Biography, Autobiography, Memoir discussion
What Are You Reading Now (anything goes) 2020
Whanau By Witi IhimaeraThis was the second novella in Tangi & Whanau and again there is not really any plot but more vignettes of Maori village life with all different characters making up part of the whanau (family). As a short story I think it works rather than a longer story where you follow the progression of characters as they develop. It does raise how very different the maori way of life (rural) is from the pakeha (city) but also, gives reasons for the great urban migration, which seems to happen everywhere irrespective of culture all over the world. Todays families are scattered to the four corners of the earth, and it isn't necessarily those that stay put are ignorant.
At the micro-level though, it's about family ties, and possibly roots - but for people to be rooted where they are I suppose requires effort to sustain those roots.
Sex and Vanity by Kevin KwanNot sure what I was expecting with this novel except more of the same Crazy Rich Asians although I wonder if there has already been one written about Eurotrash - the nouveau riche Europeans. This one is set in a jet-setting lifestyle of a lavish wedding in Capri amongst moneyed families and then five years later NYC centring on a biracial protagonist Lucie, half WASPy white, half Asian moneyed class, engaged to marry a Texas oil billenial (billionaire millenial) of questionable heritage.
Problem is she's just had a shag with a Hong Kong (rich) surfer dude and doesn't know she's REALLY in love with that guy instead.
Hokay.
Aside from totally unlikeable characters, this romp through designer-name dropping social climbing prep school priveliged elites is mostly diverting froth.
It reminded me not a little of Whanau just with a richer set (similar racial divisions, or cultural clashes) but I thought this author knows way too much designers that are going to go way over most people's heads as gossipy noise in who cares cos most of us wouldn't even know THESE people.
The Two Faces of January
Patricia Highsmith
4/5 stars
A couple of con men, Chester MacFarland and Rydal Keener, along with McFarland’s wife, Colette travel to Greece. When MacFarland kills a Greek who reminds him of his father, they have to get out of Greece fast. However, another tragedy occurs and the group then splits up to leave Greece on their own before being arrested. Good story and a fast read! It was later made into a film.
Dawn Raid By Pauline Vaeluega SmithThis book is 'faction' in that its based on true events but written in diary format from a tween point of view, as part of a series called 'My Story' about events in New Zealand history.
In this one 13 year old Islander girl writes about growing up in the 1970s in Porirua, a suburb in Wellington, a time when Pacific Island families were being targeted in 'Dawn Raids' where Police would bust into peoples homes trying to arrest people suspected of overstaying their visa.
In this story it happens to her extended family in the school holidays and she writes a speech on it which wins a prize in school. Aside from the usual growing up things, coveting go-go boots, eating mcDonalds (brand new in the 1970s) and dealing with cheeky brothers.
For those concerned with social justice, these stories need to be told and not swept under the rug as so often happens when we have a 'silent majority'.
Some more tween reads this time on audioDork Diaries Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Renee Rachel Russell
This series is very popular with the girls. The narrator was a little bit whiny but then the character was a 14 year old self-confessed dork, although she could sass back with the rest of them (in her head though, not out loud). I found it somewhat engaging and rooting for the underdog, a scholarship/artsy girl who doesn't fit in with her snobby rich kid private school, and has a nemesis that sounds rather like a mean girl clone of Miss popularity Mary Kate/Ashley Olsen or Paris Hilton. But like the Wimpy Kid, I find myself not liking how she blames her rich people's problems on everyone else.
The other I have started which I'm finding a little melancholy is Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, about a 13 year old boy who ends up crash-landing in the Canadian wilderness and trying to deal with his parent's divorce as well as surviving. It's not read out loud by a 13 year old though!
Drama by Raina TelgemeierHow old are American kids in the 7th grade? I am assuming Callie is around 13-14 in Raina's graphic novel. It's about her middle school putting on a musical called 'Moon over Mississippi (is that an actual play?) and she's in the stage crew. She has a crush on a boy who is playing the lead and befriends two twin brothers, one of whom is gay. I'm a tad confused about the drama, the drama is in all these crushes everyone has on each other...
Mr Five Per Cent: The many lives of Calouste Gulbenkian, the world’s richest manby Jonathan Conlin
Selina wrote: "Drama by Raina TelgemeierHow old are American kids in the 7th grade? I am assuming Callie is around 13-14 in Raina's graphic novel. It's about her middle school putting on a music..."
About 13 years old.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Jonathan Safran Foer
4/5 stars
Oskar Shell, a young man whose father was killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11 finds a mysterious key that belonged to his father. He takes on as his mission to find what that key would unlock and finds himself meeting and interacting with people he would never have met and overcoming some of the grief of his father’s death. What a nicely written novel - recommended!
Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris.
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson BurnettThought I would read this classic tale by the author of the Secret Garden. It's about a young rich and pampered girl called Sara who goes to a boarding school in England, her mum has died, she was again, like Mary Lennox, born in India. She is envied by all the girls there and treated like a princess because her dad has so much money. But then her dad suddenly dies, the fortune apparently is lost, and the cruel head mistresss has her working as a serving girl.
Enjoyable but I think modern readers might be a disconcerted when the author writes characters who 'ejaculate' (i.e speak forcefully)
Strangers on a Train
Patricia Highsmith
5/5 stars
Two men meet on a train and get to talking about their lives. Charles Bruno then proposes a scheme in which Bruno kills Guy Haines’ wife and Guy kills Charles’ father. Not thinking that Bruno is serious, he leaves the train and later on finds out his ex-wife has been brutally murdered and now Bruno has re-entered his life pressuring him on the deal he feels he made with Guy. Excellent read and compelling to the very end!
Enduring Love
Ian McEwan
4/5 stars
Joe Rose and his girlfriend are spending time hiking in the countryside when a hot air balloon comes flying across the sky with the passengers struggling to maintain the flight. They run to the balloon to help, along with a passerby, Jed Parry. They try to help but one of the passengers falls to his death and the child is swept away in the balloon but later found. They are upset but leave to resume their lives but unfortunately Jed, the man that helped has now become obsessed with Joe Rose and will do everything he can to intrude in his life, upsetting his relationship with his girlfriend. This is a fascinating look at a stalker's victim and how it affects his life and his relationships.
Pandemic: Spanish Flu, 1918 by Sally Stoneand Harbour Bridge: My New Zealand Story by Phillipa Werry
More NZ stories written in diary format for tweens. I think adults might possibly get more out of them than children though and sometimes the explanations of history can be a bit jarring in a book supposedly penned by an 11 year old - I know I would not have gone into too much descriptive detail writing in diary format more like 'this happened' and 'that happened' and what I really thought about it. But it seems to work.
Pandemic, originally published in 2012 is definitely due for a reprint! And every Aucklander who's ever crossed the harbour bridge might find something interesting in Harbour Bridge.
Boy Swallows Universe
Trent Dalton
4/5 stars
Set in Australia in the 1980’s we find brothers Eli and August Bell living with his mother and Slim, a friend that watches over the family. Life is not easy for the family, the father is in jail and they have little resources to live on. The Bell family keeps hanging on when the boys go to live with their dad after he is released while their mother ends up in jail and now Eli is now being targeted by Tytus Broz, a criminal/drug dealer. This is definitely a wild romp and you will have a hard time putting this down!
Journey to Tangiwai : the diary of Peter Cotterill, Napier, 1953Another nz diary story this time set in 1953, right at the end is the Tangiwai disaster in which a train is swept off the bridge by a lahar from Mt Ruapehu. Peter, of course, is on the train.
Interesting snippets of 1950s life here especially family members affected by the aftermath of World War 2.
Mod
4 stars
I dont read a lot of fiction but Terry McMillan is one of my favorite chick lit authors. I love her writing style. It moves along quickly, it is smart and sassy. I loved that this book dealt with women friendships later in life, through marriages, divorce and death and dealing with grown up children. I would not say this is my favorite Terry McMillan book but it kept my interest throughout.
Koren wrote: "At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
Have you ever looked at things around your house and wondered ho..."
I'm going to read my first book by him soon, but it's a travel one for a game. I have been bad about getting here and posting my memoir, etc reviews lately.
A New History of the American SouthEdward L. Ayers
4/5 stars
This is part of the Great Courses series and covers the history of the American South. This comes with a Course Guidebook and DVD lectures covering the 100 years of the struggles of African Americans that they undergo while living and working in the United States. Very informative, eye opening and interesting. Ayers narrates the DVDs and does a great job of it.
Mod
3 stars
I don't think I learned much that I didnt already know (simplify, down-size, get rid of everything you dont' need, live as cheaply as possible) but it did give me some incentive to organize some spaces in my house that I had been thinking about. Now if I could just convince my husband to downsize.
Movie Star by Lizzie Pepper by Hilary LiftinMildly interesting roman a clef about the TomKat celeb marriage.
For those remotely curious, being married to an actor doesn't necessarily mean you are really married. Both of you could be just acting.
Mod
3 stars
Gotta say it...I'm a huge fan of this author's true crime, not so much the fiction crime books. If this was written more like a true crime I think I would have liked it more. I would have liked to have explored the backgrounds of the characters more and how they thought. The premise was interesting. An ex-Mormon fundamentalist comes back to the community to solve the mystery of her missing sister. She has been ostracized by the community which makes her job quite a bit harder. I thought the outcome was somewhat predictable.
Edible Stories
Mark Kurlansky
4/5 stars
This is quite an interesting book. Kurlansky has written 16 tales (short stories) and each one highlights a different food. The stories are quite odd but it kept my attention to see how they end and I loved that all the characters were quite different with their own personalities and quirks! I have read several of Kurlansky's non-fiction books and loved them but I never knew he wrote fiction too.
I wasn’t expecting to find a non fiction book here in the biography group that sounded intriguing. I think I might give this one a go Though - sounds good. Thanks for the recommendation JulieJulie wrote: "
The Death of Mrs. Westaway
Ruth Ware
5/5 stars
Hal, a single woman is living and struggling on her own as a tarot ca..."
Mod
3 stars
Short stories and poetry about grandmothers. This was ok but nothing that had me reaching for the Kleenex and some were a little strange.
Ready for a Brand New Beat: How Dancing in the Street Became the Anthem for a Changing America
Mark Kurlansky
4/5 stars
In this book, Kurlansky explores the phenomenon of how Motown and the song “Dancing in the Street” changed music in a turbulent time in the US in the 1960’s. Kurlansky also explores the events of the time period including the rise of the Beatles, Vietnam, the Civil Rights Act and changes in politics. Kurlansky is never boring to me and I enjoy his unusual book topics!
Mod
[book:Ready for a Brand New Beat: How Dancing in the Street Became the Anthem for..."
I will look for this. I love anything about 60's music.
Hardcore Twenty-Four
Janet Evanovich
3.5/5 stars
Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter is on the case when bodies show up without any heads. Diesel, a former associate shows up to help in the case to track down the killer. There is never a dull moment in Plum’s life.
I have been a big fan of this series but it has been awhile since I have read the next volume in the series.
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead
4/5 stars
This is the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Colson Whitehead about the life of Cora, a slave on a planation in Georgia. Cora is able to escape her planation with a fellow slave, Caesar who has knowledge of the Underground Railroad and the book follows her life in those turbulent times. Wonderfully written, it pulls you in the minute you start reading!
Julie wrote: "
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead
4/5 stars
This is the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Colson Whitehead about th..."
Just read this a short while ago and could not put it down. Very compelling!
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead
4/5 stars
This is the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Colson Whitehead about th..."
Just read this a short while ago and could not put it down. Very compelling!
Vanish
Tess Gerritsen
4/5 stars
Jane Rizzoli is a homicide detective and is on the verge of having her first child at the hospital when she is entrapped into a hostage situation with a woman who was brought into the hospital in a body bag but still alive. Gerritsen weaves a tale of desperation that keeps you reading on to find out what is going on!
The Giver of Stars by Jojo MoyesI'd never read anything by Jojo Moyes but thought I would try this one as seemed be about librarians - the Packhorse Librarians of the Appachalians, who went round the mountains lending out books.
Could be a real interesting story but its just given the romance treatment again and I feel like I'm over it already though I am halfway. I think I'd rather read a non-fiction book about the real librarians.
The Secret Shopper's Revenge by Kate HarrisonChick-lit although not a patch on Sophie Kinsella, it was an easy read about 3 women who become secret shoppers in London, all with different journeys and struggles to overcome - could everything be possibly cured by shopping? i.e retail therapy?
This book makes it seems so, though anyone actually born and bred in London might not agree. I am curious about the sequel though...
Old school investigative reporting of what Nixon dismissed as a "third-rate burglary. "
All the President's Men by Carl Bernsteinmy review - www.goodreads.com/review/show/3546952983
Woman Reading wrote: "Old school investigative reporting of what Nixon dismissed as a "third-rate burglary. " All the President's Men by [author:Carl Bernste..."We had to read this in high school but I did not care for it.
Julie wrote: "We had to read this in high school but I did not care for it. All the President's Men b..."I don't ever recall being taught anything about this, which is why I read it as part of another group's books.
Mod
All the President's Men b..."I don't ever recall being ta..."
I'm too old. I remember history class (was it '72 or '73) the teacher rolled the television into the room so we could watch the Nixon impeachment hearings live. Pretty boring stuff for a teenager.
Mod
All the President's Men b..."I don't ever recall being ta..."
Have you seen the movie? Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford are not bad to look at.
Koren wrote: "I'm too old. I remember history class (was it '72 or '73) the teacher rolled the television into the room so we could watch the Nixon impeachment hearings live. Pretty boring stuff for a ..."Impeachment hearings are boring. That's why I want to read a summary rather than wait for everybody's posturing and grand standing before each detail.
No, I haven't seen the movie despite the eye candy. I've never really been in the mood. And these days, I'd probably be distracted by the 1970s appearances.
Every Secret Thing
Laura Lippman
4/5 stars
Alice Manning and Ronnie Fuller were childhood “friends”. After being kicked out of a birthday party they ended up walking home. On the way they find a young baby on a street porch alone. Thinking it was abandoned they took the child and hid her and the baby ends up dead. The two girls are convicted and the story picks up from their release from juvenile detention. Now another child has disappeared and the girls are suspected in the case. Compelling story!
Ghosts by Raina TelgeimeierLike Drama it's fictional about a girl and her sister moving to a new town in California that's a bit spooky, the younger sister has a breathing condition that needs lots of intervention and the older one has to look after her. They meet some ghosts on the Day of the Dead but they are not as freaky and death or the afterlife is not so freaky anymore. I found this one a lot less complicated than Drama to follow!
Death Roads: The Story of the Donut Shop Murders by Orvel Trainer. True story of an absolutely depraved family -- parents, their teenaged and adult kids, one of them with her husband and 3 or 4 kids -- travelling the country in a series of stolen vehicles, writing bad checks to support themselves and sometimes abducting, raping and killing any young woman they could find working alone at night in a café or a doughnut shop. SO messed up.
The Household Guide To Dying by Debra AdelaideI must be on chick-lit binge. This one's about a young Australian mother dying of cancer who confronts her past and her control-freak tendencies. It's a bit rambly and confusing in some parts and the witty 'Dear Delia' correspondence is sometimes just a bit too sarcastic but it's probably worth to read as an exercise in letting go as she tries desperately to tie up the loose ends of her life.
Selina wrote: "The Household Guide To Dying by Debra AdelaideI must be on chick-lit binge. This one's about a young Australian mother dying of cancer who confronts her past and her control-freak ..."
I read that a couple of years ago and liked it.
The Secret Shopper Unwrapped by Kate Harrison,I was wanting to see how this series would go...but for me it wasn't really enough, another unlikeable character is introduced and some of it became like the Sex and the City tv show. A lot of whining! Mildly interesting but didn't really catch the Christmas spirit in which season the story is meant to take place. I thought Christmas Shopaholic did it way better.
Compulsion
Jonathan Kellerman
3/5 stars
Alex Delaware, psychologist, hooks up with his old colleague Detective Milo Sturgis to search for a missing young woman, tries to solve the cases of an ex-school teacher who was killed in her driveway and solve the cases of two dead women found in a beauty shop. Are the cases linked and who did it? Full of details, you will be guessing to the very end. Not my favorite book of the series but never boring!
From the Ashes By Deborah ChallinorA saga set in 1950s Auckland centring on three women, and their complicated relationships. I didn't realise it was book 2 of a series, the first one being Fire as it kept referring to a fictional department store fire (based on the real Ballantynes fire) despite everything else seemingly historical!
I enjoyed this one but think I should have read the first to get the backstory. The third one has just been published and is set in King's Cross Sydney.
I enjoyed all the local references though, and wonder how excited women got over whiteware. It was the 50s! Fridges were the cool thing to get.
Biography, Autobiography, Memoir
Books mentioned in this topic
The Fire She Set (other topics)Most Likely to Succeed (other topics)
Massacres of the South (other topics)
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (other topics)
The Nest (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (other topics)Stephen King (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
Bill Richardson (other topics)
Faye Kellerman (other topics)
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Have you ever looked at things around your house and wondered how they came to be invented? This author does just that. I thought this book was fascinating. I loved reading how people lived in the 1400's through the 1800's. The amount of research that went into this book must have been enormous. I think history lovers and trivia lovers would love this book. At times it got a little long and text-bookish but otherwise it was very interesting.