "Who?"), "Woe!" and "To Mrs. Professor in Defense of My Cat's Honour and Not Only". I found the text explaining the poem "Undressing Justine" fascinating.
I am interested in seeking out some other poetry by this poet; perhaps something published at a different time in his life will have a different mood & speak more to me.
Ruby Challenge: Foreign Mysteries (Swedish)The Locked Room
(done 7/20)4★ Maybe even 4.5 stars! While the locked room part of the mystery was not as clever as John Dickson Carr's, it was a great backdrop to Martin Beck's recovery (from his injury in the previous book) and Sjöwall & Wahlöö did a great job entwining it with the series of bank robberies that Kollberg and others are investigating.
But what really lifts this police procedural from above average to excellent is the look at 1971 Sweden that we get and the snide comments about bureaucracy (and the District Attorney is a wonderful character in this sense!). And the irony of the ending was also satisfying despite the fact that (view spoiler)
I started the Beck series a while back, must continue reading as they are really good
Heather wrote: "I started the Beck series a while back, must continue reading as they are really good"Very good indeed! But one nice thing is it doesn't really matter how long you wait between books :-)
Green Challenge: PlaysBrick Challenge: Books in translation (French -> English)
Pink Challenge: Kindle ROOTs
The Miser
(done 7/22) {reread} 4★ This French classic was my first experience of Molière and made me a lifelong fan. Unfortunately, the translation in this Kindle edition by Charles Heron Wall isn't as good as the one I remember from years ago (Richard Wilbur's??) (my ebook is from Project Gutenberg; this is also the translation used in the full cast Librivox recording). While easy to read, I miss the rhyming couplets and the word play isn't as sparkling as I expect from Molière.
Even with these flaws, I still had fun reading this. I was inspired to reread this play having come across a reference to its main character in the Dumas novel I am reading and am glad I took the time to do so.
The ending reminded me of something from a Shakespeare comedy ("The Comedy of Errors" perhaps) but I love the fact that Harpagon stays miserly to the end. And the scene where (view spoiler). Now I wish I could find a live performance somewhere!
Maroon Challenge: Mysteries off my shelvesBright Orange for the Shroud
(done 7/24)3½★ As I am beginning to expect with this series, this isn't really a mystery. Travis McGee is a 1960s version of the gang in the TV show "Leverage", only he works mostly alone and without all the cool gadgets. In this entry of the series, McGee doesn't get a romantic interest but that is OK as it is taken up by the client and a dancer friend of McGee's.
If you like suspense/thrillers and don't mind a high body count, this McGee novel might appeal. It was less dated than some of the previous books in the series and had less snide social-commentary. For me, the first of those was a plus but the second a minus...
Orange Challange: Short StoriesThe Chronicles of Clovis
(done 7/27)4★ Amusing short stories but not quite as good as Beasts and Superbeasts. Saki has a very British sense of humor -- if you don't like Wodehouse, Jerome or other authors of that ilk, you will probably not find these funny...
Ruby Challenge: Foreign Mysteries (Italian)The Smell of the Night
(done 7/29)4★ This sixth entry in the Inspector Montalbano series was the perfect beach book for me! The book drew me in and captured my attention despite the distractions of the sun, sand and kids & I finished it the same day I started.
I won't say anything about the mystery (which was as good as usual with this series) but a quick comment about Montalbano's personal life -- I was glad to see that he and Francisco have established a good relationship after the trouble which occurred a few books back. Now I hope that a similar improvement happens with Livia...
Yellow Challenge: Guardian's listLove in a Cold Climate
(done 7/29)3½★ Amusing story about British life between the wars but a tad predictable. I preferred Mitford's The Pursuit of Love. If you like Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies, then this novel is worth trying and gives a different perspective of the same time period.
Tan Challenge: Historical FictionBrick Challenge: Books in Translation (French)
Louise de la Valliere
(done 8/9) 
3★ This 3rd part of the final book in the d'Artagnan trilogy was the least interesting to me -- lots about life at court & the love affairs of the King and his sister-in-law (the sister of the English King Charles II) and very little adventure. I also really don't like Louise, whose character strikes me as too hypocritically prudish. Maybe I am just too much of a partisan of Raoul... The final few chapters of the book started getting more interesting so hopefully my good memory of the last part (The Man in the Iron Mask) will be confirmed. Perhaps with all this background it will be even better!
Regarding the audiobook(s): The Blackstone audiobooks are based on the 3-volume edition of Dumas' final book of the d'Artagnan trilogy, "The Vicomte de Bragelonne, or Ten Years Later" but my Kindle ebook is based on the 4-volume edition. This meant that I started about 60% of the way into the audiobook of "Louise de la Valliere" (the earlier section having been covered in my "Ten Years Later") and then continued into "The Man in the Iron Mask" for ~30%.
Simon Vance is excellent but I got these audiobooks via Hoopla and not being able to download it to my phone was a pain since it limited me to only being able to listen when at home -- I wasn't going to stream over my data plan!
Silver Challenge: Nonfiction -- done!The Story of Mount Desert Island
(done 8/3)4★ Fun read for those that know the island. The early history was particularly interesting & I learned where many of the place names originated.
Tan Challenge: Historical FictionBrick Challenge: Books in Translation
The Man in the Iron Mask
(done 8/12)4½★ Having finally read the entire series, I found that I liked this final section even more. Some sections that I previously thought a bit dull or unrelated I now realize where the continuation or wrapping up of things that had happened previously. Several of the relationships, such as that between Raoul & Louise, are not at all clear if you read this as a stand-alone but make perfect sense having read the previous parts of "Vicomte de Bragelonne; or Ten Years Later". However the book is still a fun read even lacking the nuances of these relations as long as you know "The Three Musketeers" 4 main characters.
One thing I had forgotten was how sad this book ends up being. I was feeling a bit annoyed in the middle that (view spoiler) But upon reflection, Dumas chose the more realistic path and allowed the characters to show their sense of honor or lack thereof. I remain saddened by the division between the 4 friends which is only partially healed in the end. Poor Aramis (view spoiler)
For those unaware, Dumas' mammoth third book in the d'Artagnan series ("Vicomte de Bragelonne; or Ten Years Later") is generally divided into several volumes, most commonly 3 or 4. Unfortunately, these volumes usually have the same name even though they cover slightly different material. This book is covers the material in the 4th volume of a 4 volume edition. I also listened to the Blackstone audiobook edition narrated by Simon Vance which is the final volume of a 3 volume edition (and also a slightly different translation although the translation information is not provided). For those wanting to read this classic as a stand-alone, I would recommend the 4 volume edition -- the 3 volume edition contains about 30% more material at the beginning (covered in my 3rd volume "Louise de la Valliere") which only minimally helps understand the relationships I mentioned above and lacks the adventure and action.
Green Challenge: PlaysMajor Barbara
(done 8/13)4★ Read as part of my Kindle omnibus "The Plays of Shaw". Also listened to the Librivox full cast recording as I read this: http://librivox.org/major-barbara-by-...
Very witty satire about Barbara Undershaft, a major in the Salvation Army, and her family, most notably her father who owns & operates a munitions factory. The debate about physical versus moral power is a bit wordy in places otherwise I might have given this a 5 star rating. Now I am off to watch the film version with Rex Harrison and Wendy Hiller...
Navy Challenge: Vorkosigan seriesFalling Free
(done 8/17)4★ for the audiobook. Maybe only 3.5 stars for the book itself. Grover Gardner once again does a marvelous job with the narration -- I am so glad that the whole series has been recorded with the same narrator!
This novel, #4 in the Vorkosigan series, is really a prequel. Set ~200 years before Miles' birth, it explains the origin of the quaddies. I think that I would have liked it more if I hadn't come to it in the middle of reading the series, as I missed Miles & it suffered in comparison to "Miles in Love" which I recently read and adored. It has several features which I generally like in my sci fi/fantasy reading such as the moral dilemma posed by a company creating humanoid workers who are considered the property of the company. I will have to revisit this Nebula award-winner sometime and see how it fares as a stand-alone.
Yellow Challenge: Guardian's listOrange Challenge: Short Stories
Pink Challenge: Kindle Catch-up
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories
(done 8/18)4½★
While I acquired this Kindle book because The Awakening is on the Guardian's 1000 Novels Everyone Should Read list, it was the short stories that really captured me, especially Beyond the Bayou, The Kiss and The Silk Stockings. The descriptions gave me the feeling of the French Creole presence in Louisiana in the period during and just after the American Civil War and Chopin's women, while quite different from me & my friends, still felt real to me. The lovely prose reminded me a bit of Willa Cather's writing although the setting is quite different. I will have to look for more short stories by Chopin...
The novella The Awakening I found sad in the same way that Anna Karenina and Mrs. Dalloway were. The story has a lot in common with Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary & some other classics from around this time. I can see that when it was first published in 1899, it might have been thought shocking or daring but just as with Anna, I found the main character Edna more annoying than sympathetic (although Edna was nowhere near as annoying as Anna!). I was much more sympathetic to Robert! I guess this is one instance to which my modern sensibilities just can't really relate.
Silver Challenge: Nonfiction -- Done!The Black Count
(done 8/20)4★ Reiss's writing style was engaging and easy to read. Don't be intimidated by the length of the book as a lot of it is notes & references. The actual text was about 330 pages.
I felt that this was not a traditional biography; rather, Reiss used General Alexandre Dumas (father of the famous writer) to illustrate the history of race relations in France & French colonies during the final decades of the monarchy, through the Revolution and into the early years of Napoleon's reign. Sadly, the principles of freedom which were originally applied to all were perverted under Napoleon -- I hadn't realized what a weasel Napoleon was!
Here is an image of a painting showing General Dumas at the bridge outside Brixen on 25 March 1797 where, while waiting for reinforcements, he single-handedly kept the Austrians from crossing:
Note how tall Dumas is compared to the other soldiers!! At this point, Dumas was considered a national hero in France and held to be a specimen of perfect manliness. By the time he died in 1806, blacks, mulattoes and 'men of color' were forbidden to enter the continental territory of the Republic under any cause or pretext, unless supplied with special authorization & those already present were not allowed to live in Paris or its surrounding area or marry across racial boundaries. It was such a shock to me to see how quickly France went from being a mostly 'color-blind' society to having such racist laws (and actually enforcing them).
Some fun facts I picked up along the way:
· Nicolas Conté, a self-taught engineer, physician, painter, and inventor, who, among his many patriotic accomplishments, had founded the world’s first air force – the French army’s “Aerostatic Brigade.” He had converted on of Louis XVI’s old palaces into an air base, from which the brigade launched military balloons that hovered over battlefields on France’s frontiers in the mid-1790s, spying on troop movements.
· “Perhaps one of the most touching of the forgotten stories from this period was how revolutionary France, under the outwardly soulless Directory, instituted the world’s first color-blind elite secondary school. It gave the sons of former slaves – alongside the sons of privileged mixed-race and white abolitionists – one of the world’s finest educations at a time when the English-speaking world still considered it a crime for black children to learn to read.
It began in the mid-1790s, when, at the invitation of prominent members of the Society of the Friends of the Blacks, revolutionaries “of color” in the French colonies began sending their children to school in Paris. The government responded by creating an elite boarding school, the National Colonial Institute, which would be the world’s first experiment in integrated secondary education. Among its founders were leading civil rights activists like Julien Raimond, the Abbé Grègoire, and Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, the man who had first ordered abolition in Saint-Domingue.” (from page 185)
· “Tissot {Europe's leading medical expert} professed that the most surefire way to lose you life force was the obvious one. His 1758 book on sperm conservation – Onanism: A Treatise on the Diseases Produced by Masturbation – argued that semen loss via masturbation led to disease and death. Tissot’s revelations about masturbation and illness – especially his “proof” that the act caused blindness – formed mainstream medical opinion on the subject until Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Male overturned him in 1948.” (from page 303). I had heard of this idea of it causing blindness being used to try to stop boys from masturbating in the 1940s but had no idea it dated back 200 years!
· regarding the National Assembly’s new location in the Tuileries in the Manège (indoors riding hall) in 1789: “The hall’s strange, narrow design, with tiered seating on both sides, caused the deputies to divide themselves according to their political opinions: radicals to the left of the Assembly’s president, conservatives to his right, the origin of the political terms “left” and “right”.” (from page 113)
Orange Challenge: Short StoriesProblem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories
(done 8/28)Upgrading this rating from 2 to 2.5 stars after rereading it in 2015.
I found this collection of short stories to be a bit of a grab bag. On the whole, it was a pleasant way to spend some time however, I find several of these stories not really to my taste. In particular, I am not a fan of the hint of supernatural found in the Mr. Satterthwaite/Harley Quin stories.
I did like the two Parker Pyne stories "The Problem at Pollensa Bay" and "The Regatta Mystery" and the non-mystery story "Next to a Dog" was very touching.
Green Challenge: PlaysBrick Challenge: Books in translation (German -> English)
Lovers' Vows
(done 8/28)4★ This 1798 adaptation by Elizabeth Inchbald of the German play Das Kind der Liebe by August von Kotzebue was a surprisingly quick and easy read. The play, about an unwed mother and her illegitimate son, is in some aspects a typical melodrama but the morality advocated isn't of the Victorian variety.
I downloaded this from Project Gutenberg because I am rereading Mansfield Park and this is the play that Tom Bertram and the others decide to put on. Jane Austin's contemporary readers would have been familiar with the play but the scene in which Maria and Julia argue about who will play Agatha was a bit unclear to me. So glad I decided to take the time to read this!
I must say that I am more in sympathy with the morality of the play than with Fanny & Edmund's reaction to it!
Yellow Challenge: Guardian's listBrick Challenge: Books in translation (French -> English)
Suite Francaise
(done 8/29)3.5 stars rounded up to 4★ based on the heartrending letters in one of the Appendices.
While I found this easy to read and the wide variety of reactions to the German occupation of France (in 1940-41) fascinating, the story itself lacked plot. I am a reader who likes plot-driven narrative over character studies so if you aren't, you will probably like this more than I did! I felt the book lacked cohesion and especially the first section "Storm in June" seemed to be mostly vignettes. Some of that lack stems from the fact that this is an unfinished novel (due to the fact that Némirovsky was arrested by the Nazis in July 1942, sent to Auschwitz and died on 17 August 1942) but I got the sense from her notes that it was intended to be more of a study of French character.
Having said that, her characters are extremely well drawn, even the ones we meet only fleetingly. It was difficult to remember that this was a contemporary account as she wrote it with such a clear and unsentimental style that it feels as though it had the emotional distance of years. There was only one incident that didn't seem to me to fit - (view spoiler)
Maroon Challenge: Mysteries off my shelvesSilence Observed
(done 8/29)3½★ This 19th entry in the Appleby series was a more traditional police-based mystery though I hesitate to call it a police procedural as very little procedure is followed! Sir John is drawn into investigating a potential case of forged forgeries (!) just as Sir Gabriel Gulliver, an old family friend of his wife, asks him to look into the willful disappearance of a beautiful girl with an unknown Rembrandt. Some aspects of the plot were a little predictable but there were enough twists to keep me satisfied.
Violet Challenge: PoetryBrick Challenge: Books in translation (Polish -> English)
Bells in Winter
(done 8/30)3★ This was my second book of poetry by Milosz. I can say now that as talented a poet as he is, his poems just don't resonate with me. I liked a few in this collection but disliked several others. I am glad I gave this Nobel-Laureate a second try but won't be reading any more of his work anytime soon.
Yellow Challenge: Guardian's listSanctuary
(done 8/30)This book completes my challenge to read 25 new-to-me books from the Guardian's list this year!
4★ Hmmm... what to say about this novel? I can see why Faulkner referred to it as a pot-boiler but, as with some other wonderful writers (Graham Greene for example), it is so well-written that it is something more than just a crime story. And what a crime story! I would put it in the category of "Brighton Rock" or perhaps classic film noir -- there is no real hero (even Horace Benbow (view spoiler)). The chapter near the end about Popeye's upbringing struck me as very modern -- something I would expect to see in a psychological thriller by Ruth Rendell.
This novel was certainly one of the easiest novels of Faulkner's to read -- almost no stream-of-consciousness writing (it does pop up in a few scenes) and a fairly linear plot. If you have been afraid to try his books, this one might be a good place to start, but be prepared to meet a bunch of very unpleasant people! Yet out of all the criminals (moonshiners, prostitutes, etc.), corrupt officials and mean-spirited townspeople in the book, I think Horace's sister Narcissa may have been the character I disliked the most.
Navy Challenge: Vorkosigan seriesDiplomatic Immunity
(done 9/2)3½★ for the book and 4* for the audiobook. I found this one a bit slow going at the beginning although it certainly had plenty of action by the end!! It was nice to find that (view spoiler) & makes me glad that I had taken the time to reread Labyrinth before reading this one. Grover Gardner again gives a stellar narration.
I think the final book in the omnibus of Miles, Mutants and Microbes, "Diplomatic Immunity", was more enjoyable to me than the first one, "Falling Free", but that Falling Free was a better novel overall, one that had something for the reader to think over once the book was finished. Diplomatic Immunity was more fun for me because it was the next installment in the serial about Miles Vorkosigan's life and just as with fans of daytime soap operas, I needed my fix. But that having been achieved, there was less substance to this novel -- plenty of action but not as much social commentary.
I am glad that I decided to reread the novella "Labyrinth" that separated the two novels as that was the best part of the whole omnibus!
Maroon Challenge: Mystery paperbacks already ownedDarker Than Amber
(done 9/2)3ચ This 7th entry in the Travis McGee series is the first one in which McGee's neighbor & friend Meyer has a major role. I liked the dynamic between Meyer & McGee and Meyer balances out McGee's personality.
However, I find the attitudes to women & sex sometimes mildly offensive; interestingly I think McGee is much more of a "love 'em and leave 'em" guy than James Bond ever was (at least in the books). I realize that these books are very much of their times (mid 60s) but passages like
"I was a prude, in my own fashion. I had been emotionally involved a few times with women with enough of a record of promiscuity to make me vaguely uneasy. It is difficult to put much value on something the lady has distributed all too generously."
make me cringe especially since this standard of behavior clearly isn't intended to be applied to McGee himself!
Yellow Challenge: Guardian's listCop Hater
(done 9/3)4★ This first book in the 87th Precinct series is a landmark in the mystery genre. It was the first mystery in which the hero wasn't an individual cop but a whole precinct & it was also the first to be set in a realistic but fictional city. This series paved the way for many other novels and also TV shows such as Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue and others.
Given that significance, I was a bit generous with my rating. The actual plot was engrossing but I was able to figure out the solution about 3/4 of the way through -- although if I had been reading it in 1956 I might not have! One feature I have not run across before was the images of police forms and documents -- that was cool!
Oh, and this Kindle edition had a hilarious typo, when in the autopsy report of the first victim says "Approximate weight 210 pounds; height 28.9 cm." (my underlining) This makes Michael Reardon about 11 inches tall!!! It is a strange typo too as it couldn't be 289 cm as that would make him over 8 feet tall! Either a humunculus or a giant it would seem - LOL!
Green Challenge: PlaysThe Mousetrap by Agatha Christie
(done 9/4)4½★ I can see why this play enjoyed such a long run! Great take on the country home mystery, a new guest house (sort of like a bed & breakfast but serving all meals) opens one winter day, coincidentally when a blizzard is occurring. On the radio as the play opens is the news of a murder in London...
I am a Christie fan but for some reason have never read this play before. It is very well done and she manages to make the audience suspect each person in turn and yet the guilty person is still a surprise! Sadly, it might not appeal to today's young people as the plot does depend on the murderer cutting the telephone wire to isolate the house even more -- the prevalence today of cell phones has made this whole subgenre of mysteries obsolete (or at least dependent on exotic circumstances).
Note: I read this in the omnibus "The Mousetrap and Other Plays"
Leslie wrote: "Green Challenge: PlaysThe Mousetrap by Agatha Christie (done 9/4)
4½★ I can see why this play enjoyed such a long run! Great take on the country home mystery, a new guest ho..."
I need to read this! But maybe after I read some more Poirot.
It doesn't feature Poirot so you can read it at any time Charbel.
Tan Challenge: Historical FictionBlack Hoarder's Challenge: Missed book club selection
The Grand Sophy
(done 9/5) {reread via audiobook}4★ While I enjoyed listening to this Heyer, one of my favorites in print, Sarah Woodward wasn't the perfect narrator. There were substantial pauses (between paragraphs??) that I found disconcerting enough to wonder if my app had crashed.
(Group read of the Georgette Heyer group on GoodReads for August 2015)
Indigo Challenge: Charles de LintThe Onion Girl
(done 9/9)4★ I found this entry in the Newford series a bit hard to take at times as it dealt with adult survivors of childhood abuse. At the heart of the novel is the difficulty abuse victims have in coming to terms with what happened to them, regardless of how well they might appear to be doing from the outside.
Jilly Coppercorn describes herself (among other things) as the Onion Girl because there are layers buried under the surface, some of them from her traumatic childhood and others from a troubled time as a teen runaway living on the streets. After being severely injured in a car crash, Jilly is forced to examine some of her past choices including leaving her little sister Raylene behind when she ran away from her abusive childhood home. The book alternates between different perspectives, primarily that of Raylene, Jilly and some of Jilly's friends. Raylene and Jilly underwent similar abuse but ended up reacting to it in very different ways, partly due to circumstance and partly due to their fundamental natures. I thought that the ending was a bit of a disappointment; (view spoiler)
Tan Challenge: Historical FictionThe Old Brown Suitcase
(done 9/9)3★ The story I would probably rate slightly higher but the audiobook slightly lower. Sofia Bunting-Newman did a great job with the Polish names and accents but she had a trick of audibly swallowing that I found increasingly disgusting as I progressed with this audiobook.
As for the story, I found the sections of the story set in Canada more interesting until (view spoiler). But even that had its place and I guess it emphasizes the point that however different an immigrant teenage girl might seem (appearance, accent or language, customs), teens are basically all alike!
Green Challenge: PlaysThe Hollow
(done 9/10)4★ Read as part of The Mousetrap and Other Plays.
Christie adapted her Poirot novel "The Hollow" for the stage & in the process removed Poirot from the story. The plot flows more smoothly without his presence (even though Poirot is one of my favorite consulting detectives). A quick fun read and a play I would like to see performed.
After reading this, I wanted to see a performance of the play but could only find the episode from the Poirot TV series with David Suchet on YouTube. It is obviously based on the novel rather than the play as it includes Poirot! Same basic plot but some of the details are different.
Scarlet Challenge: Read the USA mysteries {New Jersey}Finger Lickin' Fifteen
(done 9/11)2½★ Lorelei King's excellent narration, especially the voices of Lula and Ranger, gained this book an extra star. Evanovitch's book was a reminder of why I stopped reading this series -- none of the characters grow or change. Instead, this 15th book in the series has Stephanie Plum still relying on her male friends/lovers to bail her out and help her do her job (and Lula doesn't seem to do any work at all!) and still unable to choose between Ranger and Morelli. The various incidents with her "skips" are funny but a bit overdone and I found myself wondering why she still had this job when she continually lets people escape. Wouldn't you think that in 15 years (or even in 4 years if each book covers a season), she would have learned how to apprehend these bozos?
In this entry in the series there are 2 main threads to the plot -- two killers whom Lula saw decapitate a man are now trying to kill Lula because she was a witness & someone is messing with Ranger's security business by breaking into his clients' premises. The killers are the most incompetent criminals I have read about in a long time -- it boggles my mind that they weren't captured much much sooner -- and the case is solved by dumb luck more than by any sort of detection. I found the Ranger plot more satisfying but I have learned that I prefer mysteries in which the reader has some chance of solving it. Neither of the main "mysteries" were of that sort and that was disappointing to me.
Violet Challenge: PoetryBrick Challenge: Books in translation (German -> English)
Across the Land and the Water
(done 9/13)3½★ While I liked some of these poems very much, others were puzzling or incomprehensible to me -- my rating is an attempt to average out my responses. The sections I liked best were "Poemtrees" and "Across the Land and the Water"; "The Year Before Last" was the section I enjoyed least.
The two poems that appealed to me most were "Life is Beautiful" (from Poemtrees) and "New Jersey Journey" (from Across the Land and the Water).
Scarlet Challenge: Read-the USA mysteries {Missouri}If Fried Chicken Could Fly
(done 9/20)2★ I realize that cozy mysteries are inherently unrealistic but I would like them to be probable enough that I can suspend my disbelief long enough to enjoy the book. The paranormal (in this case a ghost) is just too far across the line for me... I don't know why it is but although I can enjoy the supernatural in many books, I don't like it in mysteries.
The other strike against this mystery set in southern Missouri is my doubts about the historical accuracy of the "Old West" history of this town -- since when was 1912 the time of gun fights in the streets? I think that era was 50 years earlier (and further west). And newspapers of that time using the phrase "good guys or bad guys"... I checked on that one -- the use of the word "guy" to mean man, chap, fellow started in the United States in 1896, so in 1912 Missouri it would be possible (though IMO unlikely) for it to appear in a newspaper but it still jarred upon me.
The mystery was OK but not possible for the reader to solve ahead of the narrator. I did like the twist that (view spoiler) & felt that the balance of personal life and sleuthing was good.
Orange Challenge: Short StoriesCollected Short Stories by Aldous Huxley
(done 9/25)3★ These stories were good but not as compelling as his full length novels. A couple of them had some curious people or plots which I may revisit. I was a bit surprised by the fact that almost half the stories were set in (at least partially) Italy.
And this completes my Orange category!
Yellow Challenge: Guardian booksMaroon Challenge: Mysteries already owned
Journey Into Fear by Eric Ambler
(done 9/25)3½★ Read as part of the omnibus "Intrigue" (shown above)
I don't know what it is but despite the fact that this thriller had many elements I like, as a whole it didn't quite work for me. Maybe it was the personality of the main character... Maybe it was just my mood right now. Even though it was missing some ingredient to make it a great book for me, it was still a good example of the "innocent person caught up in intrigue" type of thriller & the setting was wonderful.
Yellow Challenge: Guardian BooksAt Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien
(done 9/22)3.5★ This might have been a 4* book for me if I had been more familiar with Irish legends and culture. After a bit of a rocky start, I started enjoying this. People who like or admire James Joyce will probably like this even more than I did -- I am not a fan of Joyce's style of writing in "Ulysses" which O'Brien parodies here.
Ruby Challenge: Foreign MysteriesTan Challenge: Historical Fiction
Oathbreaker
(done 9/26)3½★ The second book in the Danish historical fiction mystery series by Martin Jensen. It feels a bit strange to read a translated book set in England but this series is set in the time of King Cnut (Canute) when England was ruled by a Dane. The tensions between the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings are even more evident in this second book of the series. While that part of the story was interesting, I found the dispute between the two monasteries even more fascinating. I look forward to reading more of this series.
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Tan Challenge: Historical Fiction
King John
2★ I think I would like a modern English version of this historical (fiction?) play as there was plenty of action. However I struggled with Shakespeare's writing too much to enjoy it. Read as part of my new Kindle edition of Shakespeare's "Complete Works" while listening to the Librivox full cast recording.