Union County Library discussion
What I'm Reading Now
Paper Money – Ken Follett – 2.5**
Before he rocketed to fame with Eye of the Needle , Ken Follett published a couple of crime novels under a pseudonym: Zachary Stone. In this one he explores how crime, high finance and journalism are connected through corruption, with the action taking place in a single day. The relatively small volume is tightly packed, with a dozen (or more) characters and a complex plot, which tested my ability to focus. I’m not sure the mid-1970s plot has stood the test of time very well.
LINK to my full review
Flower Net – Lisa See – 3***
Before she rocketed to fame with Snow Flower and the Secret Fan See wrote a short series of mysteries, of which this is the first. What I liked most about this book was the look at China – from karaoke bars to the neighborhoods housing the working class, from high-powered businessmen to prostitutes, See gave the reader a look under the blanket of the typical tourist-friendly experience. The plot is convoluted and full of twists and turns, as much political intrigue as murder mystery. Not her best book, but it held my attention.
LINK to my full review
The Sweetness of Water – Nathan Harris – 5*****
In his debut work, Harris explores rural Georgia shortly after the end of the Civil War, when slaves had been emancipated and Union soldiers moved in to enforce the terms of surrender and “reconstruct” the South. Full of complex characters and gripping scenes that move the plot forward, this is a marvelous debut. Harris explores moral dilemmas and the difficulties of trying to do the right thing against a post-war upheaval and tension. He gives us characters with strong principles who can be blind to their flaws, some of whom overcome and some who give in to those weaknesses.
LINK to my full review
Whip Hand – Dick Francis – 3***
Book # 2 in the Sid Halley series. The plot is intricate and includes a couple of different mysteries, both of which involve unscrupulous business dealings and which involve Sid’s two loves: his ex-wife Jenny and thoroughbred racing. Sid is forced to face his greatest fears and answer for himself: Is there anything you’re afraid of?
LINK to my full review
ver: Lady In Waiting – Anne Glenconner – 3.5***
Subtitle: My Extraordinary Life In the Shadow of the Crown. Glenconner has spent her life as an intimate friend of the royal family. As a child she played with Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. She served as a Maid of Honor for Elizabeth II’s Coronation, and as Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret. She was married to Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner, and they bought an developed the Caribbean island, Mustique – THE place where Jet-setters escaped in the 1970s-‘80s. A fascinating autobiography.
LINK to my full review
This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing – Jacqueline Winspear – 4****
Jacqueline Winspear, perhaps best known for her Maisie Dobbs cozy mystery series, turns to autobiography / memoir in this wonderful work. With honesty, humor, tenderness and compassion she explores her family background and her own childhood in the English countryside. I doubt I would have picked up this heartfelt and touching memoir were it not a book-club selection. I’m so glad I read it, and I think knowing Winspear’s own background will give me additional insight into her fictional characters.
LINK to my full review
Naughty in Nice – Rhys Bowen – 3***
Book five in the Her Royal Spyness cozy mystery series had Lady Georgiana Rannoch headed to the Riviera to try to retrieve a snuffbox that has been stolen from Queen Mary’s collection. I came late to this party, but I’m really enjoying this series. Bowen took inspiration from some real-life historical coincidences to build her mystery. Coco Chanel really did spend time in Nice with her business partner Vera Bate Lombardi; she really did put on a fashion show that featured jewels on loan from Queen Mary. I enjoyed hobnobbing with these people as much as Georgie did!
LINK to my full review
The Boxcar Children – Gertrude Chandler Warner – 4****
This is the first in a very popular series for children. First published in 1942 it introduces readers to the four orphaned siblings: Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny. They may be alone except for one another but they are very resourceful and work well as a team. It’s a grand adventure and a charming story with a happy ending.
LINK to my full review
Neither Here Nor There – Bill Bryson – 2**
Subtitle: Travels in Europe. First published in 1993, this is not aged well. I’ve read several of Bryson’s books and found some of them hugely entertaining. But not this one. He seems far too snide and complaining, the “Ugly American” come to life.
LINK to my full review
Being Dead Is No Excuse – Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays – 3***
"The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral" is charming and has some great casserole recipes. Metcalfe and Hays have crafted a charming book on the etiquette of funerals in the South, specifically in the Delta, from the proper hymns to sing, to the use of Cream of Mushroom soup, to the power of the restorative cocktail. They sprinkle in a wealth of anecdotes on colorful friends and relatives who have had proper send-offs and give us the recipes to create our own funeral masterpieces. Funny and informative.
LINK to my full review
Cooking With My Sisters – Adriana Trigiani – 3***
Trigiani is well-known for her fiction, frequently drawing from her family history to draw her characters and launch her plots. This book is a combination of memoir and cookbook, in which she relates many family stories and provides the recipes that bring back those memories. A delicious treat.
LINK to my full review
Anxious People – Fredrik Backman – 3***
It starts with a really bad idea born of desperation, follows a group of strangers at an apartment viewing who are now hostages, and the two police officers (father and son), who are trying to find the truth. It’s a bit chaotic, much as the real-life scenario would be, and the reader is kept guessing as to what really happened for most of the book. The ending is totally unrealistic, but nonetheless satisfying, as befits a fable.
LINK to my full review
Cathedral Of the Sea – Ildefonso Falcones – 4****
Spanish journalists / reviewers have called Falcones “Spain’s new Dan Brown” or proclaimed “A new Ken Follett is born!” I can certainly see why those comparisons are made. This is an epic historical novel focusing on one character’s connection to the church, and more importantly to the Virgin Mary. It’s an engaging story that kept me turning pages – all 611 of them!
LINK to my full review
The Lincoln Highway – Amor Towles – 4****
This is a quest and a road trip, a saga of family and friendship, an exploration of morals and principles against temptations which are seemingly impossible to resist. It begins when Emmett and his younger brother Billy decide to set out for California and a new start in life. But their plan gets derailed when two friends show up and suggest a “side trip” to New York. The result is an odyssey worthy of Homer, but rather than ten years, THIS odyssey takes only ten days. I loved these characters, though I am not sure I like the ending, which leaves the reader to imagine what will happen next, and hungry for more details of future adventures.
LINK to my full review
The Big Door Prize – M.O. Walsh – 3***
My F2F book club chose this book for discussion; I knew nothing going into it and expected a charming, quirky character-driven ensemble of small-town Southern America. I got some of that, certainly, but so much more. There are some pretty heavy issues here, including unrealized dreams, peer pressure, drug abuse, and grief. There are scenes that are introspective and give the reader some insight into what these characters are thinking. Other scenes are light-hearted and break the tension. And there are very dramatic scenes that made me afraid to look, and more afraid to look away.
LINK to my full review
Stay Where You Are, Then Leave – John Boyne – 3.5***
The Great War (WWI) began on Alfie Summerfield’s 5th birthday, with the result that few people attended his birthday party. That was okay … more cake for Alfie! This is a book suitable for middle-school children, but deals with some serious issues, including poverty among the families of fighting men, conscientious objectors and “shell shock” (now called PTSD). Alfie is a marvelous character. He’s curious, intelligent, a hard worker, resourceful and tenacious.
LINK to my full review
This House Is Haunted – John Boyne – 3***
It is 1867 and Eliza Caine, whose father has just died and left her virtually penniless, responds to an advertisement for a governess position at Gaudlin Hall in Norfolk, England. In this work, Boyne focuses his considerable talent on writing a classic gothic ghost story, with a writing style that is reminiscent of Dickens and Bronte. Eliza is a great heroine. The big climax is a bit overdramatic, though typical of the genre. But the ending is downright chilling.
LINK to my full review
The Exiles – Christina Baker Kline – 3***
Historical fiction that looks at the issues of “transport” wherein women convicted of crimes were sent to Australia territories to “work off” their sentences. Kline also deals with the issues surrounding colonialist’s treatment of the indigenous population, with the story of Mathinna, the orphaned daughter of an Aboriginal chief, who is taken in by the new governor of Van Diemen’s Land (now known as Tasmania). The treatment these women endured was brutal and dehumanizing, but Kline’s characters band together to support one another and triumph.
LINK to my full review
An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good – Helene Tursten – 3***
This was a book group selection so I was expecting a fun romp of a story, and was surprised by the murder. The book is actually a series of short stories, all featuring 88-year-old Maud and her interactions with various neighbors in her apartment building. It’s a fast read with an interesting premise.
LINK to my full review
Mod
The Lincoln Highway
– Amor Towles – 4****
This is a quest and a road trip, a saga of family and friendship, an exploration of morals and principles aga..."
Book Concierge wrote: "
The Lincoln Highway
– Amor Towles – 4****
This is a quest and a road trip, a saga of family and friendship, an exploration of morals and principles aga..."
One of our staff members is reading this one now and really likes it so far!
Union County Library wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: " ....One of our staff members is reading this one now and really likes it so far! ..."
I hope she posts a review when she's done. Would love to know what she thinks. (Or she can private message me.)
The World According to Bertie – Alexander McCall Smith – 3***
Book four in the 44 Scotland Street series continues the varied stories of the current (or former) residents of the apartment complex. What I love about the ensemble series is that each book gives us just a glimpse into their lives. We pick up where the last book left off, and end with many issues still unresolved. It’s the same way we encounter casual friends, catching up when we see them, but not knowing how things will turn out once we depart. And yet, happy to see them again and catch up once more.
LINK to my full review
The Reading List – Sara Nisha Adams – 3.5***
A troubled teen with a summer job in the library and an aging widower who still feels lost without his wife forge an unlikely alliance based on a reading list found tucked into a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird . This is a very good debut for Adams. The characters are complex and have a variety of issues. On the surface one wouldn’t expect them to have anything in common or to be able to relate to one another at all. But Adams brings them together, first by happenstance, and slowly by shared experiences and their individuals needs for human connection.
LINK to my full review
I read Earth's the Right Place for Love
A good way to try and get out of a slump was to read something easy with long time book buddy Diane.
3.5 rounded up. My thoughts: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Great Or Nothing – Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, Jessica Spotswood – 3***
This re-imagined Little Women set during World War II began when Jessica Spotswood posted a story idea she found daunting on Twitter. Her fellow authors joined with her to flesh out this story where Jo is queer and working in a factory, Amy has run away to join the Red Cross in London. With four authors, the four sisters had more equal roles than in the original work, which really focused on Jo. And, while the time frame is World War II, this is NOT a soldier’s story, but of how the women left behind dealt with their fears, and rose to the challenge of supporting those fighting overseas.
LINK to my full review
The Violin Conspiracy!!! Am 91% through, and this is a 5 star read! Music, violins, a kid rising up despite poverty, a not helpful family (except for grandma), generations of racism, a mystery, too. Am loving this book. . . .
Beautiful On the Outside – Adam Rippon – 3.5***
Memoir of Olympic medalist and self-proclaimed America’s Sweetheart Adam Rippon. Gosh this was fun! Rippon details his life growing up as the oldest of six children, and the sacrifices his mother made to help him achieve his dream of making it to the Olympics. From his childhood in Scranton, Pennsylvania to the independent Adam being too poor to eat anything but the free apples at his gym, he covers it all with grace and humor, while sharing the life lessons he learned. Rippon is more than just a pretty face (and the world’s BEST spinner), he’s also a thoughtful and assertive spokesperson for LGBTQ rights. I’ve always loved his skating, but now I love HIM even more!
LINK to my full review
Elevation – Stephen King – 4****
This is a wonderful novella about death, friendship, making amends, and reconciling differences. The work uses an unusual plot device to focus on human kindness and respect, and King gives us a lesson on what it means to be a good neighbor, and how to support one another despite our differences. I like the way that the characters slowly come to know one another and resolve their conflicts. The ending of Scott’s tale is poignant and heartfelt.
LINK to my full review
The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle – Matt Cain – 3***
A 64-year-old postman about to retire decides to make one more effort at finding his lost love. This was just delightful. My heart went out to Albert and I loved watching him bloom as he slowly made efforts to truly connect with the people on his route, and to begin searching for his lost love. Once Albert comes out of himself a bit he learns that many other people have struggles and face heartaches of their own. He learns much about compassion and friendship, and learns to open up and live rather than just exist. He certainly deserves his HEA!
LINK to my full review
Mod
This is Our Place by Vítor Martins
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson (I’m reading this one for class but I was already planning to read it eventually)
Sentient by Jackie Higgins
Plus a few more that I pick up and put down in short bursts. I have a short attention span and too many interests for my own good.
Strangers On a Train – Patricia Highsmith – 4****
Two men meet on a train, and one is an alcoholic psychopath who proposes a plan for two perfect murders that will solve all their problems. It’s a wild ride. The suspense comes from one man’s clever and persistent pursuit of the other, not just as an accomplice to murder, but as a best friend. He behaves like a love-sick boy, and his careless actions are bringing an equally determined detective closer and closer to the truth. Will they truly get away with it? If not, who will get blamed? Who will crack first?
LINK to my full review
Last Night At the Telegraph Club – Malinda Jo – 4****
I really liked this YA work of historical fiction that focuses on the Chinese-American experience during the McCarthy Red-Scare period. Lily is a typical teen of the era, but somewhat naïve. When she stumbles on a book depicting a lesbian relationship she is puzzled, intrigued and excited. Coming out in this time period was not easy and fraught with danger. Though Lily starts out naïve and unsure, she shows herself to be principled, compassionate, and willing to stand up for herself. I really appreciated the author’s note at the end which detailed the history of the era.
LINK to my full review
I read The Queen of Dirt Island
. Five stars for this beautifully written iirish story . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket – John Boyne – 3***
Eleanor and Alistair Brocket are perfectly normal, and that is what they want. But their youngest child, Barnaby, is decidedly and obviously “different.” This is a fable and a children’s adventure story full of improbable and exciting adventures but teaching a lesson about acceptance and compassion and courage. The entire story is a lesson on tolerance.
LINK to my full review
An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed – Helene Tursten – 3***
Book two in a very short series featuring nearly-90-year-old Maud and the people who irritate and annoy her and deserve what they get. This picks up where the first book left off, and the plot alternates between her current trip to South Africa and memories of past encounters, where she got even with those who crossed her. Maud’s an astute observer and prides herself on being a quick thinker. And, of course, who pays any attention to a little old lady?
LINK to my full review
: One L – Scott Turow – 3.5***
Subtitle: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School. Turow wrote this memoir just after his first year of law school, and it was published before he had graduated. I was very interested in the psychology of his experience. Turow and his fellow , all high-achievers when they arrived, were thrown into a competitive atmosphere where they felt pitted against one another, with the result that many of them began to seriously doubt themselves and became suspicious of their colleagues. The stress – both external and self-imposed – was palpable.
LINK to my full review
On Gold Mountain –Lisa See – 4****
Subtitle: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of a Chinese-American Family. This is See’s “biography” of her family, starting with her great-great-grandfather, Fong Dun Shung, who immigrated to America (“The Gold Mountain”) in 1861 as an herbalist / healer working for the railroad. In chronicling her family’s story she also explores the history of immigration policy / discrimination in the U.S., particularly in regards to those of Pan-Asian origin. Very interesting and readable.
LINK to my full review
Fox & I – Catherine Raven – 4****
Subtitle: An Uncommon Friendship. Alone in the world, and self-isolating in a cabin on a remote piece of land in Montana, Raven “befriended” a fox. I loved this memoir of finding friendship in an unexpected way, and of the healing power of connecting to nature and to another being.
LINK to my full review
I read Once We Were Home
. Beautifully written, heartbreaking, hopeful and recommended to any one who loved
. 5 stars .My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
Betsy Z. is currently reading (and loving) Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Chris M. is reading Blink of an Eye
Goldee P. is reading American Gods
Looking for recommendations? Send us a message!
Small Wonder – Barbara Kingsolver – 3.5***
This is a series of essays Kingsolver wrote in the year following the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center. Kingsolver can come across as preachy, but she also writes elegant passages about the restorative power of connecting with nature. There’s plenty of horrible in the world still, but reading this book of essays reminds me of those things will can help relieve the terror, fear, anguish, and find joy and hope again. I read this as a book, and it’s due back at the library now, but I think this is a collection that would be good to have handy to read a chapter or two every once in a while
LINK to my full review
I read Lark Ascending
. A departure for Silas House, a dystopian novel. 4 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Opposite of Everyone – Joshilyn Jackson – 3.5***
I really like Jackson’s books. I love her quirky Southern characters, with their colorful sayings and folk wisdom. I frequently want to shake some sense into them, and more often want to sit down with them over a few glasses of wine and just get to know them better. However improbable the many coincidences, I bought this story hook-line-and-sinker. There is more than one broken character here, but they learn to rely on one another and take steps toward healing.
LINK to my full review
E Is For Evidence – Sue Grafton – 3***
Book five in the “alphabet” series has PI Kinsey Milhone dreading a not very merry Christmas; she’s accused of insurance fraud and finds herself out on her own trying to clear her name. What I love about the series is the time frame – no cell phones or computers. Kinsey has to rely on her wits and good old-fashioned leg work to ferret out the information she needs. There are a lot of characters, most of whom are suspects, and enough twists and turns to keep this reader guessing right up to the reveal.
LINK to my full review
High Tide In Tucson – Barbara Kingsolver - 4****
Kingsolver was already a successful novelist when this collection of essays was published. She relates her thoughts on family, home, politics, nature, social issues and personal responsibility with humor, compassion, wit and integrity. Her training as a scientist is evident, as is her talent as a poet.
LINK to my full review
I am currently reading Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas.
Union County Library
Books mentioned in this topic
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness (other topics)The Legend of the Bluebonnet: An Old Tale of Texas (other topics)
The Lost Book of First Loves (other topics)
The Stand (other topics)
The Maid's Secret (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
S.K. Waters (other topics)Amanda Cassidy (other topics)
Emily St. John Mandel (other topics)
End of Watch – Stephen King – 4****
Book three in the Bill Hodges Trilogy has the retired detective (now a private investigator) and his partner, Holly Gibney, intrigued by the recent murder / suicide involving a survivor the original Mercedes Killer rampage. King gives us a fast-paced, intricate plot, with complex characters, and a fascinating exploration into brain activity and the possibilities. I really like Bill Hodges, but I love Holly, and she really shines in this episode
LINK to my full review