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What I'm Reading - Nov & Dec 2019
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Mary Anne
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Nov 04, 2019 07:23AM
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Not Quite Nice – Celia Imrie – 3.5***
In her debut novel, Imrie has given us a sort of “coming of old age” story featuring a group of British expats living in a small town on the French Riviera. I thought it was an enjoyable, fast novel. Perfect for a vacation read. The bad guys get what’s coming to them, and everyone learns a lesson or two. It’s not exactly a happily-ever-after ending, but it gives me hope for the future of these characters. There are two more books in the series (thus far), and I look forward to reading them.
LINK to my review
That sounds like my cup of tea, BC. Interestingly enough, the only copy of it in the entire Merlin Library System (a consortium of northern WI libraries) is in Spooner, which is the library I use when I'm at my cabin. I've added it to my list of books to check out when I'm up there.
Just finished Elizabeth Gilbert's City of Girls. As I'd found her "Eat, Pray, Love" dull and self indulgent, I didn't expect to like this book much, or even to finish it, but I ended up finding it to be a pleasant reading experience of a well told tale.
I just finished reading An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Oboima. Wow - so powerful.
I have meant for years to get around to reading something by Cynthia Ozick, and I finally have. About a hundred and fifty pages into Heir to the Glimmering World and I'm enjoying it immensely. Jewish immigrants in NY in the lead-up to WWII, but that gives you the wrong impression--it's about individuals more than history.
I've started my re-read of Chemistry for our November discussion. I hope you all join me. It's so well-written and different. Both funny and a little sad, it's giving me a glimpse into a life I never experienced--that of a graduate student who is at a cross-roads in her life.
Lynn wrote: "That sounds like my cup of tea, BC. Interestingly enough, the only copy of it in the entire Merlin Library System (a consortium of northern WI libraries) is in Spooner, which is the library I use w..."I've actually been to Spooner! Though I didn't visit the library.
Spooner has a great library, especially for a small town. I'm often surprised by the books I can find there. They occasionally host author appearances and have a ton of programming for both adults and kids. One of their librarians even attended the Iowa Writer's Workshop.
Summer Hours At the Robbers Library – Sue Halpern – 3.5***
Three people running from their past (or present) find the help they need at the library. The novel is told in alternating viewpoints as each of the three central characters reveals his or her back story and experiences in current time. The first time there was a “flashback” it caught me off guard, but I quickly grew used to the style. Halpern gives us a wonderful cast of supporting characters as well. There are moments of humor to balance the heartache and disasters. I’d love a sequel to find out how they cope in the future.
LINK to my review
I Always Loved You – Robin Oliveira – 3***
The subtitle – A Story of Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas – is all the synopsis anyone needs. This immediately drew my attention as I love art, the Impressionists in particular, and I love reading historical fiction about artists. I had previously been content to merely gaze with astonishment and admiration at the works of art they created. But while I appreciate now having learned all the details of their complicated relationships, and while these period elements added color to the story, the book failed to really move me.
LINK to my review
The Atlas of Reds and Blues. Reading this disjointed exposition of prejudice in America. Because the characters are all given “names” like The Real Thing or Middle Daughter and the book skips around in nonlinear space and time, I’m frequently at a loss as to what’s going on.
I’m enjoying a children’s book through audible originals, “Viva Durant and The Secret of The Silver Buttons” by Ashlii St. Armant. It’s amusing, funny and a nice simple mystery.Having read “How to be less stupid about race” by Crystal Fleming, I realized it’s nice to read a story about an average, middle class, happy family of people-of-color. Although I didn’t enjoy Dr. Fleming’s book, she did make me realize how much I need to read such stories.
I have started reading Death with Interruptions. A retake on “Death Takes a Holiday “ Saramago style. Loving it so far.
I think Aussie author Heather Morris's popular The Tattooist of Auschwitz, based on a true Holocaust survivor story, has probably introduced a new generation of readers to the reality of Hitler's Nazis.
Link to my Tattooist review
Atlantic Winds by William Prendiville is a novella about teens growing up on a small Canadian island. Reviews range from TERRIFIC to meh. That means: try it - you may love it!
3.5★ Link to my review
Quentins – Maeve Binchy – 3.5***
I came late to the Binchy fan club, but better late than never. I really like her style of every-day drama – the kinds of ups and downs we all experience in life. Many of her books feature the same ensemble cast of characters, but they don’t have to be read in any particular order. This book starts with Ella Brady and her lover Don Richardson, but quickly encompasses Brenda and Patrick who run the upscale restaurant Quentins and all the many patrons and trades people who support it. Reading a Binchy novel is a bit like visiting with old friends.
My full review HERE
A Place of Execution is an award-winning (and NOT grisly, in spite of the title) Val McDermid mystery. Young teen girl disappears - always traumatic, gruesome or not.
Link to my review
Liane Moriarty’s first novel, Three Wishes, Is an enjoyable introduction to the author of the world-famous Big Little Lies (which I loved). 
4★ Link to my review of “Three Wishes”
Ban This Book – Alan Gratz – 4****
Fourth-grader Amy Anne Ollinger is stunned to discover that her favorite book has been removed from the school library because another student’s parent has complained it’s “inappropriate.” I loved Amy Anne; she starts out a quiet, shy girl who virtually never voices her concerns out loud, but who takes action to right a wrong. Perfect read to celebrate Banned Books Week!
My full review HERE
Clock Dance – Anne Tyler – 3.5***
The novel follows Willa Drake, her hopes, dreams, disappointments and joys – over 5 decades, from 1967 to 2017. I like the way that Tyler explores the everyday drama of life. Not much happens – as far as a plot to carry the reader along – and yet much happens in terms of the character’s life. Willa frustrated me for much of this book. She was so passive that I wanted to shake her. I’m glad that by the end she is finally beginning to assert herself, to look at what SHE wants from life and to dare to try to achieve it.
My full review HERE
I'm finally getting around to The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King, which is this month's pick for my in-person reading group. I'm enjoying it so far as Holmes and Russell are about to embark on solving their first case together while WWI rages on.
Marie Benedict’s THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM. I enjoyed this novel about Hedy Lamarr but, in truth, I wanted to like it more than I did. I appreciated Ms. Benedict’s choice to write the book in first person; it read like a memoir or autobiography. But I found myself frequently yearning for more - it felt as if Ms. Benedict was giving us just a gloss-over view of Ms. Lamarr’s life, omitting important details and making it difficult to have any real insight into her development and the course of her life. I may have to add a biography to my TBR.list but my rather cursory investigation into what’s been written didn’t reveal anything that looked particularly promising.
Mary wrote: "Marie Benedict’s THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM. I enjoyed this novel about Hedy Lamarr but, in truth, I wanted to like it more than I did. I appreciated Ms. Benedict’s choice to write the book in firs..."That’s a pity. I’d heard good things about the book and this very interesting woman, and it sounds as if you had, too. Moving on. . . !
Whistleblower Christopher Wylie tells how information he and others collected to figure out how to prevent radicalisation of Muslim youth was used by Steve Bannon to give us Trump, Brexit, and militant alt-right hate groups instead! Fascinating and terrifying. Mindf*ck: Inside Cambridge Analytica’s Plot to Break the World
5★ Link to my "Mindf*ck" review
Ways To Hide In Winter – Sarah St.Vincent – 4****
This is a tightly written, marvelous psychological / political thriller. The characters are skittish, guarded, and yet reveal themselves by their actions. Kathleen and Daniil recognize in one another a certain similarity – both are running from the truth, both profess to need solitude even a way to hide away, and yet both want desperately to confide and reveal their pain and their hopes. This short novel includes some major issues The landscape is practically a character, and adds to the feeling of isolation, loneliness and imminent danger. The reader is kept in suspense to the very end.
My full review HERE
Just read Virgil Wander. I liked it fine, but didn't love it madly like some reviewers did. For me, it was a gentle, sleepy novel about Virgil and other occupants of a small town.
Susanna Clarke’s JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL. This tale of magic and enchantment, set in the early years of 19th century England, is exquisitely narrated by Simon Prebble, which more than made up for its daunting length of 32 hours. I enjoyed it very much.
I enjoyed reading that JS & MN so much. How did the audiobook deal with the footnotes? I enjoyed reading them, with their presentation of so much alternate history.
Sue, the narrator read the footnotes as they occurred in the text. They really were an integral part of the tale.
Excellent! They were so important though I have seen some reviews where people disliked them. I think some people dislike the idea of footnotes in general but these were so necessary and so well done.
Little sisters can be so much trouble! My Sister, the Serial Killer is Nigerian author Oyinkan Braithwaite's award-winning, chilling take on what one older sister has to cope with. 
4★ Link to my 'Serial Killer' review
Sue wrote: "Excellent! They were so important though I have seen some reviews where people disliked them. I think some people dislike the idea of footnotes in general but these were so necessary and so well done."I struggled with The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao in print--the footnotes were just as enchanting as the novel itself, but . . . totally solved by the audio, where they were read as part of the narrative, which completely worked for me.
Love And Ghost Letters – Chantal Acevedo – 3.5*** rounded UP
Acevedo gives us a wonderful exploration of Cuba from 1933 to 1969. Over the course of the novel Acevedo explores love in its many forms: passionate, within marriage or outside of it, as a teenager, during old age, parental and among friends. The upheaval within the relationships is contrasted nicely against the revolutions and political changes in the country during this time frame.
My full review HERE
The Homecoming of Bubbles O'Leary: The Tour Series - Book 4. I read the first book, The Tour. It was entertaining. This one is somber. The previous characters have died or moved on.
City of Girls for a new in person book club. Entertaining writing, but I’m about a third of the way into it and it’s still preparing for it to get ready to begin to start.
Nowhere Boy. For an in person book club. My willing suspension of disbelief couldn’t be coaxed out. Thumbs down.
Ruth wrote: "City of Girls for a new in person book club. Entertaining writing, but I’m about a third of the way into it and it’s still preparing to get ready to begin to start."I really wound up loving it--it felt "complete", if you will.
I recently finished listening to an excellent audiobook production of The Burgess Boys. I've loved Elizabeth Strout's writing in Olive Kitteridge, My Name is Lucy Barton and Anything is Possible so this seemed like an obvious choice. It didn't disappoint. It includes a small town in Maine again, the main characters' home town but it's more far reaching. The town has a community of Somali immigrants which is causing friction on both sides. The Burgess boys also have moved from there to New York City so some of the story takes place there. But, ultimately, it's about the same things that I think Strout tackles so well -- people surviving and learning at varying levels to understand each other.
My library book hold list aligned so that I received Becoming by Michelle Obama and Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist by Eli Saslow at the same time. It's so interesting, but probably not a coincidence that the time frame of Saslow's book spans the same years as the Obama presidency. White supremacy was always there, but leapt forward in 2008.Both books were quite good. Many readers here on CR recommended M. Obama's audio version, and I understand that it has just won a Grammy. I particularly liked her take on life in the White House, where the First Family is almost trapped, at times.
Saslow's book is based on the transition of Derek Black away from the "family business" of leading the movement of people who hate anyone who isn't white. They are activists in an effort to keep whites in the majority in the US, by whatever means. They run an infamous website called Stormwatch. David Duke is literally the guy's godfather! There were times while reading when the hair on the back of my neck stood up. But definitely worth reading.
Barbara wrote: "I recently finished listening to an excellent audiobook production of The Burgess Boys. I've loved Elizabeth Strout's writing in Olive Kitteridge, My Name is Lucy Barton and Anythin..."Mary Anne wrote: "My library book hold list aligned so that I received Becoming by Michelle Obama and Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist by Eli Saslow a..."
I MUST get to The Burgess Boys and Becoming! I've been looking forward to Michelle Obama's book and I've enjoyed everything I've read so far by Elizabeth Strout.
I wish I'd stop adding to my TBR mountain!
Meanwhile, I read this recently.Kate Atkinson is one of my favourite authors, and while Transcription isn't my favourite of her books, her trademark fine writing and quirky humour make it fun.
4★ Link to my review
I find if I don’t put the books I want to get to right a way, up on what I am currently reading, I forget about them . Here are my TBR books that I want to get to immediately.
1. Belgravia
2. Callander Square
3. The Yellow House
Charles Frazier’s VARINA, narrated by Molly Parker. Many years ago I read a biography of Jefferson Davis. This historical novel is a fictional tale about his second wife, Varina. I enjoyed it very much and came to the conclusion that Varina was a much more interesting person than her husband. I was particularly moved by the descriptions of the ravaged South after the Civil War and the passages that were meditations on the nature of war itself and the Civil War in particular. I was impressed by Varina’s intelligence, strength, and compassion. I have added Joan E. Cashin’s biography of Varina to my TBR list, although that list is so long I don’t know whether I will ever actually get to it.
Carol wrote: "I find if I don’t put the books I want to get to right a way, up on what I am currently reading, I forget about them . Here are my TBR books that I want to get to immediately.
1. [book:Belgravia..."
I enjoyed The Yellow House.
Ruth wrote: "Carol wrote: "I find if I don’t put the books I want to get to right a way, up on what I am currently reading, I forget about them . Here are my TBR books that I want to get to immediately.
1. [..."
Oh good. It sounded interesting.
Chinua Achebe’s NO LONGER AT EASE. A distressing story. A young man is full of hope and idealism but how quickly he is overwhelmed by the circumstances of his life. A tale of cultural disruption, societal dislocation, the aftermath of colonialism in Africa, specifically Nigeria. It is not a “fun read” but well worth my time.
Passing – Nella Larsen – 4****
Larsen was part of the Harlem Renaissance and this book is a marvel of social commentary. In this slim volume Larsen explores issues of black/white identity, of the desire to get ahead and the societal obstacles to that path, of male/female relationships, and female-female rivalries. There is tension, fear, anger, joy, desire and hope. We get a wonderful glimpse of middle-class Black culture in 1920s Harlem.
My full review HERE
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